Things to do in Torrevieja

Local guide

About Torrevieja

Torrevieja is a town made of salt. Its two large lagoons, La Mata and Torrevieja, now form a natural park shared with Guardamar del Segura, Los Montesinos and Rojales, which together with El Hondo and the Salinas de Santa Pola completes a triangle of wetlands that is key for migratory birds. From those salt pans comes the salt that shaped the town's history and explains almost everything else.

Next to the harbour are the Eras de la Sal, the group of salt yards, quays and jetties laid out at the end of the 18th century to pile up the salt and load it onto barges out to the ships anchored in the bay. The Museo del Mar y de la Sal tells the story of that double seafaring and salt-making identity, and in the harbour you can visit the Delfín S-61 submarine, which the Spanish Navy donated to the town in 2004 and which became the first floating museum of its kind in Spain.

The other hallmark is music. Every July, the International Habaneras and Polyphony Contest, declared a Fiesta of International Tourist Interest, brings international choirs to the Teatro Municipal; in 2026 it held its 72nd edition with 15 choirs from 13 countries on four continents. Before the contest, Playa del Cura hosts an open-air habaneras concert.

The seafront is urban and very walkable. The Paseo Juan Aparicio, known as the Paseo de las Rocas, alternates sheltered bathing spots with monuments such as the sculpture of La Bella Lola, a tribute to the woman waiting for her sailor. Towards La Mata, the Parque del Molino del Agua offers pine woods, a waterfall and a replica of a 19th-century mill that ground grain and salt.

In winter, the town throws itself into its patron saint fiestas in honour of La Purísima, which culminate on 8 December with a solemn mass and procession. And every Friday, the big street market of about 500 stalls fills the grounds on Avenida Delfina Viudes. With a direct non-stop bus, Alicante-Elche airport is about 40 minutes away.

Things to do

Must-see places

1. Parque natural de las Lagunas de La Mata y Torrevieja: two protected salt lagoons, key for migratory birds, shared with three neighbouring municipalities.
2. Eras de la Sal: late 18th-century salt yards, quays and jetties from which the salt was shipped.
3. Museo del Mar y de la Sal: ethnological museum from 1995 about seafaring and salt-making Torrevieja.
4. Submarino Delfín S-61 (museo flotante): Spanish Navy submarine donated to the town in 2004, open to visitors in the harbour.
5. Playa del Cura: 375-metre Blue Flag fine-sand town beach, on Avenida de los Marineros.
6. Paseo Juan Aparicio (Paseo de las Rocas): seafront promenade with sheltered bathing spots and the sculpture of La Bella Lola.
7. Parque del Molino del Agua: pine woods with a waterfall and a replica 19th-century mill, next to La Mata beach.