toAST Year, Bendorm welcomed nearly 3 million visitors. Despite its reputation as Mecca is a British holiday – nearly 900,000 travelers in the United Kingdom visited the city in 2024 – it was in fact Spanish citizens who formed the largest stake, with more than a million local visitors flowing to the Costa Blanca resort, according to the Costa Planca resort, according to the Costa Blanca resort, Bindorm City Council. I have a feeling that these visitors did not come with a stereotype of full English breakfast and phases, but for something that is often ignored by international tourists: the original daily rhythm of Spanish coastal life.
In a country where tourism is compensated 15 % of GDP But also stimulated a Housing and combatingBenidorm provides a contradiction with cities like Barcelona and Madrid, where tourism pressures are sharp. The re -invention of the city in the mid -twentieth century as a resort created a controversial purpose, but today it seems amazingly sustainable in the context of the national housing emergency.
Benidorm is designed to deal with industrial numbers from visitors – including me. My first visit was in the eight -year -old, on a classic vacation with my family. I clearly remember to keep up late to play billiards with a group of rotating children, and the linguistic barriers were not important. Their mothers took-and what I felt like every portrait in our 20-storey hotel-you will take turns on a cheek disk.
The coastal city has long absorbed large numbers of local and international travelers without removing the population at the same rate as anywhere else. Unlike the “Live Like A Local” model, which led to adverse results in the big cities of Spain – so that more and more apartments allocated to the population are now exclusively for tourism use, especially in Madrid, where I lived for 12 years – Benidorm absorbed the demand easily while still providing an authentic Spanish experience. I am here to explore that exactly.
Before the sun rises completely, walk to Bonente Beach, which is quieter and more local to the west directly than the old city. It is already full of life. Dozens of elderly elderly take a refreshing and prior decrease, and a group of Señoras per day reduces a free session of collective yoga. As the weather rises, the Spanish crowd moves away from the main beach to the nearby Calia or, along, to the Calla del Tio Shimo. In these two traces isolated behind the head, pine trees frame shallow crystal. Even in the peak season, these smaller sites are still largely discovered by foreign visitors.
By the time the sun is at its highest levels, many Spaniards already retreat to long lunch meals from local cuisine. in No FavaI find a quiet space as the chef Fran Burgos offers elegant dishes rooted in the coastal traditions of Elkante – such as grilled eggplant with a honeyed disk, parmesan soup and seasonal fish – in the calm and built interior. For a classic Yepby dinner, Casa Tony It surpasses the tiles and the legs of Andalusia Jamun A suspension over the tape. For Paella, it is necessary in the Valencia region, the refined seafood restaurant Dukado He has a group of rice dishes.
There is also room for amenities over culture. Ray 1, which is a long -term British chick, is run by a mother and daughter (both of whom is called Teresa), on a new Spanish mass base when I wrote about it in the leading national newspaper Spain in Spain, El Pais. Since then, Teresa told me senior. They had a regular flow to Spanish customers. Near -placed, on my way to Ajuntament (City Hall), I discovered a waiting list abroad El Puente BarThe chicken grill that has been run by the same family since 1968 and mostly attracted Spanish agents.
Anyone who visited Benedorm will be aware of Calle Santo Domingo, a pedestrian alley in the old city. Here, global customers are drawn to the bustling Basque Pintxo Babs, especially in the evening. But at the far interior, the non -fatal and honest destination lies, off Avenida Ruzafa. I click on Taperia la minaWhere it costs a bottle of wine and six tapas 11 euros. Aitona Restaurant and El Rincón de la Croqueta Provide a simple experience on an equal footing. For a quieter but still alive meal, La Mejillonera It is known for its large bouquets of juicy orange mussels, and it is worth waiting for a table.
But behind the sun, the sea, and the food, Benidorm is a real Spanish city with real stories. For example, Marina Sanchess opened Casa CREMàAnd a workshop for pottery for the local population and visitors alike, after she returned to her mother city after being forced to leave Madrid due to the high rents, and turned her creative retreat into a prosperous societal space. She told me that Bendorm gave her something that she lost in the capital: space, time and community connection.
Many Spanish artists were inspired by the coastal city, and their works have appeared in free and are often ignored Boca Dell Calvie Museum In the old city. Maria moldsAnd who was shown there a few years ago, is a local social documentary photographer Carlos Perez Sequire. Both photographers pick up the city’s privacy through saturated surreal images of Spanish sun. Although there are no decades, their forms can be almost unmarried.
Even on the Internet, Bendorm has become something of the favorite candidate for Spanish worship. Eric HarleyOne of the partners of Barcelona, Bendorm is his favorite place in the universe and will soon launch new rounds of the city’s most skyscrapers. Then there is MULERO OK, as is known here, and it is a retired who wears smart clothes that play his place to play Spanish pop music on the loudspeaker and Photography of passers -by dance Along with the decoration scooter, slow peak.
Among the Spanish youth, the cultural importance of the city is high. Bendorm Festival It is the official competition for Spain to choose the entry of Eurovision. Unlike the UK’s approach often in the competition, Spain makes a great deal of selection and I hear regularly Melody Esa DivaWhich was chosen as Spain’s entry this year, playing on the radio and in the bars. It is still in its third year only, the festival became one of the most prominent in the cultural calendar of the city, as it obtained a new identity in the informal capital of pop.
Besides the hustle and bustle of Beneedorm, the nearby area is home to several charming villages that takes an ideal day, such as the colored coastal town of La Vela Joiosa, a short tram jour. Inside, the village of El Castell de Guadalest is ancient that is not less than the old village of Tal. Eight selective museums It features stunning views of the Guadlist Tank – one of the main Benidorm sources of freshwater.
Benidorm wears his tourist reputation with pride, but it offers much more than the stereotypes indicate. As a barrel outside sometimes it yearns home, I will not deny that the British stereotype of Nidrim has its attractiveness for me. But I am also here when it has become more familiar with me: Spanish culture, local cooking art, and a deep feeling – benidorm aspect of more than a million local visitors every year.
In a country that is struggling with disorders, the design of the benidorm that has been built for this purpose should not be rejected as unreliable. It is a unique Spanish solution to a modern global challenge – and a city has an area for everyone.
