Santa Maria Magdalena
Alcoy Balcony
Alicante Central Market
Art nouveau Alicante
Santa Maria church
Alicante with docked yachts
Central market of Alicante
Santa Maria Magdalena
Old town of Alicante
Santa Barbara Castle
Beautiful Alicante and its atmospheric old town
Day trip to modernist Alcoy
Superb MUBAG Museum of Fine Arts
The Gaudi-inspired, hill-top St Mary Magdalene Sanctuary
Alicante’s fantastic Central Market
The latest brainchild of Art Nouveau and Modernist expert, Prof Anne Anderson is to her beloved Spain and the much underrated , Mediterranean city of Alicante. On this five day tour, we’ll get to admire the Art Nouveau architecture in the heart of the city’s historic centre, as well as day trips to the town of Alcoy on the European Modernist Route, and nearby Novelda with its unique Sanctuary of St Mary Magdalene, and its Catalan Modernist interior. Anne will be on hand throughout to provide her enlightened commentary as well as two inspirational lectures.
Available Departures |
From |
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| 02 - February - 2026 | £ 1749.00 | Travel Info Book Now |
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Provisional Timings London Gatwick Departing: 02nd February 2026 at 10:50 Returning: 06th February 2026 at 15:05 |
Day 1: Fly from London Gatwick to Alicante
Fly from Gatwick to Alicante and transfer by coach on arrival to Hotel Serawa in the city centre for a four night stay.
Day 2: Alicante and MUBAG Museum
This morning, Anne will lead us on a walking tour of Alicante, focussing on its myriad of fine Art Nouveau buildings, including the Modernist-inspired Central Market building. We’ll also visit the superb, but little known, MUBAG Museum of Fine Arts, which houses an excellent collection of art and sculpture from the Alicante region in the historic 18th century Palacio del Conde de Lumiares. Time for lunch (own expense) and an afternoon free to further explore independently, perhaps to visit the Castle of Santa Barbara which looms over the city, or the atmospheric port area, An early evening lecture from Anne Anderson: ‘Modernisita architecture: an introduction’, followed by dinner with wine at a local restaurant within walking distance of the hotel.
Day 3: Novelda and Sanctuary of Mary Magdalene
Our first venture out of the city is inland to the town of Novelda, which is home to the Modernist House Museum, built and designed by acclaimed Modernist architect, Pedro Martinez, between 1900 and 1905. It preserves perfectly, the decoration and functionality of the Modernist style from the early 20th century. Lunch at a local restaurant, then to the hilltop, Gaudi inspired Sanctuary of Mary Magdalene, reminiscent of La Sagrada Familia in Barcelona, which offers magnificent views over the surrounding landscape. Return to Alicante for an evening talk by Anne Anderson: ‘Modernisme: from Fortuny to Picasso’ followed by a dinner with wine.
Day 4: Alcoy
Our second foray out of Alicante takes us an hour north to the town of Alcoy, which was flourishing in the early 20th century thanks to the Industrial Revolution and embraced the new Art Nouveau or Modernist style of architecture with gusto. Our guided walk will take in some of the most important Modernist and Industrial buildings that date from this period, including the Casa del Pavo (exterior only) built between 1908 and 1909 by architect Vicente Pascual Pastor (1906-1908) with the help of Fernando Cabrera Cantó (1866-1937), one of Alcoy’s greatest 19th-century painters, who used the house as his studio. Return to Alicante for the evening at leisure.
Day 5: Return flight to London Gatwick.
Free time this morning then transfer by coach to Alicante Airport for the return flight to London Gatwick.
NB: Exact order of excursions may vary according to local conditions and tour manager's discretion.
Please note the maximum group size on this tour is 25 passengers.
INCLUDED
NOT INCLUDED
Hotel Serawa, Alicante
Stylish, modern four-star hotel, located in the heart of the city offering a bar, cafe, restaurant and terrace. The bright comfortable bedrooms are modern and feature en-suite bathroom with toiletries, air-conditioning/heating, hairdryer, TV, safe, and telephone.
Prof Anne Anderson BA PhD FSA
With a first degree in archaeology and a PhD in English, Anne was a senior lecturer in Art and Design History at Southampton Solent University for 14 years from 1993 to 2007. She specializes in the Aesthetic Movement, Arts and Crafts, Art Nouveau and Modernism. She has published several books, including The Perseus Series, which accompanied the Edward Burne-Jones exhibition held at Tate Britain (2018), and Art Nouveau Architecture (2020). She has also published over 50 articles in respected academic journals. Anne has curated four national exhibitions, mostly recently Beyond the Brotherhood The Pre-Raphaelite Legacy (2019-20). American fellowships held include the Huntington Library, CA and the American Antiquarian Society, MA. She has lectured for The Arts Society, The Art Fund, the V&A Learning Academy, the National Trust and Christies’. Her career as an international speaker has taken her all over the world, including Spain, Germany, New Zealand, Canada and the USA. She undertook her sixth lecture tour for Arts National Australia in 2024. She has also lectured on several cruise ships, Swan Hellenic’s Minerva, the Spirit of Adventure and the Hebridean. Anne leads Art Nouveau tours in Europe (Nancy, Lille, Antwerp, Turin and Ljubljana) and Arts and Crafts/William Morris Tours in the UK.
Anne has received a rapturous response from or customers at the many Travel Editions UK lectures and tours as well as a host of tours overseas and her knowledge, wit and enthusiasm bring her beloved subjects to life in whatever location. View Anne's tours here.
A very interesting introduction to the Modernisme of Alicante and neighbouring towns. This is more fragmentary than the star locations eg Nancy, but Anne A managed her usual magic of providing interest wherever we were. Excellent tour guide in Helène; ideal group size. Second evening meal poor.
Review by Petch who travelled 03-February-2025
Review by Anonymous who travelled 03-February-2025
And another success.
Review by Anonymous who travelled 03-February-2025
Lunch in Alcoi & Novelda must be pre-booked as places close over our lunch hour. Absolute highlight was the Casa-Museo in Novelda. (need a shop-break!) Commentary & lectures very good. Weather in Feb was a little disappointing. Fab meals & hotel.
Review by Stewart who travelled 03-February-2025
It all seemed to be over too quickly. Lovely weather!! An extra free day would be nice. I found out that there are interesting Roman remains in Alicante, but there was no time to fit anything else in.
Review by Anonymous who travelled 03-February-2025
