Many visitors to the Costa Blanca province of Alicante will see little more than beaches, bars and restaurants at the resort where they stay. The Costa Blanca tourism industry flourishes in an idyllic climate, and cities like Benidorm are incredibly popular with tourists from all over Europe looking for sun, sea, sand and a reasonably priced summer holiday. Along the Costa Blanca coastline, this is exactly what you will get.

Just 15 km inland and a few km from Alicante airport is the historic city of Elche (Elx in Spanish). Today, Elche is an active industrial city, with a range of products including rubber, footwear, olives, dates and other agricultural products, as well as tourism.

Elche was previously occupied by the Romans, the city is most famous for its palm plantations (Palmeral de Elche), which is the largest palm plantation in Europe. The area covers around 3.5 km/sq of palm trees with more than 11,000 palm trees, with many new ones germinating every year. In the center of Elche is the Parque Municipal (Municipal Park) which contains a museum and amazing subtropical gardens. These gardens are carefully managed and are very popular with visitors. The hot and dry climate of the Costa Blanca region allows for the growth of a wide variety of subtropical plants, including some very large cacti that are on display in the gardens. For more information on the opening hours of the Municipal Park consult the Elche Tourism website.

From the Municipal Park it is possible to walk to the less managed areas of the plantation, which have not changed much in the last two thousand years. Plantations date back to Roman times, and possibly even earlier, as the area was developed as early as the 5th century BC. C. by the Carthaginians. Some of the individual palm trees are up to 300 years old. Most of the palms are date palms (phoenix dactylifera)), which were harvested for the fruit (the date), which was a staple of the Roman diet. The date fruit was also used to make wine. Walking through the palm grove of Elche, it is easy to forget that you are in Europe, it is easy to imagine that you have been transported to a subtropical rainforest.

There is a regular bus service from Alicante to Elche, so if you are on holiday on the Costa Blanca and want to visit a place of outstanding beauty with easy access to the main tourist centres, Elche is definitely worth a visit. In summer, temperatures can be warmer inland than on the coast, so drink plenty of water or stop at one of the many cafes and restaurants Elche has to offer.