Beautiful parks to visit on the Costa Blanca, there is nothing nicer than taking a stroll around one of the many municipal parks, and the Costa Blanca has some really spectacular ones to enjoy. The Spanish word for park is parque.
Find a list of our favourites below.
Alicante - Park El Palmeral (The palm grove) The park is close to the busy N-332 on Avinguda d'Elx just outside the city centre as the name suggests this is a park full of different palm trees, in fact there are over 7000. You walk on well-kept gravel paths, over bridges, pass beautiful flower beds and rare palms.
The gravel paths make this park very accessible for people with prams and wheelchair users, but they do get very dusty during the summer months.
Dogs are NOT permitted.
You can also view the park from the water as you can rent a free rowing boat to sail over the beautifully landscaped pond. You just have to sign up at the dock, they will ask for your driver's license or passport and sign that you will return the boat intact. The pond consists of beautiful open spaces and narrow passages.
There is a lovely cafe and plenty of activity areas for children and sports facilities.
The park is open daily from 9 am to 10 pm in winter and 11 pm in summer. The hours for rowing vary depending on the season.
Beautiful Parks to visit in Benidorm, below are the most well known, but there are many other smaller park/recreational areas in Benidorm.
L’Aiguera Park - Known as the great centre of Benidorm. You can find its main entrance by the Town Hall in the Old Town, to walk from top to bottom it will take you around 15-20 minutes. It’s the park that connects the old town with the new, crossing it you will come across the Julio Englasias Ampetheatre, which is used by the town to organize musical and cultural events. At the very end you will find the Benidorm Bull ring.
Note, in the main areas of the park dogs are not permitted, but up past the bullring you will find a small dog park.
Bus lines: 002; 003.
The Parc d Elx, Elche Park. Located in the old town, although not a very large park this is one of the most relaxing places to sit and relax, as it is located right on Poniente beach front. This park is home to hundreds of beautiful white doves and know to many as Dove Park, it is also known for its spectacular palm trees.
It is located just in front of Poniente Beach, close to Benidorm Harbour. This is a lovely shady park and a great place to sit and people watch, you will also find an open-air gym and the Dama de Elche children's playground just a few meters away, there are also chess tables, where you can play freely.
Foietes Park, near the sports centre in the old town, is another green space that you will find in Benidorm. Just like l’Aigüera, in this park you will find different playgrounds, recreational areas for young and old and shady areas with tables designed for picnics.
Bus lines: 002; 003; 026.
Adolfo Suárez leisure and recreation area and pet park. This covers an area of 1,460 square meters and includes a fenced dog park in which different structures have been installed so that pets can move freely, jump and run. In addition, the area is equipped with gravel and pipeclay pavements, there are plenty of picnic table and even Bio healthy exercise areas.
Beautiful parks to visit
El Moralet Park, also known as the Forest of Foietes y Moralet - Escape the hustle and bustle of Benidorm in this green zone of more than one million square meters that serves as a recreation area with more than 17 kilometres of hiking trails and cycling routes that partly go over an old train tracks.
Several areas can be found with picnic tables and for the children swings, climbing frames, ziplines etc are available.
Bus lines: 001; 002; 003; 026; 030.
Elche - Elche Municiple Park - Covering an area of approximately 20,000m2, the park was first opened to citizens in 1946, the plantations were bequeathed to the city in 1661, its a beautiful green space for everyone to enjoy.
Although the date palm is the queen of the Municipal Park you can find other types of arecaceae, as well as a wide variety of plants: bougainvillea, ficus, araucarias, tipuanas, magnolias, false peppers, Elche poplars, bananas and even the unusual tuliper of Gabon.
The area is dotted with fountains and small ponds, one of them with ducks and swans, which delight children.
La Rotonda, a beautiful open-air amphitheater, is another of the emblematic places, together with the temple installed in the eighties.
Nearby is the dovecote and feeding the pigeons and doves is one of the favourite activities of visitors to the park, especially the little ones.
You will also come across Molí del Real, an old maquila mill of the eighteenth century,
The Visitor Centre, an orientalising style building, popularly known as "l'ou" for its rounded white shape, this is the only surviving construction of the pavilions of the regional exhibition with which the park was opened to citizens in 1946. It housed the Archaeological and La Palma museums. Today it houses a detailed audiovisual presentation on the city: its history, traditions, culture, fiestas and economy.
L'Hort de Baix, this was added in 1960, and this area has been transformed into a spectacular open-air party hall during the patron saint celebrations of August; It is also used for other events the rest of the year.
Open - November to March: 07.00 to 21.00. April to October: 07.00 to 23.00. August: 07.00 to 23.45.
Beautiful parks to visit
Guardamar del Segura - Parque Reina Sofia, Avenida dels Pins 03140 Guardamar del Segura.
This fabulous park is great for relaxing, people watching or letting the children play, paths and bridges wind through the park over waterways and lakes. There are plenty and picnic tables and chairs located at beauty spots throughout, but its the beautiful wildlife which is the main attraction and Reina Sofía park is naturally blessed with some of the Mediterranean’s most endearing creatures such as peacocks, red squirrels, ducks, turtles and other migrating and resident birds.
The park has a large playground providing plenty of entertainment for younger children, and an open-air theatre offers live performances throughout the year and during the summer months a funfair with rides and food stalls which is generally open and from mid-June to mid-August.
There is plenty of parking alongside the Parks and the close proximity to the beach makes Reina Sofía park an enjoyable experience for all the family, whatever the time of year.
Novelda Parque del Oeste (West Park), located on Calle Alfonso el Sabio, 29, 03660 Novelda and is open daily from 9am till 7pm.
At the edge of the town, is the Parque del Oeste (West Park) or Parc Dels Dolors, this is a real hidden gem, and well worth a visit, here the influence of Antoni Gaudi is recognisable by the wide usage of the mosaics called "trencadis".
Inside the park of the Ermita de la Vereda, a religious building dating from the sixteenth century adds cultural value to the park.
The Park has an amphitheatre which seats up to 2000 where, throughout the year, different performances of all kinds are held, it also has an area equipped with barbecues for public use, several picnic areas with tables with benches, football and basketball sports courts, games tables, playgrounds, etc.
Take a nice walk in the park among palms, stone sculptures and fountains.
Open - Monday to Sunday from 09:00 a.m. to 19:00 p.m.
Rojales - El Recorral Park Situated on the outskirts of Ciudad Quesada, there is plenty of parking at C. Lugar Sector, 297, 275, 03170 Cdad. Quesada
In 2018, the City Council of Rojales and Hidraqua launched this new infrastructure and this is now a beautifully landscaped park where you will find pretty lily ponds and cascades, quaint bridges and meandering pathways. Among these pond you can find masiega, reed, cattails, river lilies, salt lilies, water mints and water lilies.
Birds such as mallards, little grebes, moorhens, coots, crabeater herons, little egrets, sandpipers, and white wagtails can be easily found.
Enjoy the pleasant aromas of lavender and rosemary amongst other aromatic herbs, and there are plenty of shaded spots to rest.
What makes this park different is the the animal sculptures carved out of tree trunks which are scattered around the park, including some that have been carved into seating areas.
There are also numbered signs on the trees (29 in total), each with an environmental related question and 3 possible answers, the correct one is revealed once you find the next tree! This is great fun and educational at the same time, making this park ideal for families with children.
There is also an adventure playground with a mini outdoor library and reading space. The quiz route begins at the children's playground where you will find tree number 1, then following the path, it takes you around the park for about 30 minutes to an hour, depending on your pace.
There are picnic benches and toilets situated close to the car park at the entrance, and the park has full disabled access.
Beautiful parks to visit
Torrevieja, La Mata - Parque del Molino del Agua (The Water Mill Park) - If coming by car the best place to leave your vehicle is just outside the park on Calle Morera, 1 Torrevieja.
This wonderful park gets its name from the original water mill that was used years ago for grinding salt in the area, now it is the perfect location for a pleasant walk.
The park is beautifully laid out with paved pathways running alongside a long water cascade, there are spectacular sea views along the way, and plenty of seating areas under the shade of the pine trees.
The park is dog friendly, and has accessibility for wheelchairs and mobility scooters due to the quite wide and well designed walkways.
*Please note that during very dry weather, there may not always be running water. The photos above were taken mid June.
Which is your favourite park on the Costa Blanca, comment below.
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