Benidorm

A fishing village with a castle that, in 70 years, became the city with the most skyscrapers per head in the world.

From fishing village to vertical city

c. 3000 BC
Fish hooks and net weights on the Tossal de la Cala show that people were already fishing here in the Neolithic.
2nd–1st c. BC
Iberians worship the goddess Tanit; the Romans run a fortified trading post on the Tossal de la Cala.
711
The Moors arrive. They shape the area until its conquest by Jaime I around 1245. The name probably dates from this period too: ‘Beni-’ means ‘sons of’ in Arabic.
1325
On 8 May Admiral Bernat de Sarrià issues the founding charter, the Carta Pobla. A castle and village grow up on the Canfali rock.
1448
Pirates raid the town and carry off most of its inhabitants into slavery.
1812
French troops occupy the castle, and the British fleet shoots it to pieces. Today the Balcón del Mediterráneo viewpoint stands on the site.
19th c.
Benidorm’s tuna fishermen are considered the best in Spain. The town has more than 230 boats and 70 captains.
1893
The first advertisement for sea bathers appears – in 1993 Benidorm celebrates ‘100 years of tourism’.
1952
The most important tuna trap closes; the catches have become too small.
1956
Under mayor Pedro Zaragoza the development plan is drawn up: wide streets down to the beach, plenty of open space around every building.
1959
The first Benidorm Song Festival, modelled on Sanremo.
1963
The height limit is lifted. Frontalmar and Torre Coblanca become the first high-rises.
1960s–70s
Charter flights bring Britons and Scandinavians; package holidays become a mass business.
1985
Torre Levante becomes the first building to break the 100-metre mark.
2002
The Gran Hotel Bali opens – at 186 metres, Spain’s tallest building.
2021
Intempo is completed after 14 years and overtakes the Bali as the tallest building.
2025
Benidorm celebrates 700 years of the Carta Pobla.
2028
At 230 metres, the TM Tower is set to become Europe’s tallest residential building.

Why so tall?

Like most coastal towns, Benidorm could have grown outwards: rows of apartment blocks, packed tightly together, stretching for kilometres. Instead, in the 1950s the town chose the opposite. Every building has to leave a large part of its plot open. In return, since 1963 it has been allowed to go upwards.

The result: lots of visitors on little land, short walks to the beach, and a sea view from almost every balcony. Today the city itself promotes this ‘vertical urban model’ as saving both space and energy. Popularly, Benidorm is known as the ‘New York of the Mediterranean’ or simply ‘BeniYork’.

Balcón del Mediterráneo with the church's blue dome on the Canfali rock — Photo: Diego Delso · CC BY-SA 3.0

What Benidorm is famous for

Three Blue Flag beaches – Levante, Poniente and Mal Pas – and more than 3,000 hours of sunshine a year.
The most skyscrapers per inhabitant in the world, and 33 buildings over 100 metres. Measured by area, Benidorm ranks second according to Spanish Wikipedia – only New York has more skyscrapers per square kilometre.
The Song Festival, held from 1959 to 2006, which made Raphael and Julio Iglesias famous. Since 2022 the town has hosted the Benidorm Fest, Spain’s national selection for the Eurovision Song Contest.
The Isla de Benidorm, the triangular island off the bay. Legend has it that a giant cut it out of the Puig Campana mountain with his sword.
Theme parks such as Terra Mítica, Aqualandia and Mundomar.
In 2018 Benidorm became the first city to receive the Spanish ‘Destino Turístico Inteligente’ (smart tourist destination) certification.

… and what it’s notorious for

The ‘British Strip’ in Levante: English pubs, full English breakfasts, football on big screens and cabaret until three in the morning. The British also call Benidorm ‘Blackpool with sun’.
Stag and hen dos: according to a British organiser, Benidorm is the most popular destination in continental Europe for stag and hen parties.
The Fancy Dress Party in November: more than 35,000 Britons celebrate in costume on the streets – by its own account, the biggest fancy dress party in Europe.
The ITV sitcom ‘Benidorm’ (2007–2018) turned the cliché of the cheap package holiday into a cult in Britain.
Its reputation as the birthplace of package tourism: charter flight, hotel block, pool, done.

Playa de Poniente in November 2021, Gran Hotel Bali in the background — Photo: Axel Voigts

The bikini anecdote

In the early 1950s, mayor Pedro Zaragoza allowed bikinis on the beach. When the Church threatened him with excommunication, he rode – so the story goes – some 500 kilometres to Madrid on his scooter to win Franco over in person. And came back with Franco’s blessing. The year is given as either 1951 or 1959, and the University of Alicante itself calls it a ‘myth’. Even so, the story is still told to this day.

Benidorm Island off the coast — Photo: Diego Delso · CC BY-SA 3.0

Notable people

Then

Bernat de Sarrià: The admiral founded Benidorm in 1325 with the Carta Pobla.
Pedro Zaragoza Orts (1922–2008): Mayor from 1950 and the father of the town’s tourism. He pushed through the 1956 development plan, founded the Song Festival and promoted Benidorm across Europe: in Stockholm department stores he handed out sprigs of almond blossom.
Juan Guardiola Gaya (1927–2005): The architect designed more than 30 high-rises in Benidorm, including Torre Coblanca, and so shaped the early cityscape.
Raphael and Julio Iglesias: In 1962 Raphael won no fewer than three first prizes at the Song Festival. Julio Iglesias launched his international career here in 1968 with ‘La vida sigue igual’.
Sticky Vicky (1943–2023): The cabaret performer appeared in Benidorm from the early 1980s until 2015, up to six times a night, and became a legend of the British Strip.
Pere Maria Orts i Bosch (1921–2015): The town chronicler researched the Carta Pobla and the history of the town.

Now

Joaquín Luis Pérez Crespo († 2026): The founder of the Gran Hotel Bali built what was then Spain’s tallest building without a bank loan.
Guillermo Amor: The Benidorm-born footballer played for FC Barcelona for ten years and won 37 caps for Spain. The stadium bears his name.
The Martínez Munuera brothers: Juan is a referee in Spain’s top flight and for FIFA, Miguel an assistant referee. Both were born in Benidorm.
Johnny Vegas, Sheridan Smith and the ‘Benidorm’ cast: The ITV series made its actors stars in Britain and turned Benidorm into a place people longed to go.
Chanel: She won the first Benidorm Fest in 2022 and finished third for Spain at the Eurovision Song Contest.

Julio Iglesias, 1970 — Photo: Eric Koch / Anefo (Nationaal Archief) · CC0 1.0

A Benidorm street at night with large rings of light above the road — Photo: Axel Voigts

Figures and curiosities

From around 2,800 inhabitants in 1950 to more than 77,000 in 2025.
In 2024 the town welcomed 2.8 million visitors, with 15.5 million overnight stays. In 2023 a good four in ten hotel guests were British.
Around 97,000 tourist beds – in Spain only Madrid and Barcelona have more.
The island is known as the ‘Isla de los Periodistas’ because it appeared in so many photos. Fishing rights used to alternate daily: odd-numbered days for Benidorm, even-numbered days for Villajoyosa.
In 1986 Benidorm built Spain’s first artificial geyser, up to 100 metres high. It was switched off in 2014.
More than 300 films are set in Benidorm.