During a trip to Alicante it’s well worth setting aside a day to go shopping in its shopping centres to freshen up your wardrobe, buy some clothes in the city’s shops to show off later on the beach, or enjoy a culinary treat in its markets and street markets. Whether it’s for pleasure or necessity, there’s no lack of shopping options. Would you like to go shopping with us in Alicante?
Shopping centres in Alicante
Avoiding the summer heat or sheltering from the cold and rain if it’s cooler are good reasons to visit a shopping centre in Alicante. Add to this the convenience of finding all the shops just a few metres away, being able to have a snack in their restaurants, and even enjoying a varied range of leisure activities, and you have no excuse not to go. These are the best shopping centres in Alicante!
Gran Vía Alicante Shopping Centre
With more than 20 years of history, it opened in 1998, it can boast being one of the oldest shopping centres in the city and one of the most important in the whole province. Despite its history, it seems as if the time hasn’t passed due to its wide range of fashion, leisure and restaurants. You can get there by car, bus, or even by walking from the city centre in around 40 minutes. In the Gran Vía Shopping Centre in Alicante you will find more than 100 shops, among which you will find a hypermarket, shops related to fashion, leisure, home and restaurants.
Plaza Mar 2 Alicante
In the heart of the city, a few metres from the Palacio de Congresos, the Archaeological Museum of Alicante and just 15 minutes’ walk from Postiguet beach, you will find this modern shopping centre, which was one of the last in the city to open. Plaza Mar 2 stands out for its shops, restaurants, 16 cinema screens and great services. If you travel to Alicante with children, they will be able to enjoy the workshops and activities in this place, and if you travel with older people, they even offer a wheelchair rental service. There are several information stands, packaging stations, rest areas… In short, its modern facilities make it the ideal space for a day of shopping with the family.
Puerta de Alicante Shopping Centre
At the other end of the city there is another shopping centre that serves the neighbourhood of Florida, in the west of Alicante. Somewhat smaller than the previous ones, this space has a large hypermarket, cinema and gym. However, the range of shops isn’t as broad, so if you’re looking for shopping rather than leisure, other options may be more suitable.
The Outlet Stores Alicante Shopping Centre
And finally, a little further away in the area of the Santa Isabel neighbourhood you can find this outlet, a paradise of bargains for Alicante residents and tourists who drop by (parking is free). What can you find there? Great offers and discounts in famous fashion, sport, accessories, home and technology shops… Children’s areas, leisure and dining, and large and well-kept outdoor spaces, so that you enjoy shopping in unbeatable surroundings.
Shopping in the centre of Alicante
Sightseeing and, at the same time, finding an excuse to indulge is easy in a city like Alicante. In the centre, its streets combine small, old-fashioned businesses with large retailers and fashion chains. If you want to get straight to it and head for the shopping hubs in Alicante, be sure to visit these three areas:
Calle Gerona and calle San Francisco
Beginning your trip on calle Gerona you will find an endless number of shops specialising in different types of dresses. Because Alicante, and especially this area, is the best place to find the perfect look for your next event.
Walking towards calle San Francisco, besides seeing the characteristic giant mushrooms that decorate the pavement, you will be able to purchase traditional gastronomic products, such as wine, nougat and cheese, and fashion items and accessories in the small and picturesque shops alongside all kinds of bars and restaurants. There’s a reason why this is one of the liveliest areas in the city.
Central Market, Rambla Méndez Núñez and Explanada de España
This great avenue, popularly known as La Rambla, divides the old town from the centre and connects it to several important areas for your day of shopping: the Central Market and the Paseo de la Explanada de España.
The Central Marketis a fantastic market full of supplies in which to buy the finest gourmet products. Almost 300 stalls, inside and outside the market, where you can try some of the typical products from Alicante: nougat from Jijona, chocolate from Villajoyosa, bread from Elche and some fruits with denomination of origin like the Mollar pomegranate, or medlar from Callosa d’en Sarrià.
Once on La Rambla, with its wide pavements and benches, you will see people walking around at any time of day, enjoying its shops and making some strategic stops at its busy restaurants, cafés and ice-cream parlours to recharge their batteries. Leaving behind its modernist façades you’ll reach the Explanada de España, a lovely walk by the sea where during the hottest months of the year a famous craft market is set up with stalls selling clothes, leather goods, decorative items, gifts and the perfect souvenir of your visit to the city.
Maisonnave Avenue
If you’re looking for the biggest and most famous fashionable shops, Maisonnave Avenue is the right place to look, undoubtedly the most commercial and bustling place in all Alicante. From the Plaza de Calvo Sotelo to the Glorieta de la Estrella, along its approximately 500 metres, you can find everything from department stores to bars and restaurants, banks, and as in every big Spanish city, two large El Corte Inglés buildings, presiding over each end of the avenue.
