Visiting Calpe? Don’t be fooled by la Muralla Roja!
Before heading to Villajoyosa we did a stop in Calpe to admire - and take tons of pictures of! - the insta-famous Muralla Roja. La Muralla Roja is an innovative apartment complex that was built in the 60’s. It means ‘the red wall’ but most of it is actually pink and some apartments are even baby blue. This place looks like it came straight out of a Wes Anderson movie and it is the definition of heaven for lovers of pink. Or not?
The not-so-friendly Muralla Roja
I was fully aware that la Muralla Roja is an apartment complex where people live. However, if you search for the address in Google it is stated as a tourist attraction. Judging from all those beautiful pictures on Instagram it seems very accessible, so you can imagine our disappointment when we saw a huge fence surrounding the complete building! La Muralla Roja is far from being a tourist attraction, and its inhabitants do not want any instagirls taking pictures around their walls!
What the heck, how did others take such spectacular pictures inside la Muralla Roja? I guess the only way is by renting an apartment here. They are available on Airbnb, in case you’re interested.
Anyway, we were already in Calpe standing in front of an impressive Muralla Roja, which we couldn’t enter. We decided to make the best of it and walked around the whole building to spot as much pretty corners as we could. And then we found this view…
Our disappointment immediately changed to amazement in seconds. We had the most spectacular view ever over the beach of Calpe and the Peñon de Ifach, a 300 meter tall rock in the Mediterranean Sea. This reminded me a lot of Es Vedra in my beloved Ibiza. In fact, you can even see Ibiza if you climb the Peñon de Ifach on a very clear day!
Was it worth it?
Yes, it was. Although I didn’t get my posing-against-pink-walls-and-on-a-pink-roof-pictures that I really came for, la Muralla Roja was still astonishing to see. I can understand why the locals put a fence around it, this place is so amazing and they just want to preserve their home. So yeah, if you are in Calpe go admire la Muralla Roja but accept that you won’t get those insta-perfect pictures unless you decide to stay there.
We didn’t have the chance to see more of Calpe as we had to continue our drive to Villajoyosa, but I would recommend going there for at least a day and see more than just la Muralla Roja. The view over Peñon de Ifach was truly breathtaking and I am pretty sure that Calpe has many more picture-perfect spots to offer!
How to get to Calpe?
You can drive down from Valencia for a daytrip like I did, however keep in mind that you must pay for toll. If you wish to see la Muralla Roja then you can park right in front of the building for free.
Do you prefer to stay in Calpe or another place directly on the Costa Blanca? Then it is easier to fly in to Alicante.
Do you think it's a shame that la Muralla Roja is not open to the public?
Ayo! AR x
Thanks very much for this article. I had no idea it was not accessible and would indeed have been very disappointed.
I understand it very well from the residents point of view, but it is a shame, since it is an architectural highlight. AND an IGers dream.
The fencing is relatively recent (a couple of years or so). Can you imagine how annoying it can get for the residents with people coming during the day – coaches even go there. Perhaps if they charged an entrance fee then this could be used to help to preserve this beautiful and unique building. It might also deter those that have damaged it in the past