Alcossebre is the coastal part of the municipality of Alcalà de Xivert (Baix Maestrat, Castellón), on Spain's Costa del Azahar, with around 2,000 year-round residents and more than 10 km of coastline. It's a town made for walking: the centre, the seafront and the main beaches are only a few minutes from one another. This route starts in the centre, where the Mare Nostrum apartments are, and you can do it in stages as you please.
1. Plaza Vista Alegre, the heart of town
Plaza Vista Alegre is Alcossebre's social hub: palm trees, café terraces and shops all around. This is where you'll find Tourist Info Alcossebre (Plaza Vistalegre s/n), a partner information point for the Serra d'Irta Natural Park, where you can pick up maps, routes and the current events listings.
It's a good spot to start the morning with a coffee and to come back to at sunset, when the whole town comes out for a stroll. Between August and September, Alcossebre and Alcalà de Xivert celebrate the festivities of St John the Baptist, the main fiestas of the municipality.
2. The seafront promenade and Cargador beach
From the centre it's a couple of minutes down to the seafront promenade and Cargador beach (Carregador), Alcossebre's main town beach. It is about 850 metres long and 70 metres wide, with fine sand, and it's fully accessible.
Worth knowing:
- It has held a Blue Flag every year since 1987.
- It has a dune system of high ecological value, with a colony of sea daffodils: please keep out of the fenced-off areas.
- There's a sailing club and paddleboard hire.
The promenade is the natural place for an evening stroll and for dinner overlooking the sea.
3. The Senda Litoral to Romana beach
South of Cargador the Senda Litoral begins, a wooden boardwalk along the sea that takes you to Romana beach. It's a flat, pleasant walk for all ages, ideal first thing in the morning or as the sun goes down.
Romana beach is about 500 × 40 metres, with fine sand, good accessibility and a Blue Flag too. If you fancy carrying on, further south are Moro beach and then Tres Platges and Manyetes.
4. Heading north: marina and lighthouse
To the north, a long walk or a short drive away, is Las Fuentes, with its beach of freshwater springs and the marina, home to the Club de Vela Alcossebre sailing club. Further north still, at Cala Blanca, stands the Alcossebre lighthouse, at the southern gateway to the Serra d'Irta Natural Park.
Official park trails start from the lighthouse, such as route 2 (Faro d'Irta - Cala Cubanita - Font de la Parra, 12.8 km, easy). If the walk there and back feels too long, you can drive to Cala Blanca and walk from there. Bear in mind that in summer you need to book a parking space in the official GVA Parcs Naturals app to drive along the park's coastal track.
5. Day trip to Alcalà de Xivert and its bell tower
Alcalà de Xivert, the main town of the municipality, is about 9 km from Alcossebre (around 12 minutes by car). It deserves a morning.
Its star monument is the church of St John the Baptist, built between 1736 and 1766, with an octagonal bell tower 68 metres high, raised between 1784 and 1803 and considered one of the tallest in the Valencia region. You can see it from afar as you approach the town.
In the old town you can also see:
- The Gate and Square of St John (Puerta y Plaza de San Juan).
- The Casa del Metge.
- The chapel of the Virgen de los Desamparados.
- The Calvario hermitage.
And up in the hills, inside the natural park, Xivert Castle, of Moorish origin and later altered by the Knights Templar.
For lunch, look out for tomata de penjar, the local hanging tomato of Alcalà de Xivert, grown here for over a century, or local dishes such as oven-baked rice (arroz al horno) or suquet de peix fish stew.
A town with a history
Behind this walk is a town that a century ago was a hamlet of fishermen and farmers with little more than two hundred inhabitants. If you're curious about how summer holidays began here, from the old Hotel Sevilla to the boom of the 1960s, we recommend this look at the history of Alcocéber and its tourism.
A one-day walking plan from the centre
| When | Plan |
|---|---|
| Morning | Coffee in Plaza Vista Alegre and a swim at Cargador beach |
| Midday | Lunch in the centre or overlooking the seafront |
| Afternoon | Senda Litoral to Romana beach and back |
| Sunset | Stroll towards Las Fuentes and the marina |
| Another day | Trip to Alcalà de Xivert and its bell tower |
For up-to-date opening times, visits and events, check the official Alcossebre tourism website. And if you're looking for somewhere to stay in the centre to do this route, take a look at the apartments for groups and families.