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Altea property search
Properties for sale in Altea
Altea is the rare coastal town that works in February as well as August. A whitewashed old town on the hill, a long palm-lined seafront below, and a working Spanish community behind both. Browse apartments, villas and townhouses across the town and its surrounding hillsides.
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Local insight
Understanding Altea's separate halves
People say "Altea" and mean four quite different places. The casco antiguo is the old town on the hill, cobbled and steep, crowned by the blue-tiled dome of Nuestra Señora del Consuelo — beautiful, walkable, and largely without parking. Below it runs the seafront, with the promenade, the pebble beaches and the apartment blocks facing the water. Inland and above sit Sierra de Altea and the hillside urbanisations, where the plots are larger and a car is essential. Then there is Altea la Vella, the older village further inland, quieter and more Spanish. Which of these you buy in matters far more than the specification of the house.
Quick FAQ
- Is Altea a good place to live year-round?
- It is one of the better choices on this coast for it. Unlike the purely seasonal towns, Altea keeps restaurants, shops and a resident Spanish population through the winter.
- What is the difference between Altea and Altea la Vella?
- Altea is the coastal town with the old town and seafront. Altea la Vella is an older village a few kilometres inland — quieter, more Spanish, and consistently better value.
- Can I walk everywhere in Altea?
- In the old town and along the seafront, yes. Anywhere on the hillsides above, no — those areas are designed around cars and the gradients are steep.
- Is parking difficult in the old town?
- Yes, and it is the single most common complaint from people who buy there. Some houses have a garage or a nearby space, and those command a real premium.
- Does Altea have good transport links?
- Better than most towns here. The coastal tram stops in Altea and runs to Benidorm and Alicante, and the airport is around 50 minutes by car.
- What kinds of property are available in Altea?
- Seafront and near-seafront apartments, characterful old town houses, hillside villas in Sierra de Altea and the urbanisations, and more affordable homes inland in Altea la Vella.
What each part of town costs
Altea spans a genuinely wide range, and the variation is driven by position rather than by size. Apartments on or near the seafront are the most liquid part of the market, and a frontline unit with a sea-facing terrace holds its value well. Old town houses are a category of their own — small, characterful, often needing work, and priced on charm and rarity rather than square metres. The hillside villas in Sierra de Altea and the surrounding urbanisations occupy the upper end, where plot, orientation and view set the number. Altea la Vella is consistently the best value in the municipality, and the trade is distance from the sea rather than any drop in quality.
Who Altea suits
Altea attracts people who want a real town rather than a resort, and that self-selects the buyers. A large group are Northern and Eastern European couples buying for semi-retirement, drawn by the fact that restaurants stay open in January and there is a Spanish population that lives here year-round. A second group wants walkability above everything — they buy in the old town or within a few streets of the promenade, accept the parking problem, and never regret it. A third buys on the hillside for views and space, and drives everywhere. Altea has also had an artistic reputation for decades, which shows in the galleries and the number of residents who moved here for the light.
Getting around Altea
The town sits on the N-332 between Benidorm and Calpe, which makes it well connected without being on a motorway. Alicante–Elche airport is roughly 50 minutes; Valencia is about an hour and forty. Calpe is fifteen minutes north, Benidorm the same to the south. Altea has its own tram stop on the coastal line, which runs to Benidorm and on to Alicante — genuinely useful, and rare on this stretch of coast. Within the town, the seafront and old town are walkable to each other if you do not mind the climb. Everywhere above the N-332 needs a car. The Sunday market on the seafront and the Tuesday market are both worth planning around.
Practical notes on buying in Altea
Two things catch buyers out here. In the old town, many houses are protected or sit within the conservation area, which restricts what you can change externally and sometimes internally — establish this before you fall in love with a renovation project. On the hillsides, check whether the property is connected to mains drainage or runs on a septic tank, as older builds outside the urbanisations sometimes do. More generally, ask whether any terrace enclosure or extension was formally registered; unregistered work is common along this coast and surfaces at resale rather than at purchase. You will need an NIE number if you are buying from abroad, and we would always recommend an independent lawyer rather than one suggested by the seller.