Playa de Levante

Benidorm was a fishing village of a few thousand people until the late 1950s, when its mayor pushed through a plan that allowed tall building on small plots in exchange for open space around them, and the result is a skyline of over two hundred towers on a strip of coast, the highest concentration of skyscrapers per resident in the world. Playa de Levante is the eastern of the two main beaches, about two kilometres of fine sand facing southeast, with a promenade behind and the towers rising directly above it. The design is often criticised aesthetically and defended environmentally, since it concentrated development rather than spreading it along the coast. The bay's orientation gives it a mild microclimate and a long season.

What you actually see

• The tower skyline - over two hundred high-rises above the sand.
• The two-kilometre beach - fine sand along the eastern bay.
• The promenade - a curved walkway with bars and restaurants.
• The mild microclimate - a bay sheltered enough for a long season.

When to go

April to June and September to October for warmth without the peak; July and August are extremely crowded. Benidorm stays busy in winter with long-stay northern European visitors, which is unusual on this coast.

Honest expectations

The beach is dense with sunbeds and people through most of the year, and the strip behind is aggressively commercial with British and Spanish bar culture. Quiet is not available here. Some visitors find the towers oppressive, others enjoy the scale.

Nearby

Playa de Poniente is on the other side of the old town; Terra Mitica and Guadalest lie inland.