Things to do in Jávea / Xàbia

Local guide

About Jávea / Xàbia

Xàbia sits between two capes and a mountain. To the north, Cabo de San Antonio drops into the sea in cliffs that in places exceed 150 metres; to the south, Cabo de la Nao marks the southern end of the Gulf of Valencia with an octagonal lighthouse that came into service in 1928. Behind, the Montgó closes off the landscape. Xàbia is on the most protruding point of the east coast and about 90 kilometres from Ibiza: on clear days you can make out the island's outline from the capes.

That geography creates a very different coast along each stretch. The Playa del Arenal, sandy and with a Blue Flag, is the most urban. To the south, the Granadella is a gravel cove you reach by going down through a forest park, and off the Portitxol inlet lies the island of the same name, a round islet of just over eight hectares where archaeological remains have been found.

The old town is centred on the church of San Bartolomé, a fortified Valencian Gothic church built in local tosca stone, which in the Middle Ages served as both church and defence. A few steps away, the Museo Soler Blasco, housed in a mansion, covers the archaeology and ethnography of the municipality.

The fiesta calendar is long and very seafaring. In June there are the Fogueres de Sant Joan, in July the Moros y Cristianos of Duanes de la Mar and, at the end of August, the fiestas of the Virgen de Loreto, with the «bous a la mar» (bulls in the sea) in the harbour. Every Thursday the weekly street market fills the Plaça de la Constitució and the streets around it, and the Mercat Municipal opens morning and afternoon.

Xàbia has no TRAM of its own: the nearest station is in Gata de Gorgos. The Alicante and Valencia airports are about 100 and 113 kilometres away, and Dénia is only 8.

Things to do

Must-see places

1. Parque natural del Montgó: 753-metre massif between Xàbia and Dénia, protected since 1987.
2. Cabo de San Antonio: cliffs of more than 150 metres above a marine reserve, between Xàbia and Dénia.
3. Faro del cabo de la Nao: 20-metre octagonal lighthouse, in service since 1928, at the southern end of the Gulf of Valencia.
4. Playa de la Granadella: gravel cove of about 160 metres, reached through the Granadella forest park.
5. Isla del Portitxol: 8.3-hectare islet next to Cabo de la Nao, with archaeological remains.
6. Playa del Arenal: Blue Flag sandy town beach with a seafront promenade.
7. Iglesia de San Bartolomé: fortified Valencian Gothic church, built in tosca stone.
8. Museo Soler Blasco: municipal archaeology and ethnography museum in a mansion in the historic centre.