Well worth your consideration when you are thinking of buying a Costa Blanca property is Javea, a portside town home to about 30,000 residents, half of whom are from overseas.
To get the feel of this popular resort, and the Javea properties available, you can start by wandering through the town’s narrow streets where you will find lovely old townhouses built from Toscan sandstone. These properties tend to be found around the town’s 15th-century Gothic church of San Bartolome. Due to careful town planning, no high-rise building permits are granted in Jávea, which explains its attractive landscape, a sharp contrast to nearby Benidorm.
El Puerto, the old port of the village of Javea, has made few concessions to tourism. Traditional whitewashed houses are plentiful around the bay, and it’s an ideal location to enjoy a drink and tapas in one of the outdoor cafes while watching the local fishermen bring in their catch.
Among the delights of this area and a much-sought location among after property buyers in the town are the lower slopes of the majestic mountain of Montgó.
Unfortunately, with so much development and construction, the mountain’s slopes no longer yield so many of the wonderful medicinal herbs that the area used to be famous for. At the start of the 10th century, a Moorish Caliph called Abdur Rahman III travelled from Cordoba to the slopes of Montgó with the sole purpose of collecting more than 100 of these herbs. Nowadays, people spend a long time scouring the slopes for the possibility to find just a few.
All around Montgó, the valley and the surrounding hills can be found evidence of some of the earliest Neolithic settlements known in the western Mediterranean area. The settlements dated back from about 3000 BC and on into 500 BC, relics of which can be found in the Javea Museum, including tools, jewellery, and pottery.
In fact, in the centre of Javea itself, evidence of life thousands of years ago has also been found. An old late 17th-century house was pulled down, and archaeologists invited in to examine the foundations. What they found was quite astonishing: the house was built on top of the site of an old Bronze Age farm, of which were quite surprisingly preserved two cabins and some silos. Close by, yet another home was demolished and revealed the remains of a home from the 14th century, including a well, a cistern, and a collection of coins and ceramics.
The wealth of history is not the only attraction to Javea; it also boasts a lively nightlife, with a good choice of cafes, bars, restaurants, and clubs. The stunning beaches are the ideal backdrop to various water sports like snorkelling, scuba diving, water-skiing, windsurfing, kayaking and more.
Javea is close to the larger towns of Alicante and Benidorm, where the shopping facilities and nightlife are even more lively and upbeat. In fact, there is something for everyone in this beautiful area, whether you prefer a quiet relaxing vacation or a non-stop party.
The climate in Javea is ideal; in fact, it was recommended by the WHO (World Health Organisation) in 1986 as being among the healthiest in the world, both summer and winter. With an average of 325 days or 3,000 hours of sunshine annually, this is an ideal area for holidays at whatever time of year. The average temperature over the full year is above 20°.
Javea is the ideal place to visit, and for the many who have already made the move, a place to return to for good.
