Visiting Villajoyosa, Spain: Top Sights on Foot

Villajoyosa, also known as La Vila Joiosa, is a coastal town in Spain’s Province of Alicante, in the Valencian Community. Its colourful seaside homes, historic centre, archaeological sites and chocolate-making tradition make it a distinctive stop on the Costa Blanca. Neywo has a free audio guide for Villajoyosa with 14 narrated places, available in 11 languages.

What to see in Villajoyosa

The best things to do in Villajoyosa bring together local history, Roman archaeology, religious heritage and the town’s connection with chocolate. The following sights offer a practical route through its most important places.

Valor Chocolate Museum

The Valor Chocolate Museum is attached to the Valor chocolate factory, offering an introduction to the history of one of Spain’s best-known chocolate makers in the place where the chocolate is produced. Its exhibits trace chocolate-making in the region from the factory’s beginnings in 1882 to the present day.

The factory marked its 125th anniversary in 2006, an occasion attended by the Princes of Asturias. Visits to the museum and factory are offered periodically, so guided tours need to be timed according to the schedule.

Casa Museo la Barbera dels Aragonés

Casa Museo la Barbera dels Aragonés, usually called La Barbera, is a historic house museum that opened in 2005. It belonged to the Aragonés family, wealthy landowners whose members held political and military positions from the late Middle Ages through the nineteenth century.

The house dates from the end of the sixteenth century and was substantially renovated in the mid-eighteenth century, when its front section was added. The ground floor was used for servants’ quarters and estate administration, while the first floor served as a second family residence. The family’s connection with a Templar knight is reflected in its coat of arms, whose cross appears on objects throughout the house.

Vilamuseu

Vilamuseu is Villajoyosa’s municipal museum and brings together the story of the city from ancient times to the modern day. It occupies the former Álvaro Esquerdo public school, an eclectic-style building whose original façade has been preserved.

The museum’s collection began in 1973 with archaeological, ethnographic, paleontological and mineral objects, many donated by local residents. After its earlier facilities closed in 2010 for cataloguing and relocation, the current museum opened in November 2016 in a 4,500-square-metre building.

Roman thermae of Allon

The Roman thermae of Allon are the remains of public baths built for the ancient Roman municipium of Allon. Construction took place between 85 and 110 AD, after Emperor Vespasian granted Allon municipium status in 73 or 74 AD.

The baths were discovered in 2007 near what was probably the city’s forum, in the area that now corresponds to Plaza de la Generalitat. They provide an important glimpse into the Roman history beneath modern Villajoyosa.

Church of Nostra Senyora de l’Assumpció

In the historic centre, the Church of Nostra Senyora de l’Assumpció combines religious and defensive architecture. Built in the mid-sixteenth century during the reign of Philip II, it served both as a place of worship and as a fortress against pirate attacks.

The original building dates to 1558 and has a single nave in the Catalan Gothic style, with six sections, a polygonal apse, chapels between the buttresses and a bell tower. The apse formed part of the town’s defensive walls and included arrow slits, later used by soldiers with firearms. Inside, the dim lighting and sparse decoration create a solemn atmosphere.

La Vila Joiosa Walls

The remains of the La Vila Joiosa Walls reveal how the town was fortified in the sixteenth century. The defensive enclosure once surrounded the entire city, with four round towers, two towers beside the entrance gate and a castle at the western end.

Today, the surviving section lies in the northwestern part of the old town. One round tower stands at Plaza de la Generalidad and another on Calle del Pal. The latter has the largest floor plan of the original towers and includes a stone-built cannon emplacement. Other protected foundation remains can also be found in different parts of the city.

Tower of Saint Joseph

About three kilometres northeast of Villajoyosa, near the ancient city of Allon, stands the Tower of Saint Joseph, also known as the Tower of Hercules. This Roman funerary tower dates from the second century and has been recognised as a cultural heritage site since 1990.

Its rectangular structure rests on a five-level stepped podium. The central body has corner pilasters and smooth wall panels, while the upper section visible today was probably added in the eighteenth century. Archaeological remains found around the tower include Corinthian capitals and fragments of an architrave.

Santuario de la Malladeta and Torre de la Malladeta

The Santuario de la Malladeta is an ancient sanctuary on a coastal promontory about two kilometres south of Villajoyosa. The site was established around the middle of the fourth century BC, when the area formed part of the Iberian settlement of Alonís.

Terracotta figurines and incense burners suggest a connection with the Mother Goddess, identified by the Carthaginians as Tanit. Around 100 BC, the earlier structures were replaced by a complex of rooms built into the hillside. Excavations have uncovered nine rooms on the eastern slope and five on the western side. The summit remained sacred into the Roman period, and the Torre de la Malladeta now marks this historic landmark.

Villajoyosa’s chapels

Several smaller religious buildings add quieter stops to an exploration of Villajoyosa. The Ermita de Nuestra Señora de La Salud offers a glimpse into the town’s religious heritage, while the Ermita de Sant Antoni contributes another historic detail to the townscape.

Minnekirken – Norsk kirke, the Norwegian Church, reflects the international community that has made this coastal town its home.

A Villajoyosa self-guided walking tour

For a structured visit, Neywo’s walking route connects six of the town’s main sights: the Valor Chocolate Museum, Casa Museo la Barbera dels Aragonés, Vilamuseu, the Roman thermae of Allon, the Church of Nostra Senyora de l’Assumpció and the La Vila Joiosa Walls.

The walk covers 1.64 km and takes approximately 53 minutes, with six narrated stops. It is a practical way to explore Villajoyosa’s historic centre while linking its chocolate tradition with its Roman and defensive past.

Villajoyosa is part of the Valencian Community, a region with many different landscapes and historic towns. It also makes a useful stop while exploring Spain or combining the Costa Blanca with nearby destinations such as Benidorm and Alicante.

Download Neywo and explore Villajoyosa at your own pace

Download Neywo to explore Villajoyosa with one walking tour: “Chocolate, Romans and Pirate-Proof Walls”. The route is 1.64 km long, lasts 53 minutes and includes six narrated stops.

The app tells the story of each place as you reach it, at your own pace, with no group and no schedule. The free Villajoyosa audio guide includes 14 narrated places, with narration available in 11 languages.