For decades whole of the Costa Blanca was tarred with the same brush - and a brash brush at that; everything was supposedly high-rise and low class, and the beaches covered with pinkly grilled bodies. Nothing could be further from the truth; if it was why would Javea have been the retreat of choice of the rich, looking for a bit of a hideaway; why would the iconic Spanish songster; Julio Iglesias, have sunk an awful lot of his hard-earned cash into a luxury development just outside Altea; and why would Starwood Hotels, owners of the Westin and Sheraton chains, have sunk vast amounts of money building what's virtually a Mediterranean village just outside Benidorm, which was chosen as the location for Mercedes world-wide launch of their new models in 2008?

It comes as a surprise to most people to discover that the Costa Blanca, far from being just a strip of land along the eastern coastline of Spain, stretching from its most southern tip, south of Torrevieja, where it touches Murcia, to Gandia in the north, actually extends almost 50 kilometres inland, way up into the beautiful mountains that make the rustic areas of eastern Spain such a delight for walkers and rural tourism. This may just have been the idea of the regional Tourist Office, and the idea of a 'beach' spreading inland for fifty kilometres does seem a bit bizarre, but it proves that the 'Costa Blanca' is far more than a paddle in the Med; it is mountains, valleys, vineyards, olive groves, tinkling fountains, picturesque villages, hearty rustic gastronomy, long vistas, ancient snow caves, historic fiestas…the list goes on.

Denia, with its stretches of beautiful coastline filled with rocky coves and long sandy beaches is almost at the northern tip of the Costa Blanca. It nestles at the foot of the impressive "el Montgó" and is a town with an historic past, such as its Roman Castle, which still stands proudly overlooking the Mediterranean. It is also a busy ferry port, with daily crossings to the nearby Balearic Islands as well as hosting a very stylish Yacht Marina with many fantastic bars and restaurants.

In effect, there are three faces to Javea; the old town, still very Spanish with its narrow streets and historic buildings; the port area, which has the fishing and leisure ports and most of the day-to-day commercial enterprises; and the Arenal, the beach area almost entirely given over to tourism.

From whichever direction you approach Calpe, the dominating view seawards is of the Peñon de Ifach, a 332 metre rock that is now a nature reserve but has been used since Phoenician times as a defensive standpoint against pirates and Barbary raiders. Latter-day colonisers have firmly ensconced themselves in the town, creating a spot by the sea where German bakeries rub shoulders with Scandinavian design stores and British bars, where you can enjoy a pint of bitter and a full fry-up for breakfast. A major benefit of this internationalism is that there are some excellent restaurants, where you can dine on dishes from around the world.

Benidorm, dear Benidorm... you either love it or hate it, although the truth is that there are far more of the former, and those of the latter group usually haven't even been there, but base their opinion on crass media reports that repeat the same old, same old, without bothering to look at how far the resort has moved on since the 60's and 70's. The resort's popularity has done more to drive Spain's tourism prosperity than any other city or resort.

Through the 19th and early 20th centuries Benidorm was known as 'Madrid's beach' because it was where the Madrileños would spend their holidays and their long weekends, and it is still the most popular seaside resort for the Spanish themselves. And its popularity hasn't waned with foreign visitors, either, who don't just come for the sun and sand, but for its all-year round, affordable tourism offer, and its wide ranging entertainment. And it's not the pensioners paradise that many people think, as the average age of its visitor is below forty years old.

Which Spanish town was the first to recycle every drop of its waste water; will soon see the completion of a €46million state-of-the-art international music and dance conservatory, the only one in Europe fully adapted for disabled people; has one of the most modern hospitals in the world where not only is the technology so far ahead of the game to be almost futuristic, it also has equipment that can provide a simultaneous translation between doctor and patient in thirty-two languages; has one of the most important annual international choral competitions, and had the model of its €7million municipal theatre displayed in MOMA, the Metropolitan Museum of Modern Art in New York?

It's Torrevieja, at the southern tip of the Costa Blanca, a wonderful resort which is now coming into its own, and being seen as not just a place to bask away a couple of weeks in the sun, but to live in a truly cosmopolitan community, with big ideas for the future.

But no matter what a sign might say about where you live, whether the beach and surf of the Costa Blanca is fifty kilometres away or right on your doorstep is not important. What is important is the quality of life the area provides – and the Costa Blanca offers one of the best there is.