Villajoyosa: colourful houses, Valor chocolate museum and beach

They say the fishermen of Villajoyosa (La Vila Joiosa in Valencian) painted their houses in bright colours so they could recognise them from the sea when sailing home. Legend or not, the result speaks for itself: a row of yellow, blue, pink, green and ochre houses stacked above the river mouth, giving the town one of the most cheerful silhouettes on Spain’s whole Mediterranean coast. Add a long beach and an old chocolate-making tradition, and you have a perfect day just ten minutes from Benidorm.

The colourful houses

For the best view, stand on the other side of the river or on the beach, facing the old quarter: the colourful façades line up above you like a painter’s palette. Then climb into the old town, a maze of narrow lanes, little squares and steps where getting lost is a pleasure.

View over Villajoyosa, its houses and the coast from the hills — Villajoyosa, between the sea and the hills, a few minutes from Benidorm. Diego Delso · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Chocolate, a family business

Villajoyosa is also a chocolate town. Several factories started here, and the best known, Valor, has opened a chocolate museum on its premises. The guided tour (about 45 minutes) combines the history of cocoa, a sensory room, a film and a view into the factory, before ending… with a tasting. And the best news: admission is free.

Old cocoa mill on display at the Villajoyosa chocolate museum — The Valor chocolate factory and an old cocoa mill on display in the museum. Tamorlan · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia CommonsTamorlan · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons

The beach and seafront

The long, sandy town beach stretches out below the old quarter. The seafront is lined with terraces, ideal for a fish or rice lunch facing the colourful houses. Further south and north, wilder coves await anyone with a car and a taste for exploring.

Our tips

Come on a weekday morning if you want to visit the Valor museum: tours are free, so popular, and places per tour are limited.

Take the tram: Alicante’s TRAM line between Alicante and Benidorm stops in Villajoyosa — handy for avoiding summer parking headaches.

Save your camera for the end of the day: the warm evening light makes the façade colours pop.

Nearby

To the north, Altea and its blue domes; to the south, Alicante and its castle. For a thrill-packed day, Terra Mítica is close by. And to keep the tasty theme going, read our articles on markets and tapas.