Looking Down on Benidorm

What links Sylvia Plath, El Cid, Judit Polgar, General Franco, and Javier Bardem doing karaoke in his undies? A conundrum that could only be answered by a city as unique and unexpected as Benidorm.

But what is Benidorm? How did its present form come about, with its distinctive architecture and economy, and its larger – and lairier – than life reputation?

Rising from its tranquil bay like a misplaced Manhattan, it has been challenging preconceived notions ever since Mayor Pedro Zaragoza Orts drew up plans to revive his poverty-stricken fishing village back in the 1950s.

So is the Mediterranean’s most successful holiday resort a vision of heaven or hell?

Think you know Benidorm? Think again.