Spain and Portugal for Visitors

Benidorm

Practically synonymous with mass tourism, Benidorm nevertheless has more to be said in its favour than against it, at least in terms of having a good time. For it is a purpose-built pleasure town, conceived (surprisingly to many) as a place for the Spanish and European middle classes to spend their holidays and their money.

Benidorm was not always the high-rise tourist magnet it is today. Until the nineteen sixties, it was little more than a fishing village (population approximately 1,700 at the beginning of the fifties). But a group of local businessmen and, especially, the town's mayor, Pedro Zaragoza, had a vision of making Benidorm into a sun, sand and sea tourist destination for those who could not otherwise afford it. From the outset, the new Benidorm was planned as a vertical community, for three reasons. First and most publicly, so that as many as possible of its new apartments and hotel rooms would have a view of the sea. Secondly, to economise on land purchases. And the third, least trumpeted reason was to have the greatest possible number of consumers held captive in the smallest possible horizontal space, everything laid on for them so that there would really be no need for them to seek elsewhere. Benidorm has more skyscrapers than anywhere else in the world except New York, and more per square foot than anywhere except Manhattan: 310 buildings over 35 metres high. At 210 metres, the Gran Hotel Bali is the tallest building in Spain and the tallest hotel in Europe. Benidorm's resident population, less than 65,000 (perhaps 100,000 if you add in all the non-Spaniards who live there year round but are not on the electoral roll) swells to a staggering half a million at the height of summer. And, amazingly, there is room for them all.

What brings them? The same old formula, sun, sea and sand, plus a couple of newer and far less successful attractions. Benidorm's weather is superb, a microclimate often referred to as "the best in the European Mediterranean," with mean temperatures which rarely fall below 12ºC even in January. Its blue-flag beaches, Playas Levante, Poniente and Mal Pas, are fabulous, though their quality is artificially improved by sand from Morocco. Even more incredibly, they are big enough to take everyone, as long as you don't mind the walk down to the sea over baking sand. What's more, the sea is calm, warm and safe, and the gentle slope of its sea bed is reassuring enough for the most nervous of parents.

In terms of facilities, Benidorm is packed with bars and restaurants for all tastes and depths of pocket, while self-caterers are almost equally well provided with shops and supermarkets. Its nightlife is tremendous and varied, and you will have no problem finding whatever atmosphere it is you prefer, from quiet family bars to places with live music or party games, or discos as lively and fashionable as any in Ibiza (in fact, many Ibiza names are present in Benidorm as well: Pacha, Ku, Space, Penelope, KM5...).

The charm of Benidorm's old town takes many newcomers by surprise. It is a maze of streets stretching out to the headland which separates the Playa Levante from the Playa Mal Pas and Playa Poniente (there was once a castle on that headland, but it was badly damaged during the Peninsula War and disappeared over time rather than being pulled down).

Crucially, Benidorm's biggest disincentives, its concrete and skyscrapers, so off-putting from a distance, are simply not so when you are there. It is true that there are a few hotels which have outlived their desirable lifespan and the demolition of which would make the town more attractive. But on the whole, particularly if you arrive with negative preconceptions, Benidorm is a very pleasant place to be, with broad, luminous but tree-shaded streets and tasteful, cheerful architecture. Benidorm also has a number of theme parks at hand, not all of which are the great success they were expected to be. The very ambitious Terra Mítica, in particular, has been a dismal flop, at least in financial terms. Local businessmen find this easy to explain: it is expensive to get in, and when much of your tourist base comes on prepaid, all-in package deals, it is unrealistic to expect them to pay the extra. "They should have asked us, first," is a frequent comment in this respect, usually repeated with a slight knowing smirk. For Benidorm is very much the result of local, small-scale, private initiative, neither large corporations nor any level of government having had much of a hand in its success. Perhaps the greatest non-local contribution towards the development of Benidorm was provided by Franco. Back in the puritan Catholic Spanish fifties, the influence of the church was so strong that the Guardia Civil was still obliging bikini-sporting sunworshippers to cover themselves up. And Pedro Zaragoza was convinced that if Benidorm was ever to take off as an international destination, the tourists had to be allowed to dress as they pleased. Even though under threat of excommunication by the Archbishop of Valencia, he got on his scooter at three o'clock one morning, rode to El Pardo Palace in Madrid and asked and patiently waited for an audience with Franco. The caudillo decreed that the bikini was to be allowed in Benidorm, one of a string of firsts for the town.

¡Viva Pedro Zaragoza!

Pro's:
- Brilliant weather
- Great beaches
- All facilities
- Five-star nightlife
- Economic

Con's:
- Crowds
- Outside peak season, its clientele is on the elderly side (though this is much less true than it used to be). Of course, this is more a pro than a con if you are, as well.

You'll like it if you like:
Sun, sea and s..., swimsuit-watching, Torremolinos, Happy Hour, all-day full English breakfasts, sing-alongs, holiday romances...

More Benidorm:
Costa Blanca
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      Benidorm Links
      Benidorm Nightlife
      Gay Benidorm