Alicante (Alacant) is the provincial capital and the urban heart of the Costa Blanca, set beneath the Santa Barbara castle on the Benacantil hill. Its old quarter, the Barrio de Santa Cruz, climbs in tiers below the fortress, while the palm-lined Explanada de Espana and the city beaches of Postiguet and San Juan front the sea. It is the region’s main transport hub and the gateway to the island of Tabarca.