What's on in Alacant/Alicante

Alicante is the Costa Blanca's capital and gateway, a proper working city with a long palm-lined seafront, the Castle of Santa Bárbara crowning the rock above it, and a lived-in old quarter, the Barrio, climbing the hillside in pastel terraces. City beaches sit right beside the port, and the rest of the coast is an easy hop by tram.

Its great festival is the Hogueras de San Juan, one of Spain's big fire celebrations — satirical monuments built across the city, then burned on the night of the 24th. Around it, the MACA modern art museum runs a summer programme and hosts photography shows. Here's what's on while you're here.