Villajoyosa doesn’t get the attention Benidorm or Altea do, which is exactly why it’s worth the detour. Fishermen once painted their harbourfront houses in bright colours so they could spot their own home from the sea, and that stretch of colour, known locally as La Vila, is still the first thing anyone photographs here. Add three kilometres of Blue Flag beach, a chocolate industry going back to the 17th century, and a fifteen-minute train ride from Benidorm, and it’s an easy half-day or full-day trip that most visitors on this stretch of coast skip entirely.

Villajoyosa at a Glance

Local name: La Vila Joiosa (Valencian), often shortened to “La Vila”
Population: around 34,000, more in summer
Distance from Alicante: 32 km
Distance from Benidorm: 8 km
Coastline: just over 3 km of beach, with Blue Flag status
Getting there by train: the Alicante–Dénia TRAM Line 1 stops at Creueta, about 400 metres from the chocolate museum
Market day: Thursdays, with a Sunday flea market and a daily fish market at the port

The Colourful Old Town

Walk into the old quarter from Plaça de Sant Pere and the narrow streets open onto the seafront row of houses in blue, yellow, pink and ochre. The tradition dates back to when fishermen needed to identify their own house from out at sea, and a hung sheet or cloth could signal news to their family before mobile phones existed. The old town, a Site of Cultural Interest, still keeps its 16th-century defensive wall fragments, the Gothic-origin Church of Nuestra Señora de la Asunción, and the “Cases Penjants” or hanging houses in the northern part of the quarter.

The Chocolate Museum

Villajoyosa’s chocolate story goes back to the 17th century, when the port was one of the main entry points for cocoa arriving in Europe from Venezuela and Ecuador. Four chocolate makers still operate in the town today (Valor, Pérez, Clavileño and Marcos Tonda), but the one set up for visitors is the Valor Chocolate Museum, opened in 1998 at Avenida Pianista Gonzalo Soriano, 13.

Cost: free
Duration: about 45 minutes
What’s included: a walk through the history of cocoa and the Valor brand, a view over the packaging area, and a tasting in the shop afterwards
Booking: individual visitors should book online or collect same-day tickets early at the kiosk, since capacity per tour is capped
Getting there: a 5-minute walk from Creueta TRAM station

It’s a museum experience rather than a working factory tour — you won’t see chocolate actually being made — but the tasting at the end and the free entry make it an easy stop.

Vilamuseu and the Roman Ruins

Vilamuseu, Villajoyosa’s municipal museum network at Carrer Colón, 57, holds over 3,000 years of local history, including the exhibition on the Bou Ferrer, a sunken Roman ship considered one of the most important underwater sites in the Mediterranean.

General admission: €3 (reduced €1.50 for groups, students and large families)
Free entry: Sundays, and for under-18s, over-65s and people with disabilities
Closed: Mondays, 1 and 6 January, 1 May, 29 July, and 24, 25 and 31 December

Vilamuseu also manages several outdoor sites around town, including the Torre de Sant Josep (also called the Hercules Tower), a 2nd-century Roman funerary tower and one of the best-preserved of its kind in Spain, next to Camping El Torres, and the Torre de l’Aguiló watchtower, part of the old coastal defence system against Barbary corsairs, with views over the whole Marina Baixa region.

Beaches

Villajoyosa’s beaches run along more than 3 km of coastline with Blue Flag status:

  • Platja Centre (Central Beach): the main town beach, closest to the centre, with the colourful houses as a backdrop
  • Platja del Paradís: a quieter stretch heading toward Benidorm
  • Platja de Torres: further along, with clearer water and less crowds, near the Torre de Sant Josep

For more of the region’s beaches, the wider Costa Blanca guide covers what’s nearby in both directions.

Getting There

By car, Villajoyosa sits just off the N-332 and the AP-7 (exit 66), about 8 km from Benidorm and under 35 minutes from Alicante–Elche Airport. The TRAM Line 1 running between Alicante and Dénia stops right at Creueta, making it one of the easier towns on this coast to reach without a car — see the guide to public transport on the Costa Blanca for routes and timings.

When to Visit

Villajoyosa’s biggest event is its Moros y Cristianos festival with the Desembarc beach landing, running from 24 to 31 July, when Vilamuseu switches to shortened hours (10:00–14:00) and closes entirely on 29 July for the Santa feast day. Outside fiesta week, the town is at its calmest — and the museums keep their normal hours — in spring and autumn.

If you’re staying nearby, the town also makes a natural stop between the beaches of Benidorm and the walking routes of Sierra Helada, both a short drive away.