Elche

Elche, called Elx in Valencian and officially Elx / Elche, is a city and municipality in the province of Alicante in the Valencian Community of Spain, and the comarca of Baix Vinalopo. Its 2024 population of 242,317 makes it the third most populous municipality in the region. The city proper lies about 15 km from the Mediterranean, although part of the municipality reaches the coast, and it shares a conurbation of around 0.8 million people with Alicante and neighbouring towns. Elche is best known for its Palmeral, an urban palm grove listed as a World Heritage Site and the largest in Europe, with roughly 200,000 palms across the city and its surroundings. The modern city grew on the site of an Islamic town, Madinat Ils, after the nearby Iberian and Roman settlement of Ilici declined. It entered the Kingdom of Valencia in the early fourteenth century and received the title of city from King Amadeo in 1871. Footwear is the mainstay of the economy, with over a thousand shoe factories, alongside agriculture, trade and tourism. The Alicante-Elche airport lies inside the municipality.