Alcoy Sightseeing

Barchell Castle
The Barchell Castle, located in the municipality of Alcoy, Alicante, Spain, is a 13th-century medieval building which stands on a rocky mound in the middle of a pine forest. It is next to the CV-795 road, between Alcoy and Banyeres de Mariola. It is located in the rural place of Barchell at 800 metres altitude. It is very close to the “Solanetes” which had a small population in the Muslim era.

The Barchell Castle is located in the rural place of Barchell, in the Valley of Polop, a natural enclave of great scenic value between two natural parks, the Font Roja and Serra Mariola.

Museums

Casal de Nadal
Address: Plaçeta Mare de Deu,1
Alcoi
965 53 71 55
Located in the ancient Chapel of Virgen de los Desamparados stands the Casal de Nadal.
A place to revive the magic show of Christmas’ arrival in Alcoi, the “Pastoretes”, the “Royal Band” and the most ancient “Three Wise Men Parade” in the world, without forgetting the touching Betlem de Tirisiti, a puppet show of the local traditions and festivities in the town.

Explora e Isurus
Address: C/ Els Tints s/n
Alcoi
96 553 72 03
“Explora” is Alcoi’s new tourist offer, thought to give a global image of the city.
History, industry, Modernism, the city, the surroundings and the traditions shape the content of this center of tourist interpretation that facilitates Alcoi’s global vision from its heart, the bed of the river Riquer.
This center is born as a starting point from which the visitor will be able to cover other more specific available offers in the city.
It includes the visit to the “Isurus” exhibition of Paleontology.
Timetable: Tuesday and Thursday from 16:00 to 18:30 h. Wednesday and Friday from 10:00 to 14:00 h. Saturday from 10:30 to 14:00 h. Sunday and festivity days except Monday from 11:00 to 14:00 h. Closed: 25/12 – 01/01 – 06/01 and Day of the Moors and Christians Parades.

Expo Museo Serpis
Address: Carretera Banyeres Km2
Alcoi
96 552 35 11
The Serpis olive museum is a cultural space where visitors can discover the origins of the most universal “tapa” in our gastronomy; stuffed olives.
The museum has gathered together the most important elements from the history of the Serpis company. From a walkway, the visitor can observe the process of stuffing and packaging of different types of olives.
In the audio-visual room, the video “A world of flavour” can be seen, and finally there is a wide range of products available in the on-site shop.
Timetable: from Monday to Friday from 9.00 to 14.00 h. Closed: festivity days and from 1 to 16 August.

Museo de las Fiestas de Moros y Cristianos
Address: C/ Sant Miquel, 60-62
Alcoi
96 554 05 80
The renovated Museum of the Festival is the most avant-garde contribution of the San Jorge Association to keeping the traditions and essence of the Moors and Christians celebrations alive, using state of the art technology.
An educational and entertaining trip through the memory and history of a town and its people.
Timetable: from Tuesday to Saturday from 10:00 to 14:00 h and from 16:00 to 19:00 h. Sundays and festivity days from 11:00 to 14:00 h.

Muboma
Address: C/ Alcassares, 26
Alcoi
96 554 44 18
Originally known as the “Fábrica de Tacos”, this is another example of an industrial building converted for cultural use.
This beautiful building is built on raised stone blocks next to the river, and now houses the Regional Fire Service Museum. The museum houses the long-standing heritage of the Alicante region’s fire stations.
From the first vehicles used to extinguish fires, through the various tools and equipment, this display shows the history of the fire service and is a wonderful museum collection.
Timetable: from Monday to Friday from 10:00 to 14:00 h. and from 16:00 to 18:00 h. Saturday from 10:00 to 14:00 h. Sunday and festivity days from 11:00 to 14:00 h. Closed: 25/12 – 01/01 – 06/01

Museo Arqueológico Camil Visedo
Address: Placeta del Fossar, s/n
Alcoy/Alcoi
96 553 71 44
The building that was the Casa de la Villa or seat of the local government until the beginning of the 19th century is now the Archaeological Museum.
This Renaissance style palace was built between 1572 and 1584 and is remarkable for its portico of columns and the meticulous design of its windows. Since 1945, it is the seat of the Camil Visedo Moltó Local Archaeological Museum, hosting archaeological collections in its inside.
The most important of these collections are pieces of pottery from the Neolithic and some Iberian inscriptions on lead plates. These collections and the building that guards them were declared Monument of National Artistic Interest in 1962.
Timetable: from Monday to Friday from 9:00 to 14:00 h. Saturday, Sunday and festivity days from 11:30 to 13:30 h. Closed: 25/12 – 01/01

Museo de la Ciencia
Address: Avda. d’Elx, 15
Alcoy
96 652 81 15
Museographical and permanent collection standing in Pare Eduard Vitoria High School.
Timetable: from Monday to Friday from 8:00 to 22:00 h. Closed: festivity days and school holidays.

Refugio de Cervantes
Address: C/ Els Alçamora, s/n
Alcoi
96 553 72 03
The Refugio of Cervantes is one of over 25 shelters used by the people of Alcoi during air raids in the Spanish Civil War.
It is an underground shelter, stretching for over 100 meters, which now houses an exhibition of information and aerial photographs of the raids carried out by the Italian Savoya 79 bombardiers.
The exhibition also includes an interactive screen showing the military targets and a video featuring first hand accounts from people who lived through the attacks on the city and their consequences.
Timetable: Tuesday and Thursday from 10:00 to 14:00 h. Wednesday and Friday from 16:00 to 18:30 h. Saturday from 10:30 to 14:00 h. Sunday and festivity days except Monday from 11:00 to 14:00 h. Closed: 25/12 – 01/01 – 06/01

Interesting places
Ayuntamiento
Address: Plaça d’Espanya, 1
Alcoi
96 553 71 00
This building is in Academicist style. It was designed by architect Jorge Gisbert Berenguer and was built between 1846 and 1863, on the space where the Monastery of Saint Augustine was.
In the main stairs and in different rooms we can admire an exhibition of paintings and sculptures made by local artists, amongst which there are remarkable works by Fernando Cabrera Cantó, Ramón Castañer, Adolfo Durá, Plácido Francés, Edmundo Jordá, Antoni Miró, Emilio Sala and other different contemporary authors.
Timetable: from Monday to Thursday from 8:00 to 20:00 h. Friday from 8:00 to 15:00 h. August from 8:00 to 15:00 h. Closed: festivity days.

Llotja de Sant Jordi
Address: Plaça d’Espanya s/n
Alcoi
96 553 71 55
This extensive space, made from concrete and granite, was created between 1992 and 1995 by the Valencian architect Santiago Calatrava, and was designed to simulate the skeleton of a huge animal.
It was inaugurated in 1997 and has hosted a number of cultural and social activities.
The main vault of this subterranean hall, finished in an immaculate white, is supported by a series of parabolic arches, a typical feature of Calatrava’s work.
The hall is accessed from Plaça d’Espanya, the main square of Alcoi, via a system of hydraulic doors which open onto two stairways, which when closed are disguised by barred trapdoors. Once inside the hall, at the main entrance the visitor finds himself at the tail of the animal, while at the opposite end there is the head.
It is worth highlighting the wonderful natural light that illuminates the hall through the ceiling, along with the fact that it follows the contours of Plaça d’Espanya, including the slight slope of this Town Square.
Exhibition timetable: from Tuesday to Saturday from 11:30 to 13:30 h, and from 17:30 to 20:30 h. Sunday from 11:30 to 13:30 h.

Murallas Medievales
Address: C/ Purísima s/n
Alcoi
96 553 71 44
The Christian foundation of the Villa of Alcoi took place in 1256, and in 1305 its first urban expansion was started. This newly developed urban site was called in the 14th century Pobla Nova of Sant Jordi or Vilanova of Alcoi.
The old quarter of Alcoi was protected by a wall and several towers, of which the Tower of l’Andana (in the Plaçeta de les Xiques), the Tower of N’Aiça and the Tower-Gate of the Riquer have survived. The latter was also the door of entrance into the town from the old road of Castilla or Madrid.
At the beginning of the 18th century, during the War of Spanish Succession, a bastion was built next to the Tower of N’Aiça. Some years later, all these towers were adapted for housing and a wider door was opened on the wall of the Puríssima road to allow the access to carriages from Saint Roc road. This new door received the name of Arc de Sant Roc.

Bridges

Puente de María Cristina
Address: Avd. Pont de María Cristina
Alcoi
This bridge was built between 1828 and 1838. It is Alcoi’s first great public work and contributed to foster communications in the area. The bridge named after María Cristina Borbón Dos Sicilias, king Fernando VII’s fourth wife.
In its Medievalist style, it combines the use of rough stone ashlars and fine limestone. Its maximum height is 27 metres over the river Riquer, where the Tint area begins.

Puente de Sant Jordi
Address: Avd. Pont de Sant Jordi
Alcoi
This bridge, in Art Déco style, was built between 1925 and 1931. Its original design is certainly innovative due to the use of reinforced concrete.
The bridge is 42 metres high over the river Riquer bed and 156 metres long. Its construction was quite an urban development revolution in Alcoi, since it linked the town centre and the suburban area that was planned on the site of l’Horta Major.

Viaducto de Canalejas
Address: Viaducte Canalejas
Alcoi
This viaduct rises over the river Molinar and connects the town centre with the quarter of the Viaduct and with the Callosa d’En Sarrià road. It was designed by the engineer Próspero Lafarga. Enrique Vilaplana Julià, an engineer from Alcoi, also took part in its construction.
The Viaduct was inaugurated in 1907 and received its name in honour of Mr José Canalejas Méndez, Member of Parliament for the district of Alcoi.
The viaduct’s metal structure consists of 352 tonnes of steel, leaning on three piles and two supports. It has 162 metres long and in its origins its maximum height was 54 metres. At that time it was one of the most outstanding works of Spanish engineering.

Parks

Serra de Mariola Natural Park
The seven population centres and communication links from the main terminals that span the reserve form the perimeter of the Sierra. The Visitor Centre is located in the Mas d´Ull de Canals, in pk 18 on the Alcoi-Banyeres Road.
The long history of human occupation and interaction has given the Sierra a true identity for the villages that surround it. Countless archaeological remains bear witness to a human presence in the Sierra since ancient times; paintings, sites (Neolithic, mainly from the bronze and Iberian ages), castles, caves, farms, lime ovens and other buildings that demonstrate this fact. The weather, the relief and the altitude would have conditioned this human community. The faunal richness, the lushness of vegetation and above all, the abundance of water, are the elements that would have driven the first communities to settle in these lands.

Font Roja Natural Park
The Font Roja Natura Center and the Sanctuary are located 11 km from Alcoi’s urban area.
In this reserve, it is still possible to see traces of activities that man developped by taking advantage of natural resources; coal stores for the production of charcoal; old cylindrical lime ovens, the explotation of agricultural lands, mainly at the foot of the mountain; the “Mas”, a building that served as house, stable and corral and the snow caves or wells that supplied the neighbours with ice for food, drink and medicinal purposes.
As this is a protected area, bicycles are not allowed. The routes are well marked and you must remain on the pathways at all times. There is a recreational picnic area. Camping is permitted, but the appropriate license must be obtained from the Espai Jove Center in Alcoi (96 553 71 41).
The Font Roja Restaurant is situated in the Sanctuary area (965 33 10 34)

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