Experience in Alicante, Spain by Iryna

How do you find living in Alicante? Do you recommend it? How is it?

Alicante is quite a big city and therefore has it pros and cons. The pros are that it has a wide variety of everything (supermarkets, shopping centres, leisure and free time, transport, parties... ) and the cons are that it's a quite big city so most of the time you have to catch public transport if you don't have your own, you have to know where to shop because sometimes certain centres have higher prices for basic things and finally, renting a flat is more expensive than in other nearby cities. However, it's worth living here as you aren't going to get bored and it's well connected with other cities with all kinds of different means of transport, in case you ever fancy travelling.

Source

How is student life in Alicante?

It's very lively and does not disappoint.

Was it hard to find accommodation in Alicante? Can you give any advice?

The best way to look for accommodation is to look on the internet for student flat offers or to look at room offers in the university itself.

How is the country's food? What are your favourite dishes?

The food in Spain is very delicious. You can't leave here without having tried 'tapas' or having tried a good paella. Being on the coast as Alicante is, also is a good opportunity to try the fish and the seafood accompanied by a good wine from D. O. Alicante or Bodegas Bocopa.

Which places do you recommend to visit in Alicante?

If you want to enjoy some panoramic views, I recommend going up the castle of Santa Bárbara. The castle is as worth going to see as the views which extend over the whole city.

Views from the castle

Source

And to eat in Alicante? Can you list your favourite places?

To go out to eat in Alicante, the best thing you can do is to go out for tapas. There is a special zone very close to 'El barrio', (the party area) where there are many places to eat. We usually go from one place to another trying the tapas. All the same, if you don't want to move or spend money, you can go somewhere called '100 montaditos'.

100 Montaditos

Source

Tapas

Source

Which places do you recommend to go out to party in Alicante?

The 'El barrio' area is very good to go out in until 4 in the morning, and then down to the port's Casino, which is the other place with several clubs/pubs. You can also go down to San Vincent of Alicante where there are also enough partying as it's the university area.

Any advice that you want to give to future students of Alicante?

My advice is that you take advantage of your stay getting to know people, travelling and partying in towns or cities nearby like Torrevieja, Murcia, Benidorm and Elche as well. They will not disappoint you.