If you're one of those people  who delights in being suddenly and unexpectedly spoken to in German ...then Dénia will be heaven for you. The place has also suffered from the excessive enthusiasm of the building trade ...making it difficult to photograph and leave an impression that Dénia is pictureque.

The 'sculpture' (top left) is to be found in the middle of a roundabout on the very busy main road that runs immediately parallel with the beach.

The southern end of the beach (above) is best looked at facing directly out to sea or towards the headland ...in this way you can avoid looking at the rather overcrowded marina and ferry docks right next to it.

There are a few waterfront cafés and bars the other side of the busy main road and a sort of tourist-orientated mini street market (above and right). Dénia has a proper street market once a week and a Rastro (flea market).

Dénia is also home to one of the more colossal mistakes in property development. The northern end of town has serried ranks of streets built at right angles to the sea front that contain almost nothing more than holiday properties. The beach itself is long, straight and featureless and I would characterise this area as not only ugly but dead. To see how to make a long and straight beach interesting, visit Gandía. 

Away from the seafront, Dénia has few main roads and a network of sidestreets in which it is possible to get lost with comparative ease. This street (left) is about the most picturesque  ...made so by the overhanging broadleaved trees.

On the next page you will find pictures of the seating area at the top of this road.