‘La Platja de la Grava’ or ‘The Gravel Beach’, is a 300m long, mostly pebble and gravel beach, located at the forefront of the Javea Port. ‘La Grava Beach’ is popular amongst locals for an early morning swim and general relaxation, presumably due to its close proximity to all the necessary amenities required to make for a perfect day at the beach!
What to do La Platja de la Grava
What isn’t there to do… La Grava Beach has it all! Sunbed and umbrella rental is available at this beach, as well as the opportunity to rent watersports equipment such as kayaks and paddleboards to make the most of your time on the water. There is also a scuba centre located no more than 30m from the end of the beach, that offers guided excursions of the best scuba spots in the area.
If you get bored of staying in one place for too long, there’s many things to do and see in the surrounding area. Just 60m from the back of the beach, you will find the ‘Church of the Virgen del Loreto’, with some of the most unique architecture in Javea, it’s definitely well worth a visit. Furthermore, the Cable House Exhibition Hall or ‘Casa del Cable’ is only 50m from the end of the beach and offers ever changing art and history exhibits. The building got its name, as in the past it housed the telegraph station that linked Javea to Ibiza using an enormous, underwater cable, thus the name ‘Cable House’!
Due to the longstanding connection with the local community, ‘La Grava Beach’ is the location for a variety of annual events, such as the finishing line for the ‘Travesia a Nado’. A swimming competition of varying lengths and difficulties, ending on the beach itself. ‘La Grava’ is also the host of multiple local festivities such as the festival of ‘The Moors and Christians’ and ‘The Virgin Loreto’. If you happen to be in Javea during these celebrations, I would implore you to attend as they are truly spectacular!
Lastly, if you start to get hungry whilst on the beach, never fear, as the beach is surrounded by a whole host of restaurants, bars and cafes offering all different types of cuisine. So there’s something for everyone!
Video La Platja de la Grava
Top Tips for La Platja de la Grava
EXPLORE THE DEEP – Whether it’s kayaking, canoeing, paddleboarding or scuba, I would strongly recommend trying one of these activities, especially if you haven’t before. You might just find yourself a new hobby!
SEE THE SIGHTS – Both ‘La Casa del Cable’ and the ‘Church of the Virgen del Loreto’ are rich in heritage and are both well worth a visit, especially due to their proximity to the beach!
The Port Area Of Javea
The port area of Javea has captured the world’s attention since at least 1908.
It was from 1896 that Spanish painter Joaquin Sorolla painted the San Antonio headland and its coves that shelter the Javea port from the north. Sorolla sold some of these paintings in London in 1908 – likely the first time foreigners had seen or heard of Javea.
There’s a lifesize sculpture of Sorolla with an easel on the promenade above the Playa de la Grava, the port’s beach.
He stands in front of the former fishermen’s association – now Restaurante Pósit – which pays homage to the reason that this town exists: the fresh fish teeming in the bay of Javea.
Below, get an insider’s overview of the top landmarks, restaurants and history of the port area of Javea.
Top 5 landmarks – The port of Javea
Below find the top 10 places to visit in the port area of Javea:
- Playa la Grava – this 300m-long beach is one of three blueflag beaches in Javea. It’s the beach where you’ll most likely see swimmers from early morning to late evening – and from April to October. It’s a pebble beach with crystal waters when the weather is calm, and has lifeguards and a Red Cross hut in the high season.
- La Lonja – the Lonja is the present-day fish market in Javea. You can watch fishing boats unload their catches in the morning and buy fresh fish (monkfish, red prawns, sea bream, octopus, cuttlefish, moray eel, crab, lobster and more) when the market is open.
- Iglesia del Mar – Javea’s famous modernist church is built to resemble a boat in a storm – from the inside, you look up to a roof that resembles the hull of a boat. Local legend has it that a group of Javea fishermen promised to build a church if God would deliver them from a storm at sea.
- Club Náutico Javea – the Javea nautical club is a place where young and old can learn to sail or drive boats and jetskis, and marks the entrance to Javea’s main sporting port.
- La Casa del Cable – this building once housed one end of a telecommunications cable which connected Ibiza to the mainland. Javea is the closest point on the Spanish peninsular to the Balearics. Today, the building holds regular art exhibitions.
Where is the port area of Javea?
The port area of Javea is located right below the hill where the old town of Javea lies.
But it’s a good 25-minute walk from the town centre. You can reach it easily by car from the old town or the Arenal, and in 2022 a public carpark with electric charging points was built a few streets back (on Avenida del Port).
Otherwise you can always park on the Avenida de Augusta. There is also public parking on the beach itself, just past the Triana bridge which runs over the mouth of the Gorgos river.
Javea itself is a 1 hour 15 minutes drive from Alicante Airport and a 1 hour 25 minutes drive from Valencia Airport. It is a 45-minute drive north of Benidorm. The quickest route to Javea to along the AP-7 motorway and exiting either in Benissa when northbound and Denia when southbound.
Javea is a good 25-minute drive once off the motorway.
Top 11 restaurants in the port area of Javea
There are many bars and restaurants in the port area of Javea.
Here’s a quick overview of what you need to know:
- Restaurante Cala Bandida – this bar-restaurant certainly has the best views in the port area of Javea, with wide glass windows that let you see the entire coastline of urban Javea. It’s just inside the actual port area of Javea, and the building resembles a steamboat.
- Monsoon Thai – this authentic Thai restaurant is popular year round, and often features in local news when filmstars like Matt Damon turn up. (We asked what he ate: a Massaman curry.)
- Curry Palace – this Indian restaurant is located right on Playa de la Grava, and is currently the top rated restaurant in Javea on Trip Advisor.
- Restaurante Piri-Piri – this top-rated seafood restaurant is located on the charming promenade with restaurants just below the Playa de la Grava.
- Attico Restaurante – on top of the Javea Hotel is a top-floor restaurant with fantastic views over the bay of Javea.
- Casa della Pasta – this popular pasta restaurant is located a few minutes’ walk inland from the Playa de la Grava, and has a cosy and elegant outdoor seating area.
- Sileno Gastrobar – this fine dining gastrobar offers something different from the tapas restaurants common in the port of Javea.
- Pósit – this seafood restaurants has an enviable position right on the Playa de la Grava beachfront, and in the former fishermen’s association of Javea.
- Noray – this beachfront restaurant is one of the port’s most well known locations, and offers an array of seafood with a grill on-site.
- La Cantina – this restaurant is located right in the port area of Javea, right next to the moorings of fishing boats. You will need to book in advance in summer as it fills up!
- Cande – this Javea-run business offers a traditional paella, cooked just as you would taste it at a local’s home.
History of the port area in Javea
In the days when pirates still raided the coasts of the Costa Blanca, it was dangerous to live right on the waterfront.
The fishing families lived inside the former walls that sheltered the town of Javea from sudden attack. Over the past hundreds of years, more and more people have moved down from the town to live there permanently. This is the case for many fishing families still living in the townhouses to the northern flank of the port.
And it’s these locals who keep alive their own set of festivals and traditions that define the event calendar of Javea.
First up comes the Moors & Christians festival in July, where you can watch theatrical reenactments of Moorish pirate attacks and the subsequent liberation by Christians. At the end of August is the biggest festival in the port area of Javea: the Festes de la Mare de Deu de Loreto.
So the story goes, in 1850 a group of fishermen were salvaging the remains of an Italian merchant boat which ran aground in Javea during a storm. All they could find was an icon of Our Lady of Loreto, a patron saint of seafaring towns, fishermen and travellers in Catholic countries.
Every year, the icon is solemnly paraded through the town at the end of two weeks of street parties, bull-running, sports events, fresh seafood and drinks and an aquatic fireworks display.
With the onset of marine tourism, Javea has become a singular reference point for smaller cruises and yachts rounding the dramatic San Antonio headland. (It’s not uncommon to be in a bar and overhear someone who just parked their yacht here for lunch.)