Benissa is the largest town in the Vall de Pop and at its head - or tail - depending on your viewpoint! Sitting some 270m+ above sea level and on the N332 (A road equivalent), you can enter the town for example from Altea and Calp (formerly known as Calpe), using the N332 road which winds its way up the hill and into the town. If you take the time to stop and look from this side of the town, you will see the land fall away back down to Calp and the Peñon de Ifach rock, across a verdant landscape.

In the opposite direction, looking down the Vall de Pop, there is the magnificent backdrop of the Sierra Bernia (Serra Bernia - Valenciana) mountain range at nearly 1000m in height, which protects the Vall de Pop from the worst of the cold weather emanating from the high and sometimes snow-capped heartland of Spain around Madrid.

In my opinion, the town of Benissa feels somewhat French, with older townhouses lining the very edges of the main street (the town is soon to be circumvented by a ring road which is currently under construction). This Frenchness is helped by the fact that the locals speak in 2 different tongues - Valenciana, a local dialect and Spanish and French hybrid as well as mainline Spanish (or Castellano, from when Spain was known as Castile). As you turn off the busy, slightly grimy single main road through the town, you move into its quieter heart, where cleaner, well-preserved and prettier townhouses can be appreciated to their full glory. Details such as wrought iron-clad Juliet balconies - made pretty even for the pedestrians to enjoy when looking upwards as they are built with traditional ceramic tiles laid pavement-side down under  the balcony floors! Benissa itself has a well-cared for look and is always full of families enjoying leisure time together in hobbies such as ice-cream eating, paseando (walking) and chatting outside pavement cafes. Blessed with fountains, marble-paved seating areas, pretty municipal flower beds and childrens' play areas, the town welcomes all and is overseen by the magnificent central church, known as the Modern Cathedral.

The town's population of some 13500 is spread over a wide are of some 70km2 (less than 50 miles2). Benissa also has coastline to its name as the town reaches back down to the Mediterranean sea between Calp (Calpe) and Moraira. Here you will find many pretty calas or bays from which to choose. For prospective home buyers, this area provides a rich choice of properties with stunning views pretty much from wherever they are built. Apart from all the hobbies the sea can offer, the mediterranean climate lends itself to outdoor activities. Other interests include horse riding, Pelota Valenciana or Trinquet (a kind of tennis played without racquets) golf, walking, mountaineering, motorbiking, diving, kayaking, cycling, windsurfing and sailing.

Benissa, like the rest of Spain, loves its fiestas held to honour its patron saint/s. Benissa has fiestas pretty much throughout the year; the principle celebrations being in January, end of April, end of June and all weekends throughout July and August. Sometimes special fairs take place such as gourmet tours of the town's restaurants, where for little expense you can sample local food traditions.

Market day is Saturday.

Mainline station in Benissa. Airports are Alicante 65kms and Valencia 100kms (all approx). Connections to A7 autoroute (tolls apply) for Alicante and Valencia are next to Benissa, as is the N332/A road equivalent.