Spain | A Day Trip to the Palm Groves of Elche

If you've ever holidayed in Alicante, Benidorm or anywhere in the Costa Blanca region, you may have heard of Elche? If not - you'll want to! Elche is more inland than the typical destinations, but only a short drive from the main resorts, you'll find the city's incredible palm groves.

Couple walking through palm groves in Elche

Containing over 200,000 palm trees, the palmeras de Elche were declared a UNESCO world Heritage Site in 2000. I'd seen stunning pictures of the groves and thought the city would make the perfect day out, so we loaded up the hire car and headed out.

Elche's Municipal Park

Parking by the train station, we found ourselves right next to the Parc Municipal which gave us our first glimpse of the palms and made for a lovely, tranquil walk - and photo op! There are various ponds and fountains, sculptures and even a band stand around the park. Not to mention a visitors centre known as el huevo or "the egg".

One thing we did struggle with in Elche was finding out where's good to eat. I couldn't find many recommendations online so we ended up just having a walk across the bridge and settling down at a random cafe called La Reposteria - where we enjoyed some tasty but overpriced tapas! If you know of any must try eateries, please let us know in the comments below.

You'll pass the Palacio de Altamira and don't forget to look down and admire the street art as you walk across the bridge!

Basillica de Santa Maria, church in Elche

Looking out from the bell tower rooftop, Elche

The view from Basillica de Santa Maria, Elche

Basilica de Santa Maria

Built on the same site as the previous mosque from Moorish times, the Basilica of Santa Maria is well worth a visit on your trip to Elche. Entrance to the church itself is free but you can also climb the bell tower for just 2 euros, which I highly recommend doing. Its a bit of a hike up the 170 steps but the panoramic view of the palm grove is unrivalled!

On the rooftop of the bell tower in Elche

There are a couple of photography exhibitions on the way up the tower, but the rooftop view is definitely the star of the show. It's open 11am-7pm in the summer and until 3pm during winter.

Jardin Huerto del Cura

My absolute favourite spot in Elche was Huerto del Cura or the Priest's Orchard. We paid 5 euros to enter the gardens which was well worth it. Not only will you find yet more palms, but a plethora of cacti, succulents and other subtropical plants. Also - turtles!

The Lady of Elche is a limestone bust which was found in the area back in 1897. It's now on display at a museum in Madrid but naturally you'll find many references to it as you explore Elche.

Of all the palm trees in Elche, the imperial palm in Huerto del Cura is probably the most photographed. It's actually one palm tree, but with 7 "children" palm tees growing out of it!

We really enjoyed our day in the city of palms. It's only a 30 minute drive from Alicante city, and I highly recommend finishing your day trip watching the sunset in nearby Santa Pola...