Touring Alicante's Castle, MARQ and MACA
The main attraction in Alicante does not sell tickets at all, which throws off anyone budgeting for a day of sightseeing here the way they would in Madrid or Seville.
The castle costs nothing
Castillo de Santa Bárbara, the 9th-century Arab fortress crowning Mount Benacantil, is free to enter in full: walls, ramparts, and the MUSA museum halls inside. The only fee in the complex is the tunnel elevator opposite Postiguet Beach, at €2.70 a ride. For a guided version of the same ground, Alicante Turismo runs official dramatized night tours through the old cisterns and powder magazines on summer evenings, €5.00 to €8.00 per person, booked through castillodesantabarbara.com , or a private e-bike castle and old town tour covers the castle and Santa Cruz together with a guide.
MARQ, an award-winning archaeological museum
MARQ , on Plaza Dr. Gómez Ulla, won European Museum of the Year in 2004 for galleries that walk visitors from prehistoric settlement through Roman Lucentum to the Islamic and modern periods. General admission is €6.00, and an €8.00 combined ticket also covers the Roman site at Lucentum, La Illeta dels Banyets in El Campello, and the Almudaina Tower, four sites on one ticket.
MACA, free and stronger than the price suggests
MACA occupies the 17th-century Casa de la Asegurada on Plaza Santa María and holds a genuinely notable 20th-century collection, Picasso, Miró, Dalí and Juan Gris included, donated by local sculptor Eusebio Sempere. Entry is free, and the Basílica de Santa María sits right next door if you want to pair the two.
The Ocean Race Museum at the port
Muelle de Levante hosts the world headquarters of The Ocean Race, with a free museum covering navigation, ocean conservation and a retired racing yacht on dry dock. A sailing simulator that puts you through simulated Southern Ocean swells costs €3.00 extra.
The Turibús, only half the year
The hop-on hop-off bus loops between the castle elevator, MARQ, Mercado Central and Puerta del Mar for €10.00, but it only operates from March 19 to December 8 and pauses daily between 13:00 and 16:00. Anyone visiting outside that window should plan on walking or the local bus network instead.
Before you go
MARQ and MACA both close Mondays, so build museum days between Tuesday and Saturday. Tickets for MARQ and the castle’s dramatized tours are best bought a day or two ahead in July and August, when queues at the door run longest. For a self-guided walking route through this same core, see the walking tours guide .