<\/a>The now almost non-existing Castle of Saint Joseph, which can be seen in one of the rockiest points of the cliff, played an important part in the structural defense of the old city. It was originally constructed in the XII century, was reformed in the XV and in XVI centuries, was affected by an earthquake in 1644 and left to what it is nowadays.<\/p>\nThere are two distinctive neighborhoods<\/strong><\/p>\nThe Castle<\/strong> \u2013 The street which leads to this area is called De La Pena and is extremely pretty. The most outstanding characteristics are the white-washed houses, the amount of flower pots that decorate each house, the variety of craft shops with its leather objects. The street ends with a long staircase where there is a door carved out in the rock where you can go into an older part for around 3 euros. At the end of this street is the Town Hall where there are dungeons dating back to the XII also carved into the rock. This is the highest and oldest part of the village where you can still see the local church of the Virgin, a bell tower built into the rock and the Castle of Saint Joseph mentioned before.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n
The Arrabal<\/strong> \u2013 on the side of the cliff where the almost two hundred inhabitants have decided to make newer living quarters, leaving the \u201c castle\u201d for the tourists.<\/p>\nRelive the Past in Guadalest Museums<\/h2>\n
The museums that I found absolutely authentic and different are \u2013<\/p>\n
\n- Museum of Ribera Girona – a fascinating contemporary art museum with an impressive so called Magic Garden of figures at the foot of the castle of Guadalest.<\/li>\n
- Museum of Miniatures of Manuel Ussa \u2013 Iglesia Street, 5 in the castle. There are two museums in one. You can see curiosities such as the Guernica of Picasso painted on a seed or the Statue of Liberty in the hole of a needle!<\/li>\n
- Museum of doll houses \u2013 Virgin Street, 2. It is a private museum which opens every day of the year but there is not a timetable. It costs 4 euros for adults but it is well worth to see beautifully decorated doll houses with all its details, an ecological Nativity Scene and other models made from bricks, stone and iron.<\/li>\n
- Ethnological Museum of the Valley of Guadalest \u2013 It is free and if you really want to see what instruments and tools the people used, what their homes were like and what they wore, this is the place!<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n