Alicante's exceptional location between the mountains and the sea provides the city with a special kind of enrapturing beauty. The city is pervaded with the savor of the sea, playing its deeply-felt role as a seaport. Alicante beaches are undoubtedly one of the city's strong points. Alicante's mild climate makes beach-life feasible practically all year round. The sands never run out in Alicante.

An open beach, La Playa de San Juan has seven kilometers of golden sand flanked by a road. A secluded beach, La Albufereta is an intimate, residential stretch of sand, protected by the headland of the Serra Grossa. An urban beach, El Postiguet is located almost within the city itself, at the foot of the Benacantil Mountain, next to the port. And there's still another called Los Saladares, Iying south of the city in the area known as Agua Amarga.

 For scuba divers the shores of the Isla de Tabarca off the coast are the best.
There are many places to buy things in Alicante. Who can resist the temptation to take a memento home, or purchase a garment which cannot be found anywhere but here? One of the best all-purpose shops is Fran Holuba, which carries examples of each of the major artisan forms. For modern sculpture crafted from wood and such stones as marble, head for the studio of Pedro Soriano.

For general merchandise, head for the town's largest department store and the most famous Alicante shopping spot, El Corte Ingles. There you'll find just about everything you could need. Zara and Mango are Spanish fashion institutions, they have great trendy fashions, Mango is the pricier of the two, Zara can be a little bit expensive, but if you go up to the top floor then the clothing is quite a bit cheaper.

There are also lots of great market stalls set up down by the ocean. If you are looking for little tourist collectable type things, this is the place to go. Alicante shopping can easily take up a whole day and you can spend hours walking the city centre shops. Explore the streets between La Rambla and Avenida de Federica Soto, up to Avenida de Alfonso El Sabio. Alicante is a city with its own life, so the stores are what you would expect in a city which doesn't only live on tourism.

Alicante shopping Center has two floors full with shops like Zara, H&M and Springfield. There is also a whole restaurant section and 16 movie theaters from Cine Box. This Shopping Center has a fantastic sea view. There are not only shops but also pubs, discos, restaurants and the Warner Bros movie theatres. Panoramis is Alicante shopping center located just in the harbor. There is a beautiful view of harbor and city from the second floor.

Shopping is really a favorite pastime for many tourists and locals in Alicante. The biggest growth in the retail sector here has been with the addition of large department stores and shopping centers.  Alicante is home to a number of new malls which are mainly located around the seafront promenade central zones. Most of which are modern and worth a visit.

When in Alicante, do as the locals do - go shopping. It will surely cool you off after spending time at a hot beach.