The name Torrevieja literally means "old tower". Torrevieja as a town dates from the early 18th century when it was a fishing village built around one of the watchtowers that flanks the Costa Blanca coastline. Today it's one of the fastest growing cities in Spain due to tourism. Many Spanish and other European citizens have a holiday home in the city.
There are many English-language newspapers including The Leader, Round Town News, Coastrider and the regional Costa Blanca News. They all have on-line editions. There are also numerous magazines, several radio stations and even a TV station.
El Altet airport (Alicante) about 40 km north and San Javier airport (Murcia) some 25 km south of the city.
Alicante RENFE train station and Murcia RENFE train station are the closest. From there take the bus.
National mainroad 332 Alicante-Cartagena, Levante motorway Madrid-Alicante, Mediterranean motorway Alicante-Murcia, A-37 motorway Alicante-Cartagena, regional mainroad CV-90, provincial road 3321.
Passenger transport companies which have direct routes to Torrevieja: ENATCAR-ALSA[http://www.enatcar.es/VentaParticulares/contenidoHorarios.jsp], Costa Azul[http://www.costazul.net/Lineatorreviejaingles.htm], Vega Bus, Continental Auto and La Inmaculada.
Torrevieja has a large harbour for private yachts and small sight-seeing boats offer cruises around the coastline and to the nearby island of Tabarca, but there are not any passenger ships sailing to Torrevieja. Nearest passenger port is in Alicante.
Due to its small size it's easy to walk around the city. Costa Azul operates few bus lines connecting most important parts of Torrevieja. Taxis are plentiful and also plentiful are car rentals, alltough during peak tourist season it might be very difficult to find free parking places anywhere close to center.
One of Torrevieja's claims to fame is its football club or to be more accurate its amazing supporters - amazing in both their numbers and the passion they show. Although only in the Tercera they have crowds that teams two divisions above would be pleased with. The most amazing fact is that perhaps as much as 75% of the spectators are expats. Full details at [http://www.fctorrevieja.com ]
Torrevieja offers a wide range of shopping opportunities. It contains about 2,500 shops dedicating to fashion, furniture, accessories, the home, buying and sale of property, textile, leather, interior design, electronics and gifts. The main national and international brand names in fashion, design and electronic technology are well established in Torrevieja.
Opening times range between 10AM and 10PM from Monday to Saturday, although a number of shops are open every day of the week.
The street market is an alternative to traditional commerce and in them you can obtain numerous objects for decoration, textiles, clothing, interior design, craft, animals, footwear and horticultural produce at very reasonable prices. The main market is held every Friday near the city centre. It is one of the largest outdoor markets (mercadillo) in Europe and it has over 1200 stalls. Be there immediately at 9AM, the streets will be packed with people.