When you look across the Plaça del Castell in the morning, where the blue of the Mediterranean flirts with the skyline, it becomes clear that Benidorm is not like any other place. This city - or rather, this village with a metropolitan feel - stands for change, contradiction and willpower like almost no other place in the Marina Baixa.
A medieval start with maritime roots
The history of Benidorm officially began on 8 May 1325, when a certain Admiral Bernat de Sarrià signed the Carta Pobla - a document that granted the settlement at the foot of Punta Canfali city rights. Today, an artistic book bench on the Paseo de Colón commemorates this historic moment. A monument - yes, but also a symbol of the fact that history is not a museum piece here, but part of everyday life.
Between nets and fog: The legacy of the fishermen
What today gleams in concrete and glass used to have salty skin and rough hands. Generations of fishermen defined life in Benidorm - especially in the 18th and 19th centuries. The so-called almadraba, an elaborate method of tuna fishing, was the livelihood of many families. Fish were still caught on a large scale off the coast until 1952. Some Benidormers set sail as captains, others made a name for themselves as privateers - with a royal licence and the courage to confront others.
If you walk through the alleyways of the old town today, you can still feel the breath of the old seafarers - and hear about sea adventures in some bars that are better than any Netflix series.
Two beaches, one idea: Everything for a sea view
Benidorm would not be Benidorm without its coastline. Over five kilometres of the finest sandy beach divide the city - to the east is Playa de Levante, vibrant, lively and urban. To the west is Playa de Poniente, quieter, more informal, with over three kilometres of golden sand. In between is the small Cala del Mal Pas - an insider tip for those who prefer a more intimate setting. More sea is hardly possible.
Residents, guests, buildings - everything grows vertically
Around 75,000 people now live in Benidorm all year round. But that's only half the truth. In 2024, the city counted more than 2.8 million tourists - with over 15 million overnight stays. Most of these come from the UK, followed by national tourism from Madrid, the Basque Country and Aragón.
How do you fit so many people into a limited space? With the courage to be tall. More than 300 high-rise buildings - some over 150 metres high - characterise the skyline. Not by chance, but by design: the legendary general development plan of 1956 laid the foundations for a vertical city with open spaces, light, air and above all: space for everyone.
City with a statement - between digitalisation and monument preservation
If you think it's all about deckchairs and happy hour, you're wrong.
Benidorm is investing heavily in digital infrastructure, smart urban planning and sustainable water management - topics that others are still debating, while at the same time celebrating the city's 700th anniversary in 2025 with concerts, theatre plays, stamps, exhibitions - and a bank that looks like a book.
The local flavour also remains visible: in the Plaça de Sant Jaume, the medieval Carta Pobla is re-enacted by amateur actors, accompanied by traditional instruments - and one hundred percent in Valencian local colour.
Loved, hated, misunderstood: The Benidorm paradox
There are few places on the Spanish Mediterranean coast that polarise as much as Benidorm. For some, it is an overcrowded concrete juggernaut, the epitome of mass tourism with too much glass, noise and English on the menus. For others, it is the exact opposite: lively, colourful, inclusive - a city where anything is possible. Between these extremes lies the reality, and anyone who gets involved soon realises: Benidorm has charm. Sometimes hidden away in the alleyways of the old town, sometimes out in the open on the quiet promenade of Poniente or over a coffee in a family-run chiringuito away from the main avenues.
Benidorm is not subtle - but it is honest. And that is a rare commodity.
The lesson of Benidorm? Flexibility
Benidorm is many things: a monument to modern tourism, a laboratory for the urban future, a prime example of how to constantly reinvent itself. But above all, it is a place that has never stopped being a village - even if today it looks like a miniature version of Manhattan with a sea view.
And that is precisely why Benidorm is not just any place in the Marina Baixa. It's a chapter in itself. Or rather: a whole book.
▶ Number of inhabitants (2024): approx. 75,000
▶ Annual visitors (2024): approx. 2.8 million
Overnight stays (2024): over 15 million
▶ Nickname:
Manhattan del Mediterráneo
▶ Largest high-rise building:
Intempo Tower (198 metres)
▶ Anniversary:
700 years of town charter since 1325
▶ Main beaches:
Playa de Levante (2 km, lively)
Playa de Poniente (3 km, quieter)
Cala del Mal Pas (small bay)
Altea - Between history, art and Mediterranean light Part of the new CBM series „My village“ - a search for clues in places that are more than just postcard idylls. Whitewashed houses,
