Alicante or Alacant is a city in Spain, the capital of the province of Alicante and of the comarca of the Alacantí, in the southern part of the Valencian Community. It is also a historic Mediterranean port.

Alicante is one of the fastest-growing cities in Spain. The local economy is based upon tourism to the beaches of the Costa Blanca and particularly the second residence construction boom which started in the 1960s and reinvigorated again by the late 1990s. Services and public administration also play a major role in the city's economy. The construction boom has raised many environmental concerns and both the local autonomous government and city council are under scrutiny by the European Union. The construction soar is the subject of hot debates among politicians and citizens alike. The latest of many public battles concerns the plans of the Port Authority of Alicante to construct an industrial estate on reclaimed land in front of the city's coastal strip, in breach of local, national and European regulations. (See Port of Alicante for the details).

The city is the headquarters of the Office for Harmonization in the Internal Market and a sizeable population of European public workers live here.

University of Alicante is located in San Vicente del Raspeig, right next to Alicante. More than 30,000 students attend the University.

Since 2005 Alicante hosts Ciudad de la Luz, one of the largest film studios in Europe. Spanish and international movies such as Asterix at the Olympic Games by Frédéric Forestier and Thomas Langmann, Manolete by Menno Meyjes have been shot there.

Wikipedia articles for Alicante

• Alicante
• San Nicolas Cathedral, Alicante
• Alacantí
• Gravina Museum of Fine Arts
• Basilica of Santa Maria, Alicante
• Castle of Santa Bárbara
• Mount Benacantil
• Alicante railway station
• Port of Alicante
• Archaeological Museum of Alicante
• Centro de Tecnificación de Alicante
• Estadio José Rico Pérez
• Autovía A-31
• Alicante Tram
• Lucentum