What to see & do in Villajoiosa?

There are of course a lot of things to see and do in Villajoiosa. Here are our reccommendations:

Our Lady of Assumption Church
was built in XVIth Century and it belongs to the style called Catalan Gothic, typified by simple decorations. The church is one of three examples of a fortress church in the province of Alicante. As time went on, several additions to the church were built. One of them was the very valuable Santa Marta chapel. This part of the church is built in a different style than the rest of the church (baroque). It has more concentrated ornamentation, and the reason for this is that Santa Marta is the patron Saint of the village.
Here we can see two parietal canvases, representing two historical periodes that is still celebrated in Villajoiosa:

- The miracle of Santa Martas tears, occured on the 8th of May 1658.
- The apparition of Santa Marta, to protect the vilero people from attacks from the berber pirates on the 29. July 1538.

The colourful houses
The houses in Villajoiosa are painted in bright, joyful colours. You will soon find out why the city is named "The Joyful city"! The houses were originally painted in these bright colours so the fishermen easily could navigate to the port of Villajoyosa.

The Beaches and Ports
3,5 km of Villajoiosa's 12,5 km coastline are fully serviced beaches. The longest are Playa Centro and Playa el Parais. These are both sandy beaches with guaranteed clean water.

Villajoiosa is an old fishing village, and it is almost impossible to avoid noticing it's large fishing fleet. The ports of Villajoiosa has the necessary infrastructure for sailors and yachters, and the surrounding areas are ideal for windsurfers, water-skiers, sailing enthusiasts, swimmers and scuba divers. Sailing courses are also given at the Sailing school.

History
The settlement of the municipal area of Villajoiosa goes back to the Bronze age at least.
The name "La Vila Joiosa" does not appear in documents until the year 1300, when the Jaime Il's admiral Bernat d'En Sarria founded the new town."Vila Joiosa" means "Joyful City".
The area has a lot of interesting monuments and there are also several ongoing archeological excavations.

The Municipal archeology and ethnology museum is the right place to go if you are interested in history and archeology.

Chocolate shops
There are several local "chocolaterias", chocolate shops, in Villajoyosa.
You can also visit the Chocolate museum.

The old town
The medieval Old Town is exceptionally well concerved, and some of it is also being restored. The colourful houses are well worth seeing. A stroll in narrow streets of the old town gives you an insight in the typical spanish daily life in Villajoiosa. The architecture of this area is distinctive.

Take a trip to Alicante and Benidorm
Both Alicante and Benidorm are close to Villajoiosa, and these cities offer both shopping, restaurants, nightlife and lots of other things to see and do. Villajoyosa is only 5 km away from Benidorm and about 30 km from Alicante.

You can find an excellent guide to Benidorm at http://www.athenea.com/benidorm/index.htm

Theme park Terramitica
We reccommend a day at the theme park Terramitica (visit their website at www.terramiticapark.com). The theme of this park is "The Romans", and you can experience both history, myths and legends from the Roman empire. The park is filled with fun things to do, and it has one of the largest rollercoasters made of wood in Europe. There are also several restaurants in Terramitica.

Mundomar Marine and Exotic Animal Park
Mundomar is a large animal park focusing on marine and exotic animals. You can see dolphins, turtles, sea lions, penguins, bats, parrots and exotic birds in this entertaining familypark near the centre of Benidorm.The park is open all year round. Visit http://www.mundomar.es for more information.

Take a trip to Guadalest!
About an hours drive from Villajoyosa, you will find Guadalest. You can visit the famous monestary, buy arts and crafts or spend some meditative moments enjoying the magnificent sea-view.

Aqualandia Water Park
Aqualandia is a family amusement park in Benidorm, side by side with the marine park, Mundomar. Aqualandia is filled with water-attractions, surf simulations, water-slides and lots of fun things to do. The park is open from May to October, and the entrance price includes access to all attractions. Visit http://www.aqualandia.net for more information.

Safari Aitana
Safari Aitana is a Zoo centrally situated to Villajoyosa.

Play Golf!
There are about 20 golf courses in the surrounding areas of Alicante. The closest are in Albir, Altea and Muchamiel.

The Fiestas
There are several fiestas and celebrations in Villajoyosa during the year. Here is a list of the most important ones:

-The Carnival in Villajoyosa marks the beginning of Lent, and features parades in which everyone gets dressed up.

- Holy week bringa a Good Friday procession in which seven local "Guilds" carry religious effigies called "pasos".

- In the month of May, the town holds a commemoration of the tears of St. Marta, with a flower offering for its patron saint.

-As a maritime town, Our lady of mt. Carmelo, is celebrated on July 16th with a procession in the port and popular games in the sea.

- The patron saints festivals of the moors and christians are held from July 24th to 31st. They are listed as being of national tourist interest, with a famous Moorish disembarking at dawn, which is unique in Valencia's Moores and Christian Feasts. It represents the arrival of the Moors from the sea, and the defence of the town by christian troops.

- The feast of Archangel Michael is celebrated in the popular quarter of the Chapel of San Antonio.