Alicante/Alacant · Comunidad Valenciana

Dénia

A historic port town on an imposing peninsula, named for the goddess Diana — a beach-hopping base with UNESCO-recognised seafood and a real summer buzz.

47,568 residents~42 min to Gandia
Dénia, Alicante/Alacant
Photo: Diego Delso · CC BY-SA 4.0

Why people fall for Dénia

Portrait drawn from Lonely Planet.

At the foot of the Parc Natural del Montgó, on the Costa Blanca.

On the table. UNESCO-recognised gastronomy — restaurants work wonders with impossibly fresh seafood.

Worth the trip

  • A Moorish-era castle, the Castillo de Dénia
  • Beautiful, less-developed beaches and coves further south, some reachable via coastal paths

A little history

Named by the Romans after the goddess Diana, patroness of the wilderness and the moon.

Who it suits: Beach-and-sightseeing travellers · Foodies

Who Dénia is for — and who it isn't

Not our opinion: we ran the same scoring engine behind the quiz for six settler profiles across all 8,132 municipalities and read off where Dénia lands.

Good for

  • Retiring couples 94th percentile of 8,132 towns a hospital in town · only 39 rainy days a year
  • American retirees 91st percentile of 8,132 towns a hospital in town · only 39 rainy days a year

The numbers

The decision data — each figure placed among all Spanish municipalities that report it ("top 10%" always means good, also where lower is better). Regional overlays and estimates are labelled, and where there's no local reading we say so plainly.

Climate

Winter average temp
12.5°C top 8% of 8,131 towns 4.7°C above the Spanish average (7.8°C)
Summer high (Jul–Aug)
31.3°C bottom 34% of 8,131 towns 1.1°C above the Spanish average (30.2°C)
Rainy days a year
39 days top 4% of 8,088 towns 44% less than the Spanish average (69 days)
Sunshine
no local data
Summer water stress (WEI+) regional estimate
110 bottom 15% of 8,033 towns 53 above the Spanish average (56)

Cost & economy

Home price
€2,842/m² bottom 24% of 306 towns 29% more than the Spanish average (€2,208/m²)
Net income per person
€12,954 bottom 29% of 8,059 towns 11% less than the Spanish average (€14,495)
Income growth ’18–’23
28.1% top 37% of 6,605 towns

Schools

Schools in town
24 top 2% of 7,042 towns
Nearest international school
14 km top 12% of 8,132 towns
PISA maths (region) regional estimate
473 #10 of 17 regions, −6 vs national 8 below the Spanish average (481)

Healthcare

Drive to a hospital
0 min top 1% of 8,132 towns
Nearest health centre
no local data
Surgical wait (region) regional estimate
88 days #6 of 17 regions, −15 days vs national 18% less than the Spanish average (108 days)

Getting around

Drive to nearest airport
84 min bottom 40% of 8,132 towns
Fibre-to-home coverage
92% top 41% of 8,132 towns 13% above the Spanish average (79%)
100 Mbps+ coverage
97% top 33% of 8,132 towns 14% above the Spanish average (83%)

Who lives here

Population
47,568
Born in Spain
63.5% 25.3% below the Spanish average (88.8%)
Born elsewhere in EU/UK
12.9% 9% above the Spanish average (3.8%)
U.S.-born residents
3.78 per 1,000
Nearest airport Alicante-Elche Miguel Hernández Airport (ALC) — 84 min drive · international hub: direct flights to 33 countries (incl. UK, Germany, Sweden)
Winter 12.5°C average — 4.7°C above the Spanish average (7.8°C)
Summer 31.3°C high — 1.1°C above the Spanish average (30.2°C)
Homes €2,842/m² — 29% more than the Spanish average (€2,208/m²)

Numbers: SpainScore town dataset, derived from INE, AEMET, Mitma and the Catastro. Percentile chips count only the municipalities that report the figure — the "of n" says how many. Region-ranked figures (PISA, surgical waits) compare Spain's 17 comunidades autónomas. A blank means no municipal-level figure is published — not a zero.

The year, month by month

AEMET 30-year climate normals — what a January or an August actually feels like, not the annual average.

10° 20° 30° 100 0 mm 17° 17° 20° 21° 10° 25° 13° 28° 17° 31° 20° 32° 21° 29° 18° 25° 14° 20° 10° 17° day high night low JFMAMJJASOND
day high → night low (°C) rain (mm/month, right axis) Measured at the JÁVEA/ XÀBIA station.

How does Dénia fit you?

These are the town's numbers. Whether it's your town depends on what you're optimising for — winter sun or mild summers, a city or a village, short medical waits, an easy flight home. The 3-minute quiz scores Dénia against every one of Spain's 8,132 municipalities on your priorities. It sits about 42 min from Gandia, if that's your anchor.

Take the quiz — rank Dénia for you →

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