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Cehegín perches gracefully on a hillside overlooking the river. Its elegant, well-preserved old quarter, with a swathe of medieval churches and mansions bearing coats of arms, still displays vestiges of its aristocratic past. The best views of the surrounding country are from a balustraded viewing point at the top.

A carnivore’s delight, this friendly local restaurant specializes in succulent meats such as kid and lamb, simply grilled over charcoal.

Chocoholics should make a pilgrimage to the seaside town of La Vila Joiosa (Villajoyosa), which has been making chocolate for almost 300 years. A museum devoted to the subject is run by Valor, one of the biggest chocolate-makers in Spain. Best of all, it offers tastings.

A favourite with the Brits, this brash, raucous pub hosts legendary karaoke nights which pack in the punters, plus theme nights and lots of competitions. Tacky but fun, in true Benidorm style.

The Baroque style at its most ornate and overblown.

Alcoi, still a busy industrial town, has several Modernista buildings. The Círculo Industrial (1868) was one of the earliest. Particularly worthy of note are the flowing ironwork and ceramic details in its fine salons and library. Designed as a cultural centre, it still hosts art exhibitions and the occasional concert.

The little fishing village and tourist resort of Bolnuevo boasts a fine, dark sandy beach and a series of beautiful coves to its south, reached by a winding road which hugs the cliff. These secret coves are well off the beaten track, and as a result they are popular with naturists. Behind the main beach is the Ciudad Encantada, an “enchanted city” of bizarre rock formations eroded by the wind and sea into extraordinary shapes. You can enter this strange, pale city and watch the rocks melt magically into faces, cathedrals or animals as you pass between them.

The pale stone cliffs behind Bolnuevo Beach have been shaped over time into an extraordinary “enchanted city”; it doesn’t take much to see towers and castles in the creamy swirls of rock, some of which are poised on impossibly thin pedestals.