Benidorm Map.

Hotel Buenavista Cuenca Spain

For your visit to the Spanish city of Cuenca, you will hardly find a better place to stay than the Hostal Buenavista, which is ideal for both leisure and business guests, and perfect for touring this historic city. Offering non-smoking rooms, all with internet access, air-con, and TV, the Buenavista also has outdoor swimming pool, disabled facilities, twenty four hour reception and room service, and a choice of recreational and leisure facilities. Located in the Castilla-La Mancha region of Spain, Cuenca is one of the most highly visited cities in the region, seconded only by the magnificent Toledo, one of the finest cities in Europe. Popular as a day trip destination from Madrid, Cuenca will not disappoint those who choose to visit, whether it be to see the 12^th century cathedral or the ruined Moorish castle. Rooms in the Hostal Buenavista are offered from just 52 euros per night (£43), for a great value stay in Cuenca. If you wish to get to the city from outside of Spain, you will need to use Madrid airport from where you can get a transfer, bus, train or even hire a car in order to travel the 130km to Cuenca. Madrid airport is of course served by most of the main United Kingdom airports, so getting a cheapish flight there should be easy. An alternative airport that you could use for Cuenca, is Albacete, which is about 50 kilometres away. To reach Cuenca by road you can use the A-40 from Madrid or other roads if you are travelling from a different direction.

BOOK HOSTAL BUENAVISTA

Benidorm was just a tiny fishing village up until the 1950’s when a growing tourist industry would result in huge changes not just to Benidorm but also many other towns and villages throughout Spain. The history of Benidorm, of course, goes back much, much further,  with evidence of settlements as long ago as 3000 BC.

Fragments of Punic and Roman ships have been discovered in the Bay of Benidorm and there are also remains of a Roman villa in the area. However, the recorded history of Benidorm starts during the Moorish Conquest, when the first genuine settlement was built by the Moors and Benidorm became a fishing community of some significance. Benidorm and the region was reconquered for the Christians by Jaime I of Aragon (Jaume I) in 1245 and in 1325 the town was awarded its first charter. The original Benidorm Castle was built at around this time and was constructed in the area of the old village. Although no evidence now remains of the castle it was, at the time, very important in defending Benidorm from frequent attacks by Barbary pirates.

An irrigation drain built in 1666 to supply water to the surrounding land brought some improvements to the area and by 1715 the population of Benidorm had risen to 216. 1740 saw the start of construction on the Parish Church of San Jaime and the population grew rapidly by 1794 had topped 2,700. Although agriculture contributed to Benidorm’s economic survival during these years, fishing remained the prime industry and Benidorm’s fishermen gained a reputation as tuna fishermen.

By 1857 the population had risen to 3,750 but dropped back once again in 1920 when an outbreak of phylloxera seriously damaged a thriving grape growing industry. At around the same time there were signs of an emerging tourism industry in the area aided by the building of a narrow gauge railway. A small but growing number of tourists headed for Benidorm from inland towns such as Madrid.

Disaster loomed for Benidorm in the early 1950’s as fish catches fell dramatically, however an increase in tourism and a plan drawn up by the town in 1956 for improvements in the town targeted at leisure and tourism, was well founded, it resulted in a huge growth in population, which further accelerated in 1967 on the opening of Alicante (El Altet) airport.

Modern day Benidorm is a successful holiday resort with numerous hotels and rental accommodation properties catering for holidaymakers of all ages, nationalities and tastes. There is lots to see and do in and around Benidorm, there are 2 superb beaches (Playa levante and Playa Poinente), some wonderful theme parks such as Terra Mitica, the Aqualandia Water Park and Mundomar Marine and Exotic Animal Park, whatever you are looking for Benidorm certainly delivers. Benidorm Map.

The town of San Javier itself is a traditional Spanish town with a resident population of about 23,000, it was named after Saint Francis Xavier. The municipal district of San Javier consists of 8 boroughs and covers an area of 74km2, it is an important area for agriculture as it has been for many centuries, though tourism is quickly taking over in importance.

The town sits beside the Mar Menor (“Lesser Sea”), the largest saltwater lagoon in Europe, and looks across to the famous resort of La Manga, which looks like a group of tower blocks rising vertically from the sea.

San Javier was originally developed during the Moorish occupation and it was their irrigation methods which enabled the region to be put to agriculture, they also developed fishing methods which were ideal for the Mar Menor’s conditions.

San Javier today is a busy little town enjoying a wonderful Mediterranean climate and typically the weather in San Javier is dry and sunny. This is a popular area for golfers as there are a number of complexes built or under construction nearby. To view a map of San Javier follow this link: San Javier Map.

Other interesting towns in Galicia include Betanzos, Mondonedo and Pontevedra.