The Passeig de l'Esplanada d'Espanya is Alicante's most beloved promenade, a 500-metre ribbon of palms and patterned marble along the waterfront. Two hundred years ago, this stretch was underwater. The sea reached here until the city walls came down and the marina pushed the shoreline back.

Beneath your feet, six million tiles form a wave-like mosaic in white, deep blue and red. White for sand, blue for sea, red for the blood shed during the Spanish Civil War. That red marble is so distinctive it has its own trade name worldwide: Alicante Red.

The palm trees, supposedly 365, frame it all. The Peret kiosk has served ice creams since 1916, counting Hemingway among its customers. VoiceMap's self-guided audio tours use the Esplanada to trace Alicante's transformation from walled port to modern coastal city, connecting its tiles and grand facades to the stories of war, wealth and resilience that shaped them.