Casco Antiguo de La Vila Joiosa

The old town of Villajoyosa occupies the original walled quarter of the town, beside the mouth of the Amadorio river. Local historians consider it one of the best-preserved historic centres in the Comunitat Valenciana, its narrow streets and squares largely unchanged since the medieval and Renaissance periods.

Houses built to be seen from the sea

The quarter’s best-known feature is its brightly painted façades, a tradition rooted in a practical need: fishermen and sailors returning to port had to recognise their own house from the water, long before streets carried clear numbering. The custom took hold especially in the 18th century, when the decline of Barbary pirate raids let the fishing port prosper and the quarter fill with new houses for fishermen, merchants and craftsmen.

Some travel guides compare its façade colours to those of the old fishing quarters of Girona or Malta, though Villajoyosa’s colour scheme follows its own code, passed down within families from one generation to the next.

The result is an unusual example of popular Mediterranean architecture in which paint, rather than stone, defines the streetscape. Walking its streets shows how buildings from different periods sit together without breaking the whole, with the Iglesia de la Asunción visible as a landmark from almost anywhere in the quarter.

It rewards an unhurried walk at any time of year, though late-afternoon light brings out the façade colours particularly well. The old town connects directly to the seafront promenade and to the Museo del Chocolate Valor, a short walk from the historic centre, and is a regular stop on day-trip itineraries around the province.