Torrevieja sits on the southern Costa Blanca, in the Vega Baja del Segura, Alicante province. Nobody can say exactly how many people live here. The national statistics office puts the legally official figure at 98,533 for the start of 2025, its continuous count at 105,139 a year later, and the town hall's own register reached 113,453 by May 2026. The honest answer is somewhere around a hundred thousand and growing fast, depending which register you read.
The town is majority foreign, and unusually that claim survives checking: on the national count foreign nationals passed half at the start of 2026. What most copy gets wrong is who those foreigners are. The largest community is Ukrainian, more than twice the size of the British one, with Colombians and Russians close behind it. Anyone expecting a British enclave is reading about a different town. The claim that this is the most foreign municipality in Spain cannot be verified; no national table ranks municipalities that way.
The town hall puts just over half the municipal territory inside a natural park, the Lagunas de La Mata y Torrevieja, behind fourteen kilometres of coast and six Blue Flag beaches. Asking prices hit their own record in July 2026 after rising by more than a tenth in a year, though they still sit a little below the Alicante province average. There is no railway.
The verdict
The upside is real. So is the downside. Both matter more than any brochure will admit.
A natural park covers half the municipality
The town hall states that fifty-two in every hundred parts of municipal territory is designated natural park, the Lagunas de La Mata y Torrevieja. For a town of around a hundred thousand people, that is extraordinary.
Six Blue Flag beaches and three working marinas
Cabo Cervera, Cala de las Piteras, El Cura, La Mata, Los Locos and Los Naufragos hold the flag in 2026. Marina Salinas alone takes vessels from eight to thirty-five metres; the Real Club Nautico and Marina Internacional make three in total.
Public hospital and five health centres in town
The Hospital Universitario de Torrevieja returned to direct public management when a private concession expired, reported as October 2021. Five health centres serve the town itself, from La Loma to La Mata and San Luis.
An international town, not an enclave
On the town hall's May 2026 register, Ukrainians, Colombians, Russians, Britons and Moroccans head the list in that order. This is a mixed international town, not a single nationality enclave.
Prices below the Alicante province average
Even at a record, the municipal asking price sits a little below the province average, though above the Valencian regional one. The Centro district is the cheaper of the two with published figures.
A town of a hundred thousand with no railway
Torrevieja has no station and does not appear on the regional commuter map. The nearest stations on the Murcia to Alicante line are well inland at San Isidro and Callosa de Segura, and the coastal TRAM does not come this far south.
Nobody agrees how many people live here
Three current official counts run from 98,533 to 113,453. The town hall's register sits well above the national figure and rose by around seven thousand in under a year and a half. That churn makes the place hard to pin down.
Prices at a record after a sharp year
The municipal asking price rose by more than a tenth in the year to July 2026 and has never been higher. El Acequion - Los Naufragos is the dearer of the two published districts and has risen faster.
A town transformed from the 1960s onwards
The town hall itself describes a salt, fishing and sailing town transformed from the 1960s by tourism and construction. Most of what you see went up during and after that boom, so buyers wanting an old Spanish town should look elsewhere.
Not the British town many buyers expect
Costa Blanca marketing still assumes a British Torrevieja. The register says Ukrainian first, then Colombian and Russian, with Britons fourth at 4,671. If your plan depends on a large British community, check the numbers first.
Editor's note
We like Torrevieja more than its reputation, but it is not for everyone. Do not buy here if you need a train or a tram: there is no station, the nearest are well inland, and the coastal TRAM stops north of Alicante. Alicante city serves that buyer far better, with commuter rail and the tram on the doorstep, and El Campello has three tram lines. Do not buy here if you want an old Spanish town; almost everything you see went up after the 1960s. Do not buy here expecting a British enclave, because the register says Ukrainian, Colombian and Russian before British. If you want quieter surroundings with the same coast, look at Guardamar del Segura, just north, inside the same health department. Orihuela Costa sits next door and is covered by the same hospital. And if you want a bigger year-round city with full transport links, Alicante is the honest answer. What Torrevieja does offer is a natural park across half its territory, six Blue Flag beaches, a public hospital in town and prices below the province average. Weigh that against the gaps.
Elche municipality, station: Alicante-Elche Aeropuerto (8019), 34 km north
Average 1981-2010 · AEMET
Updated 30 Aug 2026
INE Annual Population Census, nationality basis, 1 January 2025
Where to live and what to expect at each price point.
Torrevieja's centre faces the old harbour around the Eras de la Sal, the former salt-loading yards now used for the Habaneras festival. The Paseo Vista Alegre follows the waterfront, while the streets behind hold the town's shops and civic buildings.
Two adjoining seafront areas south of the harbour. El Acequión takes its name from the canal opened in 1482 to connect the salt lagoons with the sea. Los Náufragos continues west with a broad sandy beach, promenade and sports facilities.
A coastal settlement at the northern edge of the municipality, beside the La Mata lagoon and natural park. The Torre de La Mata marks the old salt-loading point, and a long sandy beach runs north from the village with a seafront promenade and dunes.
Council planning records use Los Balcones and Los Altos for residential sectors south of the city, close to the Laguna de Torrevieja. Their streets form low-density developments above the coast, with the salt-lake landscape inland.
An urban beach north of the centre, set in a curved bay with a promenade behind the sand. Apartment streets continue inland, while the coastal route leads north towards the coves and Torre del Moro.
A compact urban beach immediately north of the centre, framed by a busy seafront promenade and apartment streets. The waterfront links on foot to the natural pools, Paseo Vista Alegre and the harbour.
The municipality's southern coastal edge, where a rocky headland and small sandy cove face the Mediterranean. A seafront path follows the cliffs, with residential streets extending inland towards the Orihuela Costa boundary.
Honest answers to the questions buyers actually ask.
Transfer tax rates as of August 2026. Rates are set per autonomous community and do change. Confirm the current figures with a Spanish lawyer or tax adviser before you budget.
The pros and the cons of every town, with sourced data on prices, climate and costs.
Your property search, saved cities, mortgage calculator and a step-by-step buying guide, from your first search to getting the keys.
Local agents who speak your language, and owners selling their own home, contact you about homes that fit your search.
Agents and owners ask to connect first. Your contact details are only shared with the people you accept.
Our comprehensive guide covers everything foreign buyers need to know - from NIE numbers and residency permits to mortgages and legal requirements.
Use our free mortgage calculator to estimate monthly payments, compare loan scenarios and understand the true cost of buying in Spain.