The City of Alicante confirms that it will charge for entry to the castle of Santa Barbara, in addition to the entrance to the municipal museums. It is a payment that, according to the local government, “will value cultural heritage” and will contribute to improving its “maintenance, improvement and modernization.”
The city could earn between one and three million euros from tickets to the castle.
Alicante people will not be exempt from the charge because it would be discriminatory under European law. However, the municipal executive maintains that it will create a digital citizen card for residents, which in addition to being issued free will have different benefits for other attractions such as bonuses, reduced prices and special discounts.
The fortress, which is the historic monument with the most visitors across the entire Valencian Community, received more than 800,000 people last year, setting an absolute record and surpassing even the estimated figures for 2023.
The mayor, Toni Gallego, has said that “there are many cities in Spain that charge an entrance fee to their monuments and museums,” so the Alicante government believes “it is reasonable” that Alicante “opens a line of income to contribute to their support, in addition to that already provided by the Alicante people with their taxes.”
