What to see in Xàbia

Jávea stretches along a section of coast between two headlands, Cap de Sant Antoni and Cap de la Nau, at the northern tip of the Marina Alta district. The municipality splits its everyday life across three distinct areas: the fishing harbour of Aduanas del Mar, the old town built two kilometres inland from local sandstone, and the Arenal district next to the sandy beach. That separation between village and shore has a historical reason: for centuries the population lived away from the water to stay safe from Barbary pirate raids, coming down to the port only to fish. The municipality now has just over 30,000 residents and around 25 kilometres of coastline, one of the longest stretches in the Marina Alta district.

History

Traces of Andalusi-era farming survive around Jávea, but the municipality itself dates from the Christian conquest of 1244, when James I of Aragón absorbed the district after Denia surrendered. It was granted the status of a self-governing town in 1397. The Church of San Bartolomé, begun in 1513 in Isabelline Gothic style, was built as a fortress-church, with thick walls and few openings meant to double as a refuge during raids; it has been a listed Bien de Interés Cultural since 1931. Through the 19th century and into the early 20th, the local economy centred on exporting moscatel raisins, sun-dried on dry-stone terraces still visible inland, alongside the quarrying of the local sandstone, halted in 1972 to protect the coastline. That shift from farming and quarrying to tourism is still visible today in the mix of restored townhouses and newer development along the coast.

What to see

Cap de Sant Antoni and neighbouring Cap de la Nau, with its viewpoint, give the widest views over the Mediterranean and the Montgó massif, declared a natural park in 1987 and shared with neighbouring Denia. The coast alternates sandy beaches, such as the Arenal, with rocky coves of clear water; Cala de la Granadella, enclosed by pine-covered cliffs, is the most photographed of them all. Near the harbour, the remains of a Roman bath complex known as the Baños de la Reina survive, and the municipal market, at the edge of the old town, is still where locals buy fresh fish and produce from the surrounding market gardens each morning.

Every 24 June, the Fogueres de Sant Joan mark the start of summer with bonfires in each neighbourhood, and in the third week of July Jávea holds its Moros y Cristianos festival, closing the month with a Living Chess tournament recognised as a national tourist-interest event.