Where to refill your bottle for free in Altea: the public drinking water fountains in the old town, the centre and along the seafront, plus two old spring fountains at the foot of the Serra de Bèrnia. A button shows the one nearest to you; each name opens the route in Google Maps.
Your location is used only in your browser to work out the distance and is not sent to us. The route opens in Google Maps.
Three fountains in the lanes of the old town — handy on the climb up to the church.
Fountains in the centre, by the sea and towards the Río Algar. Two have no address in Google Maps; the link goes to the exact spot.
At the foot of the Serra de Bèrnia, above Altea la Vella, there are old spring fountains. They are walking destinations, not taps on the mains.
None of the sources consulted says that the water of these springs is safe to drink, and they do not always run. To drink, better bring your own.
Until the late 19th century, drinking water was a privilege. People drank from the river and the irrigation channels, from the springs of Altea la Vella and La Galera, from the odd water wheel and above all from cisterns collecting rainwater beneath the houses. Those without a cistern — many houses on the old town’s slopes — had to fetch water; in summer nearly everyone went to the Font del Garroferet, the best drinking water in the municipality.
On 29 September 1889, the feast of Sant Miquel, Altea’s water supply was inaugurated, with Juan Martínez Beneyto as concessionaire. It brought the first four public fountains: at els Quatre Cantons, in Plaça de la Creu, at the Portal Vell and in Plaça de l’Església (Ramón Lloréns Barber, El Poble, January 1991, via alteamipueblo.es ↗). Plaça de la Creu and Plaça de l’Església have a drinking fountain today; whether they are the same as in 1889, none of the sources consulted says.
The fountains in town are connected to the municipal mains, run by Aigües d’Altea and subject to official drinking water monitoring (more under Water).
Warnings then apply to the mains fountains too. In February 2018 the health authority declared tap water in the town centre unfit to drink because of turbidity; this included the fountain at the sports centre, while the other municipal fountains remained drinkable (Alicante Plaza, 6.2.2018 ↗). In March 2022 the town council again advised against drinking tap water in most of the municipality because of turbidity (Alicante Plaza, 22.3.2022 ↗). The council publishes such warnings on altea.es ↗.
The locations come from the points marked as drinking water fountains in Google Maps; we have not checked them all on the ground. If a fountain is missing or out of order, write to us via Contact.
Compiled October 2026 from Google Maps, Ramón Lloréns Barber (El Poble, 1991), Altea Cultural, alteablog.com and Alicante Plaza. Public fountains can be switched off or moved without notice.
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