With a population approaching the 2 million mark, Alicante City in Spain is in the Costa Blanca and is the capital city of Alicante province. It is a port, and the old town of Barrio de la Santa Cruz has narrow streets with whitewashed houses decorated with colourful flowerpots, and a humming nightlife scene. From there a steep climb, or if you prefer, an elevator, will take you to the top of the hill to the Castle of Santa Barbara where there are sweeping views of the Mediterranean coast.

Alicante is famous for its’ shoes and other leather goods and produces fine food such as chocolates, nougat, and olive oils, and fine wines such as Moscatell.

The city is also noted for its shopping, and the best places to go are the streets leading off the Explanada which is a long street lined with palm trees and which has been paved with thousands of coloured tiles laid out so that they look like waves, and which runs along the sea and the marina. Leading off here is the main street, Avenida Federico Soto, which runs up to the Plaza de los Luceros where there are lots of cafes and restaurants if you fancy a snack.

Here there are two El Corte Ingles stores which are massive Spanish department stores selling just about everything you could think of. There is also an amazing food section if you want to stock up on Alicante wines and olive oil for example.

On the other side of Avenida Federico Soto, about halfway down, there is a small pretty traditional Spanish square where there is a high-end jeweller selling top of the range jewellery and watches, from top designers such as Gucci, Chanel, and Patek Philippe. There is also a little sweet shop where the kids can have a whale of a time choosing from a wide selection of sweets and gums. They will also like to walk around the corner to Calle San Francisco which has been decorated with giant mushrooms, snails, and little playgrounds.

Running parallel to Calle San Francisco is Plaza Calvo Sotelo where you will find a shop called Botticelli which has an amazing range of leather shoes, stocking over 50 brands. Just up the street is Habemus Birra where you can buy beers and stouts from around the world including Spanish craft ales such as Tyris.

Not far from here is Alicante’s central market with stalls selling fruit, vegetables, meat, and an amazing choice of fish straight off the boats such as prawn, crab, dorado, mackerel, tuna, and crayfish.

Panoramis is a shopping centre down by the port, and here you will find a range of clothes shops and accessories. There are also fashion shows, children’s play areas, cinemas, live music, and exhibitions.

There is a lot of night life in Alicante, which is to be expected in a big city. Much of it centres on the Barrio where you can wander around the old streets and sample a few bars before heading off to the disco or the casino to try your luck. Many of the bars and restaurants have outside terraces so you can have a drink and people-watch.

If you enjoy the big city life, then Alicante would be a great city for a holiday home. You can find a selection of Alicante villas for sale - some with pools, some small, and some with five or six bedrooms. They would make a great overseas investment to add to your portfolio and if you are approaching retiring age a great place to live a life of ease in the sun.