La Vila Joiosa

Properly referred to in Castillian Spanish as Villajoyosa, this seaside town is known to its Catalan-speaking inhabitants as La Vila Joiosa - or even simply as "La Vila". The name sounds as if it might be loosely translated as Happyville, but in fact it means something along the lines of a Jewel of a Town. This is actually not a bad description of the place. For a start, it is situated in such a way as to be sheltered from the cold winter mistrals; thus it enjoys a micro-climate and is sunny and warm throughout the year. More importantly, from the photographers point of view, the town is also picture-postcard pretty.

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Having, for untold centuries, been nothing more than a quiet fishing port, "La Vila" is now also a tourist destination. Since it lacked the vital amenity of a strip of golden sand one was imported - by the lorry load - and deposited on the erstwhile rocky foreshore. The beach is definitely an asset, being as popular wih the locals as with holiday-makers, but the fishing port is still the town's raison d'etre, and the walled old-town, at the opposite end of the new playa, is still untarnished by any modern developments.

La Vila Joiosa is just north of Benidorm, in the province of Alicante and the region of Valencia (Spain).


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