Elche is the third largest city in the Valencian community after Valencia and Alicante and the twentieth most populous city in the whole of Spain.
Elche has a permanent residential population of almost 230,000 people.
Elche is a stone’s throw away from two international airports of Alicante and Murcia with easy motorway links to Torrevieja and Cartagena. To see the location of Elche or to get driving directions see our dedicated Elche map page.
Once at the airport you have a range of different airport transfer options to Elche including private shuttle buses, taxis or Elche car hire.
Weather wise Elche is blessed with over 300 days of sunshine a year with long hot summers. See Elche weather for more details.
Elche Tourist Attractions and Things to Do and See
Elche’s economy is not based on tourism or construction but on footwear. Elche has over 1000 shoe factories which is important not only for Spain but also for the rest of Europe. Part of the municipality is on the coast but mainly the city is fifteen kilometres away from the Mediterranean Sea.
Agriculture still plays an important role in Elche producing dates, olives, cereals and pomegranates. The rubber trade employs close to 20% of Elche’s inhabitants.
Make sure you visit the local market selling fresh fruits and vegetables as well as other locally-made goods and produce – market day in Elche is on a Monday.
Elche is famous for its palm trees. The Elche Palm Grove is an orchard with over 200,000 palm trees and has been proclaimed a heritage site by UNESCO in 2000.
Huerto del Cura (Priest’s Garden)
The Huerto del Cura or Priest’s Garden is a hidden gem especially attractive on a hot summers day as the hundreds of palm trees there provide some welcome shade from the scorching sun. Surrounded by busy city streets, this is a strangely tranquil place, the stone walls encircling it, blocking out much of the city noise.
Inside you will find hundreds of species of palm trees of varying sizes, culminating in the huge eight armed Imperial Palm, the pride of the garden, which is some 170 years old and is supported by metal straps which prevent it from collapsing under its huge eight tons of weight.
Rio Safari Park Elche
Wherever you are staying on the Costa Blanca a great idea for a day out or excursion is to travel to the Rio Safari Park. This family friendly animal park has many attractions including a ‘train’ ride and some entertaining animal shows including an elephant show, a parrot show and a sea lion show.
Feeding the animals is something your children will enjoy as much as yourself, with monkey nuts and carrots for sale in the park shop. Make sure your kids feed the giraffes and the hippo especially. You can also take a ride on a camel or a donkey and visit the farm animals section with cows, pigs, goats, horses and sheep.
History
