Santa Bárbara Castle
Alicante, Spain
Open to visitors
The interior is normally open, possibly ticketed.
Strollie cannot guarantee access — always check before you travel.
- Opening hours
- Mo-Su 10:00-20:00
- Wheelchair access
- Accessible
From OpenStreetMap — confirm before travelling
Find out more
Perched atop Mount Benacantil at 166 metres above sea level in central Alicante, Spain, Santa Bárbara Castle is a fortification whose strategic location overlooking the entire bay and surrounding land gave it commanding importance. The mountain's distinctive profile—resembling a face when viewed from the beach—earned it the epithet "the face of the Moor" and established the castle as an iconic landmark of the city. Designated a property of local cultural relevance (*bien de interés cultural*), the castle's name and location hold etymological roots in Arabic, with historians tracing the place name to *bena*, derived from the Latin *peña* (rock), and *laqanti*, an Arabic reference to Alicante itself.
- Type
- castle
- Heritage
- Property of Local Relevance, bien de interés cultural
- Place
- Alicante, Spain
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Location