Dénia's main sight is its castle, which dominates the town from a rocky promontory above the old quarter. The Montgó massif rising behind the town offers serious hiking, with trails to the summit at 753 metres. Below it all, the town's beaches stretch north along Las Marinas and south around the fishing harbour.
The town has an unexpected claim to culinary fame: it holds UNESCO Creative City of Gastronomy status, which sounds like bureaucratic puffery but reflects a genuine cooking tradition built on the red prawns of the Dénia coast — considered among the finest in the Mediterranean — and the rice dishes of the Valencia interior. The castle, the hiking, and the food make Dénia worth considerably more than a single day.