In the historic Mediterranean port city of Alicante, in southeastern Spain

 "The rain will stop, the night will end, the hurt will fade. Hope is never so lost that it can't be found."

-- Ernest Hemingway
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(in the Autonomous Valencian Community of Spain) The historic Mediterranean port of Alicante is also the capital of the province of Alicante in southeastern Spain. From urban beaches to epic nightlife, Alicante offers a Mediterranean mix of action and relaxation. Add in a palm-lined esplanade snaking along the harbor and a Moorish castle looming above, and it is one of the most dynamic spots on Spain’s sun-drenched Costa Blanca. Among all of Spain's mainland provincial capitals, Alacante is the most influenced by tourism, thanks to the nearby airport and resorts. Nevertheless it is a dynamic, attractive Spanish city with a castle, old quarter, and a long waterfront. The dining scene here is exciting and the nightlife is legendary, whether you are chugging pints with stag parties in the evening or still twirling on the dance floor with locals many hours later. (On a weekend night it is incredibly busy, and buzzy all-year-round.

+ On Alicante Bay of the Mediterranean Sea, Alicante was founded as Akra Leuke (“White Summit”) by Phocaean Greeks (from the west coast of Asia Minor) in 325 BCE; it was captured in 201 BCE by the Romans, who called it Lucentum. Under Moorish domination from 718 to 1249, it was called Al-Akant. It was later incorporated into the kingdom of Aragon and was besieged by the French in 1709 and by the Federalists of Cartagena in 1873.

+ The city is dominated by Benacantil Hill and the citadel of Santa Bárbara (the earliest foundations of which date from 230 BCE). Arrabal Roig, the Old Quarter, overlooks the bay from the heights known as the Balcón del Mediterráneo (“Mediterranean Balcony”). Notable landmarks in Alicante include the Baroque Town Hall, the Church of Santa María, and the Renaissance collegiate church of San Nicolás de Bari.

+ Alicante now serves as the commercial port of Madrid and has excellent road, rail, and air transportation facilities. Its main products are wine, raisins, vegetables, esparto grass and tomatoes, bricks, cigarettes, aluminum utensils, and furniture. Local commerce and services are the main economic activities of Alicante. Its mild climate makes it a winter resort, and the beaches of the Costa Blanca (part of the Mediterranean coast) are a popular tourist attraction. 

+ The Canalobre caves are a natural treasure hidden on the northern slopes of the mountain ridge known as Cabezón de Oro (literally, "big golden head"). The cave contains a wide variety of speleothems, including stalactites, coralloids, stalagmites, flowstones, draperies, columns, helictites, gours, spars, crusts and flowers. (Most are formed of calcite, though some in the lower areas are sulfate-based.)