Holiday information on Jávea, Dénia and Surroundings

Editorial MMC Property Services

Jávea, or Xàbia in the Valencian language is located on the Costa Blanca, in the Comunidad Valenciana en the province Alicante. Jávea consists of three parts: the old town, the port and the Arenal.

In the old town, we can still find the typical Spanish narrow streets and beautiful old facades. Here is the town hall, church, post office, several shops and here is also a weekly market held on Thursdays.

The port area is more modern and here you can find as well several shops and restaurants. Additionally, you can go for a nice walk along the seaside, have some food or drinks and of course visit the harbour and the fish auction.

The Arenal is the tourist area of Jávea, here is also the sandy beach and a lovely boulevard with shops, restaurants and bars a lots of atmosphere. During the day you can go to the beach and for a swim in the sea. Afterwards for some food at one of the restaurants or for a drink or cocktail on one of the terraces overlooking the sea. Especially in the summer, you can sit or dance here until the early hours.

• Jávea is a stretched out area between two capes, Cabo San Antonio and Cabo La Nao and has an surface of 68.59 km2.
• It is located 96 km from the airport of Alicante and 120 km from Valencia airport.
• Jávea has 27.681 inhabitants (2015) of which 53.1% of foreign nationality, in particular British and German.
• The population doubles and in the summer it multiplies itself even to more or less 150.000 due to the number of tourists, the main economic sector nowadays.
• The inhabitants of Jávea speak Valencian and Spanish.

Did you know?

• There live 85 different nationalities in Jávea?
• The Cabo La Nao the most easterly point of this part of Spain is?
• That the tennis player David Ferrer comes from Jávea?
• The the two capes protect Jávea and provide a unique microclimate?
• The climate in this area by the WHO, World Health Organization, has been declared as one of the healthiest in the world?
• Jávea is known for that it is very green despite the fact that there is little rain? This is because Jávea has a lot of underground water. In addition, there is an underground river called "Moraig" which comes from the mountains of Pedreguer and which one can see the origin of in the cave "La cueva de la calavera" (the cave of the skull) in Benidoleig.
• Perhaps the name Xábia descended from all this underground water, namely from the Arabic word "Xábiga" which means something like "pozo al aljibe" to the many rainwater wells that were here.

Jávea, although it's small, has more than then supermarkets, in the summer many of them are also open on Sunday.

Keep in mind that in Spain and therefore also in Jávea, they hold siesta and many shops and organizations are closed from about 13.30h till 16/16.30h. Most restaurants and supermarkets however stay open all day.

Jávea is known for the mountain "Montgo", a 753 meter high cliff which can be seen from many places in the village. From the side the mountain looks like an elephant with a long trunk that runs into the sea. Around it there is a beautiful nature park where you can walk or cycle. The more daring and experienced hiker can even climb to the top, from where you have beautiful views of the surroundings.

Jávea has besides the sandy beach El Arenal, a beautiful rocky coastline with many small coves and bays. The beaches here are of pebbles or rocks and crystal clear water. Visit La Granadella, Ambolo, El Porticholl or La Barraca and enjoy a dip in the fresh water, the beautiful surroundings and the amazing views. From north to south there are the following beaches, bays and inlets: La Cova Talla, La Cala de Pope, La Cala de Tangó, La Grava, En Benisero, El Primer Montañar, El Arenal which is the only sandy beach of Javea, El Segundo Montañar, La Cala Blanca, La Segunda Caleta, La Cala del Francés, La Cala Sardinera, La Barraca, La playa de Ambolo and finally, La Granadella, chosen as the best beach of Spain in 2012.

Of course also in Javea, just like other places on the Costa Blanca, they celebrate parties like Reyes, Semana Santa and Moros y Cristianos but the typical "fiestas del pueblo", village festivals of Jávea are San Juan in June with the "Fogueres" (not to be confused with las Fallas even though they look alike) and as their main activities the parades through the streets and flowers offering, and the festivities of Virgen de Loreto in the last week of August to 8 September with the Bous a la Mar (bulls at the sea).

One of the highlights of Jávea is its coastline with beautiful panoramic scenery. Therefore when you're in Jávea you "must" visit the "Miradores", 15 ifferent viewpoints (miradores) offered by Jávea's coastline and where you can admire the magnificent scenery.

“Los Molinos” (Els Molins in Valencian) is one of these viewpoints, located at La Plana and so named because of the 11 (ruins of) windmills that stand here from the late 18th century and early 19th century and these originally were for grinding grain, the main local product at that time. The mills are well visible from the village and the harbour.

The churches of Jávea are also worth a visit. In the old village on the square La Plaza de la Iglesia is the church "Iglesia de San Bartolomé" dated from the XVI century, with next to it the original town hall. In the port there is a church called "Nuestra Señora de Loreto" or "Parroquia del Mar", a modern church, but comes from a church built in the port area in the same time as the church in the village. The church has a distinctive shape of the keel of a boat.

Furthermore there is Jávea the archaeological and ethnographic museum Soler Blasco and La Casa del Cable. This last one was built in 1860 to house a elegraph station which linked the mainland with the island of Ibiza through submarine cables. Today, the rooms are used for exhibitions.

For those who like to play golf can come to Jávea and, because of the pleasant climate, play almost all year round on the 9-hole golf course of Jávea or one of the many courses in the area, such as the beautiful 27 hole golf course of La Sella.

For dinner and drinks there is a variety of restaurants and bars on the boulevard El Arenal, here you can find something for everyone. There are several restaurants that offer both meat and fish dishes as well as pizzas, pastas or burgers. One can eat in a Spanish, Italian, Mexican or Sushi restaurant. Also tapas and paellas are in several restaurants on the Arenal on the menu.

If you want to go for a day trip there are many things to do in the area. How about a visit to the beautiful city of Valencia? With its wonderful old centre, ancient buildings, Plaza de Toros, cathedral and terraces with delicious tapas or paella.