Baños de la Reina

Baños de la Reina is a Roman archaeological site in Calpe, right on the seafront promenade between the fishing port and Arenal-Bol beach. Its best-known feature is a set of pools carved into the rock at the water's edge, once a fish farm and now popular with snorkellers. The fenced area also preserves the remains of a villa with baths and a mosaic.

Baños de la Reina (Banys de la Reina in Valencian) is an archaeological complex in Calpe, on the promenade linking the fishing port with Arenal-Bol beach, close to the Peñón de Ifach. In Roman times there was a settlement here with three residences built with luxury materials such as marble and mosaics. Its inhabitants made wine, caught and salted fish, produced garum sauce and quarried stone. The complex was abandoned in the early 5th century, and its remains were first recorded in 1610. In 1792 Cavanilles excavated the site, and some of the mosaics he found, recovered during excavations in 1965, are now held by the MARQ archaeological museum in Alicante. The best-known part is the fish farm cut into the coastal rock: a rectangular basin of roughly 20 by 10 m divided into six connected compartments. Channels used the tides to renew the water, so fish could be kept alive and fresh. The name comes from a legend about a Moorish queen who supposedly bathed in these pools, although archaeology points to their Roman origin. Today the pools fill with seawater, and visitors praise them for swimming and snorkelling; one recommends them especially for older children. Reviews mention fish and crabs among the rocks, and one visitor warns that the rocks are slippery. As this is a protected monument, you should not step or lean on the edges of the carved pools, nor use fins or footwear that could wear down the rock. After works completed in December 2024, the fenced land section opened with wooden walkways. There you can see a round domus with baths and a circular mosaic, as well as a hydraulic complex with a water wheel (noria) and cisterns. This part is visited on guided tours that require advance registration, and Calpe town council also runs tours in English and Valencian. Since the 1950s the town's growth has destroyed part of the site, and many remains now lie beneath buildings. Right next to the site is the small sandy Cala del Morelló, with El Racó cove by the fishing port; you can reach the pools along the Infanta Elena promenade, heading for the 19th-century Torre del Molí mill.