Discover Alcoy: Culture, History and Nature
Accommodation in Alcoy
Alcoy leads back to an early era with El Puig d'Alcoi: the fortified Iberian hilltop settlement dates from between the 7th and 4th centuries BC. The Fiestas de Moros y Cristianos de Alcoy hold the status of a festival of international tourist interest and of intangible cultural heritage of particular interest.
File:Alcoy, Alicante, Spain - panoramio (1).jpg
Photo: bladimiro via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0
Culture
Cementerio Sant Antoni Abat belongs to the Ruta Europea de Cementerios Significativos, which is recognised as a European Cultural Route. Betlem de Tirisiti in Alcoy is a puppet theatre performance with rod puppets that has existed since the late 19th century. It contains scenes from everyday life in Alcoy in earlier times, as well as depictions of Moros y Cristianos parades.
The Conjunto Medieval de Alcoy dates back to 1256, the year in which the Villa de Alcoy was founded. The Recinto Amurallado de Alcoy was built in the 13th century; only a few remains have survived, including the layout of the complex and some of its distinctive towers.
The Archaeological Museum of Alcoy displays a thematically and chronologically arranged selection of archaeological materials in a permanent exhibition covering 192 m². The rock shelters of La Sarga can be visited on site as part of guided tours offered by the Archaeological Museum.
City
The interior of Casa del Pavo is one of four distinctive buildings in Alcoy. Visitors can explore these buildings as part of a virtual reality project because they cannot be visited physically. QR codes on the façades of the participating buildings give visitors access to an immersive 360-degree experience via personal mobile devices or Oculus virtual reality headsets. The modernist virtual reality project provides information in sign language and in five spoken languages.
Nature
The Parque Natural de la Sierra de Mariola was declared a nature park by the Valencian Government on 8 January 2002. The Vía Verde de Alcoy is a 10 km route between pine trees and viaducts through the Parque Natural del Carrascal de la Font Roja. It can be used on foot, by bicycle and in a wheelchair. On the Barranc del Cint route, there is an opportunity to observe vultures near a reserve.
You can distinguish between history, virtual exploration, guided visits, nature observation and different forms of trail use. The differences lie in the type of access: some places are experienced on site or through guided tours, while others are experienced through exhibitions, performances or digital 360-degree images; at the nature destinations, the type of use, landscape and opportunities for observing animals vary. Historical, cultural, virtual and nature-related focal points therefore exist side by side, each with its own form of exploration.
When choosing a holiday apartment in Alcoy, travel dates, room category and cancellation conditions can be compared with the desired focus on culture, virtual exploration or nature trails.
Other places: Albatera, El Moncayo, El Chaparral, Bolulla, Orihuela, Agres, Penàguila, El Verger.
The natural area in the upper reaches of the Polop River has water all year round, as well as large limestone rocks shaped by the erosion of the river.
To the higher-level travel overview: Alicante.
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