You can walk up to the castle through the old district, or through the park further up the Calle Toledo for a fantastic view from the ramparts.
The central market is five minutes walk from our house on the Avenida Alphonso X El Sabio. Behind the market and plaza are some good bars for eating and drinking and the nearest supermarket called Mercodonna on the Calle Juan Herrera close to the junction with Calle Pintor Velasquez.
There are hundreds of bars and restaurants all over Alicante to discover yourself but three close to the house we recommend:
The Taberna Iberico is diagonally opposite our house just down the steps has very good quality Iberian food, both tapas and main meals in the bar or separate restaurant.
The Taberna de Charly, Charlies Bar just fifty metres up the Calle Toledo from our house has very good Morrocan food. the bar is small but you can sit outside.
Antonios Bar and Restaurant is in the Calle San Rafael which is off the top of The Plaza del Carmen (this plaza is at the beginning of the Calle Toledo). This bar has very good quality Spanish tapas and main meals, it gets very popular but there is a large indoor dining room and a lot of tables outside at the front.
For those interested in local fiestas, Alicante holds its annual Hogueras fiestas towards the end of June. There is also Semana Santa (Holy week) with a spectacular procession on the Wednesday before Good Friday and the Cruces de Mayo fiestas in the Barrio de Santa Cruz around the 1st of May.