Eight fascinating facts about Spain’s Benidorm

Located
along
the
Costa
Blanca
in
eastern
Spanish
region
of
Valencia,
Benidorm
was
a
quiet
fishing
village
of
2,500
people
in
the
early
20th
century.

All
this
changed
in
1950
when
mayor
Pedro
Zaragoza
Orts
was
elected,
who
over
the
next
two
decades
developed
Benidorm
into
one
of
Europe’s
primary
holiday
spots. 

Bold,
brash
and
brilliant
Benidorm
is
now
famed
for
housing
more
foreigners
than
Spaniards,
British
residents
and
holidaymakers
in
particular
(there’s
even
a
British
TV
comedy
called
Benidorm).

The
city
of
67,000
inhabitants
is
loved
for
its
excellent
weather,
fine
beaches,
wild
nightlife,
British-style
bars
and
its
attractive
old
town.
No
wonder
16
million
tourists
visit
every
year.

For
those
of
you
who’ve
been
to
Benidorm
or
who
are
curious
about
it,
here
are
eight
things
you
might
not
know
about
Spain’s
most
famous
holiday
destination. 

Benidorm
was
the
first
city
in
Spain
to
allow
bikinis

Believe
it
or
not,
Benidorm
was
actually
the
first
city
in
Spain
to
allow
women
to
wear
bikinis
on
the
beach
in
1953.
Visionary
mayor
Zaragoza
famously
travelled
to
Madrid
on
a
Vespa
and
managed
to
convince
Spanish
dictator
Franco
that
it
was
necessary
for
tourism
and
that
the
German,
Swedish
and
English
tourists
would
not
want
to
cover
up
on
holiday.

Benidorm
beach
in
1960,
before
‘el
bikini’
became
a
mainstay.
Photo:
Luis
Fernández
Fuster
/
E.S.
Turismo
Huesca

It’s
the
city
with
the
most
skyscrapers
per
inhabitant
in
the
world

Move
over
Dubai,
with
26
buildings
over
100
metres
tall,
Benidorm
is
the
city
with
the
most
skyscrapers
per
inhabitant
in
the
entire
world.
The
tallest
building
in
the
city
is
currently
the
Intempo
building,
which
is
187
metres.
In
the
1950s
the
city’s
urban
plan
allowed
Benidorm
to
grow
upwards
rather
than
outwards. 

It’s
hard
to
believe
that
a
century
a
go
Benidorm
was
a
quiet
village
of
fishermen.
(Photo
by
JOSE
JORDAN
/
AFP)

There
have
been
hotels
there
for
100
years

The
popularity
of
Benidorm
is
by
no
means
a
recent
phenomenon.
Tourists
have
been
flocking
to
the
coastal
resort
for
the
last
100
years,
even
though
the
real
boom
didn’t
happen
until
the
1950s
and
60s.
In
the
1920s,
a
sailor
from
Benidorm
who
travelled
around
the
world
decided
to
open
the
first
hotel
in
the
city
–
the
Hotel
Bilbaíno.
Then
in
1934,
the
Hotel
Marconi
opened
its
doors.
Both
historic
hotels
are
still
open
today. 

You
can
read
more
about
the
history
of
Hotel
Bilbaíno

here.
Photo:
Hotel
Bilbaino

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Benidorm
is
considered
to
be
one
of
the
most
sustainable
cities
in
Spain

It
may
not
seem
like
it
at
first
glance
with
all
the
hordes
of
tourists,
bars
and
clubs,
but
Benidorm
is
actually
one
of
the
most
sustainable
cities
in
Spain.
It
occupies
little
space,
private
transport
is
hardly
used
and
most
trips
are
made
on
foot.
The
high
density
also
means
it
has
a
more
efficient
use
of
water
and
electricity.
According
to
Jorce
Olcina,
Professor
of
Regional
Geographic
Analysis
at
the
University
of
Alicante,
“Benidorm
is
the
most
efficient
municipality
in
Europe”,
with
“94
percent
efficiency”
in
water
management.

You
wouldn’t
expect
Benidorm
to
be
considered
a
sustainable
city.
Photo:
Volker
Glätsch/Pixabay
(Photo
by
JOSE
JORDAN
/
STR
/
AFP)

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It’s
the
city
with
the
most
tattooed
English
people
after
Sheffield
and
Birmingham

If
tattoos
are
your
thing,
it
looks
like
a
trip
to
Benidorm
should
be
on
the
cards.
Surprisingly
there
are
more
British
people
with
tattoos
in
the
Spanish
resort
than
in
many
cities
in
the
UK,
it’s
only
beaten
by
Sheffield
and
Birmingham.
If
you’re
out
and
about
on
the
beach
in
Benidorm,
see
how
many
you
can
spot.

How
many
different
tattoos
can
you
see
on
the
beaches
in
Benidorm?
Photo:
Eric
L’Heureux
/
Unsplash

Its
nightclubs
are
historic

Over
the
years,
the
city
has
been
home
to
some
legendary
Spanish
nightclubs.
In
1968
the
iconic
Penélope
was
inaugurated,
whose
logo
was
an
image
of
a
girl
with
a
hat
became
known
internationally.
Then
in
1970,
CAP
3000
opened,
in
a
building
shaped
like
a
UFO
that
had
the
first
laser
beam
in
Spain.
During
its
inauguration
party,
the
famous
band
Led
Zeppelin
played
there.
 

It
was
home
to
the
first
artificial
geyser
in
Spain

Benidorm
inaugurated
the
first
artificial
geyser
in
all
of
Spain.
It
was
built
in
1986
and
its
water
could
reach
up
to
100
metres
in
the
air.
Due
to
its
high
maintenance
costs
and
the
damage
it
caused
both
to
nature
and
nearby
buildings
through
erosion,
it
was
decommissioned
in
2014. 

The
Benidorm
Cross
is
meant
to
protect
the
city
from
sin

La
Cruz
de
Benidorm
is
located
at
the
top
of
the
Sierra
Helada
mountain,
one
of
the
most
popular
viewpoints
of
the
city.

The
reason
why
this
Christian
symbol
was
erected
there
in
the
first
place
is
because
the
Bishop
of
Orihuela
and
Alicante
at
the
time
of
Benidorm’s
transformation
into
tourism
mecca
wasn’t
a
fan
of
the
once-fishing
village
becoming
Spain’s
‘sin
city’.

He
threatened
mayor
Zaragoza
with
putting
up
a
banner
at
the
entrance
of
Benidorm
which
would
read
“Hell”,
but
instead
the
Catholic
leader
was
allowed
to
install
a
“cross
of
salvation”
high
above
the
town
in
1962,
so
that
locals
and
tourists
alike
knew
“God
would
be
watching
them”. 

The
cross
is
a
reminder
that
not
everyone
was
in
favour
of
Benidorm
becoming
a
playground
for
tourists.
Photo:
Kelvin
Koolmees/Unsplash

The
city
has
its
own
‘vampire’
legend

Benidorm’s
‘vampire’
was
less
of
the
Dracula
version
and
more
of
the
serial
killer
variety.
During
the
mid-1960s,
three
girls
were
murdered
along
a
highway
in
Germany.
The
top
suspect
was
Waldemar
Wohlfahrt,
who
owned
an
apartment
in
Benidorm.
He
was
eventually
arrested
for
the
murders
in
the
Spanish
city
and
spent
25
days
in
detention
in
Alicante.
People
called
him
the
vampire
because
of
his
German
look
of
pale
skin
and
blond
hair.
Wohlfahrt
was
quickly
released
as
there
was
another
murder
in
Germany
while
he
was
in
prison.
When
he
got
out,
the
German
made
the
most
of
his
newfound
fame,
dubbed
himself
‘El
Vampiro’
and
went
on
to
star
in
several
erotic
movies
and
even
released
a
song
about
Benidorm.