Markets in Benidorm

Staying in the Old Town (Casco Antiguo) puts you closest to the local markets and within easy walking distance of the seafront. The Hotel Presidente is a solid mid-range option right in the thick of things, while the Magic Aqua Rock Gardens suits those who want more resort-style comfort without straying too far from the action.

Between them, Benidorm's five markets sell antiques, books and magazines, clothing and textiles, footwear and leather goods, handicrafts, jewellery, and fresh fruit and vegetables. That is a wider mix than a resort town of this size usually manages, and the produce stalls are worth catching in the first hour.

The largest is El Cisne Flea Market, with 80 stalls, which is where the antiques and second-hand books are concentrated. The others are smaller neighbourhood markets.

Wednesday carries four of the five markets. Thursday, Saturday and Sunday each have three, Monday and Tuesday two, and Friday is the quietest with two trading. Every market runs weekly on a confirmed day, so nothing here appears only on irregular dates.

Opening times are consistent across the city: most stalls are set up by 9am and trading winds down at 2pm, which leaves the afternoon free for the beach. If you are moving along the coast, the province page lists what is running elsewhere in Alicante on the same day.

Wednesday is the main market day in Benidorm, when four of the city's five street markets trade. The rest of the week is covered too: three markets run on each of Thursday, Saturday and Sunday, and two on Monday, Tuesday and Friday. No day of the week passes without a market somewhere in the city.

Benidorm's street markets open at 9am, the common start time across all five. Stallholders are unpacking before that, so arriving early costs you nothing and the fruit and vegetable stalls are at their best in the first hour. Each market keeps the same hours every week rather than shifting with the season.

Benidorm's street markets close at 2pm. Traders begin breaking down a little before then, so the last half hour is thin on choice even if the haggling gets easier. With a 9am opening, that gives you a five-hour window, and a market morning fits comfortably before lunch.

No, Benidorm has no municipal market. All five of the city's markets are street markets running on a weekly schedule between 9am and 2pm, selling fresh fruit and vegetables alongside clothing, footwear, handicrafts, jewellery and antiques. The biggest of them, El Cisne Flea Market, has 80 stalls.