What to see in Teulada-Moraira

Teulada-Moraira is a Marina Alta municipality made up of two distinct settlements: Teulada, the historic inland village, and Moraira, the coastal town that grew up around its marina. The two have shared a single town council since the Middle Ages, when Teulada — then an Andalusian farming hamlet — was granted town status in 1386 with barely three hundred residents.

History

Local tradition recalls a visit by Saint Vincent Ferrer in 1410, credited with several miracles still commemorated during the spring festivities. Moraira, meanwhile, remained a simple fishing anchorage for centuries, guarded by its 18th-century castle, built in 1742 to defend the coast from Barbary raids; only from the 1970s and 80s onward did it grow into the international tourist destination it is today, with its marina now the centre of local life.

What to see

In Teulada, the church of Santa Catalina Mártir, built between the 16th and 18th centuries, combines religious and defensive functions in a single structure, a common trait of churches along a coast exposed to piracy for generations. Near Moraira, on the Cap d'Or headland, the Cova de les Rates is a sea cave reachable only by water, declared a wildlife reserve in 2004 for its bat colonies and also listed as a Bronze Age and Iberian-era archaeological site. Further inland, the Marjal del Senillar wetland is worth a stop for birdwatching, a contrast to the marina scene that dominates the town's tourist image.

The area is known for Moscatel de Alejandría wine: the Sant Vicent Ferrer cooperative, founded in 1940 by a group of farmers to protect this grape variety, still produces wines, mistelas and vermouths that have won awards at international competitions. The Fiesta del Moscatel, held on the first Saturdays of September, celebrates this winemaking tradition. As an architectural landmark, the Teulada-Moraira auditorium, designed by architect Francisco Mangado and opened in 2011, was built on high ground in Teulada specifically to work as a viewpoint between the municipality's two centres. To round out a trip through the Marina Alta interior, neighbouring Benissa is a short drive away. The 16th-century Cap d'Or tower is another remnant of the coastal defence network that once guarded the area from Barbary raids. The municipality today has around 12,900 residents, more than half of them foreign-born, one of the highest shares in the Marina Alta and a reflection of how much residential tourism shapes its economy.