I visited the Spanish town that ‘smells of chocolate’ – and it’s 10 minutes from Benidorm

WHEN I first heard of the pastel-painted town near Benidorm that smelt of chocolate, I couldn’t quite believe it.

Yet, as we head out down Villajoyosa’s main shopping street, that unmistakable warm, comforting aroma wraps around us like a hug.

The Valor Chocolate Museum is our first stop.

Originally there were more than 40 factories producing the sweet stuff in Villajoyosa, founded when boats from Africa and South America arrived at the Spanish port laden with cocoa beans.

Nowadays, the three remaining factories offer free visits and tastings, and it would be rude not to visit them all.

Valor has been making chocolate since 1881, and its bars are a common sight throughout Spain.

The company is a sleek operation, producing enough chocolate each year to circle the globe, but it remains family owned.

Our next stop, Perez, welcomes us into a retro chocolate shop with family photos lining the walls.

Current owner Gaspar, grandson of the founder, plies us with gooey hot chocolate and samples of their imaginatively flavoured bars, including rich coffee and olive oil.

Finally, we haul our bellies to Clavileño, named after the wooden horse which featued in the classic novel Don Quixote.

We peep through a window to see a churning river of molten chocolate, before tasting the latest creation — pastel pink chocolate, its colour naturally obtained from ruby cocoa beans.

Once we’ve had our fill of chocolate, we soon realise there’s more to Villajoyosa than confection.

Rainbow-hued houses, which wouldn’t look out of place on the front of a chocolate box, line the harbour jostling for position.

“Las casas de colores” come in blue, canary yellow, pastel pink, green and red ochre.

It’s said the bright colours helped fishermen locate their houses from the ocean in days gone by.

The river Amadorio opens out to the sea here, overlooked by “casas penjants” (hanging houses) clinging to the cliffs, these too clad in pastel tones.

Villajoyosa’s name translates as “joyful town”.

It was christened by Admiral Bernat de Sarrià, who founded the town in 1300, to attract new inhabitants.

Relaxed vibe

Yet when we ask people who have settled here what they love most about La Vila, as it’s called by those in the know, they are tight-lipped.

The caginess, I realise, is because they want to keep the town to themselves.

As we wander around the narrow alleyways of the old town, street art at every turn, a relaxed vibe oozes from the little bars and restaurants.

The atmosphere couldn’t be more different to that of busy neighbour Benidorm, just 15 minutes away by car, looming like a mirage of glinting skyscrapers across the headland.

La Vila has 13 beaches to choose from.

Playa Centro, the town beach, has plenty of space, as it’s almost a mile long.

The town’s pretty port sits towards the northern end. Still an active harbour, laden fishing boats arrive there each afternoon.

A ribbon of bars and restaurants spill onto the tree-lined promenade.

Local dishes include pebrereta, a stew of green pepper, pumpkin, tomato and fish; savoury “cocas”, pies made with meat or fish; and rice with onion and pumpkin.

The town is also steeped in history.

It was once the site of a Roman military camp, and later became the Roman city of Allon.

The thick town walls, punctuated by chunky towers, were designed to protect inhabitants from invaders arriving by sea.

Off the coast rests the wreck of the Bou Ferrer, a Roman merchant ship which was on its way to Rome at the behest of Emperor Nero when it sank.

The wreck was accidentally discovered by divers José Bou and Antoine Ferrer 25 years ago.

An exhibition about the vessel can be seen at the town museum until June 2025.

A breeze tugs at the fishing nets strung above head height across the narrow streets, a nod to the important role the town played in this industry, bringing with it a waft of that tempting smell of chocolate.

As we enjoy paella on the waterfront at El Guitarra, a couple on the next table tell us how lucky they feel to have discovered Villajoyosa.

I can understand why people would want to keep this gem of a place to themselves, but I’m glad I found it, too.