A long due review - the city of Torrevieja #100. Torrevieja (Spanish: "Old Tower) is a city in the province of Alicante, Spain that originally was a salt mining and fishing village (current population is some 100k). The city grew rapidly in the nineties, becoming one of Europe's top "residential tourism" and "lifestyle migration" destinations (lots of vacation homes and few hotels). People from everywhere suddenly decided "This is the most awesome place on Earth!!!" and flocked the area (Mediterranean sea, not too hot, never cold, inexpensive). As a result Torrevieja became the only city in Spain where the majority of the population are not Spanish (Some 48% are Spanish and the rest are British, Russian, German, Swedish, Moroccan, Romanian, Bulgarian, Norwegian, Ukrainian, Belgian etc. Source: Wikipedia). Some live here all year round, some come for vacations, some are always in between. Torrevieja is sometimes referred to as "La Playa de Madrid" (The Madrid Beach), because the poor "madrileños" are locked inland without a beach of their own. This is the place where they go on holiday. The micro-climate here is often cited as one of the best in Europe - the city is surrounded by the sea and two large salt lakes (Salinas de Torrevieja y La Mata). According to one urban legend the World Health Organisation named Torrevieja the healthiest place in the world to live (I never found any proof of that, I tried hard). There are some things you just have to believe - just come and breathe the air! Many places in Torrevieja have multiple names in different languages, all of them being commonly used, don't get confused. Example: There are "Playa de La Mata" and "The La Mata Beach" listings on Yelp at the time of writing. In other cases there are multiple variations even in Spanish. Example: Salinas de Torrevieja y La Mata, Lagunas de Torrevieja y La Mata, Lagunas Saladas de Torrevieja y La Mata - all meaning the same - the two salt lakes. You can reach other cities of this corner of Spain in 30-50 minutes by car - Alicante, Orihuela, Murcia, Elche, Cartagena. Torrevieja is probably the best place to stay and explore the area around. Real estate. There was a real estate bubble in the area that started in the eighties and ended in 2008. Housing prices rose 3x then dropped by some 20-30%. Construction almost stopped for a year or two. Things are back to normal since 2010 - thousands of new homes were built (and sold really fast). Construction sites are everywhere and prices don't fall anymore. Also the Euro fell a lot to other currencies during the recent years, great time to buy :) Some places to visit in Torrevieja: - The beaches (there are several beaches, my favorite is the La Mata beach) - Paseo Maritimo (an esplanade along the Mediterranean sea) - Plaza de la Constitución (old square with a church in the downtown) - Las Salinas (natural reserve park, two salt lakes) - Aquapolis (water amusement park) - Habaneras Shopping Center (shopping) - Golf courses (several of them within 15 minutes by car) - Alingui Restaurants (three of them, best value for money in my opinion) - Discoteca Velice (large, newly built, popular among locals and tourists) - Auditorio Internacional de Torrevieja (a concert hall) Best time to visit: all year round is fine but you won't want to swim from late October to late May. August is the month when Spain arrives. It's the busiest time - can be fun, but will pay more for your stay and wait longer everywhere. Action plan for those who don't want to visit anything (this is what many people really do): 1) Rent an apartment or a villa (not a hotel) for several days 2) Load up with food and wine (Mercadona, LIDL, Carrefour) 3) Enjoy your stay PROCEED WITH CAUTION: lots of people get addicted, buy a second home here and never return to where they came from. read more

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