Location
Built beneath the protection of the Castillo de Santa Bárbara, the winding streets of Alicante's historic El Barrio focus around the Ayuntamiento (City Hall) and the San Nicolás Cathedral. With Mount Benacantil comprising one side of El Barrio, this historic section is otherwise enclosed by the Rambla de Méndez Nuñez, the Explanada and the Avenida de Jovellanas.
In a nutshell
Saved from rapid deterioration just a few decades ago, El Barrio's reputation as the "bad part of town" was swept out with the tide and long forgotten. A major government initiative, designed to bring the alluring streets, brightly colored houses and cozy plazas back to their former glory, totally revamped Alicante's oldest neighborhood and polished it back into the gem that it is meant to be. Here you'll find the bulk of the city's cultural and touristic stops, its liveliest bars, its most stunning architecture and its most enjoyable terrace cafés- all of which perfectly complement each other to form Alicante's undeniably lovely El Barrio.
