La Alcudia, the city of Ilici beneath the fields of Elche.

The Lady is not here, but her city is. Streets, houses with courtyards, baths and a basilica with a mosaic, on the outskirts of Elche.

What La Alcudia holds

La Alcudia is the site of Ilici, the city that preceded Elche. It covers about 11 hectares in the countryside, south of the present city, and for centuries it was farmland and a quarry. In the late 19th century, irrigation works brought the ancient remains to light, and in that work the Lady of Elche appeared, the Iberian bust that bears the city's name. The original is in the National Archaeological Museum in Madrid; here there is a monument that commemorates the find.

It is run by the Fundación Universitaria La Alcudia, of the University of Alicante, which has its work areas on the site itself. The museum devotes spaces to explaining what the archaeology and restoration teams do, so you understand how what you see has come to be known.

The three cities of Ilici

The route tells of three periods, one on top of another. The Iberian one, with the reconstruction of a temple. The Roman one, the most visible: two sections of the western wall, a southern section, two half-excavated houses with their peristyle, the domus of Sailacos and the one with the impluvium, western baths with the cold pool and eastern baths from the 1st century, among the best preserved. And the late antique, Visigothic and Byzantine one, with a reconstructed early Christian basilica, with an apse and a colourful mosaic with Greek inscriptions, linked to the bishopric of Ilici. There is also a cistern, the so-called Venus cistern, and remains from the 8th century.

Interpretation Centre and Monographic Museum

At the entrance, the Interpretation Centre has an audiovisual room, a classroom and an exhibition that arranges the history of Ilici by theme. In the central area, the Monographic Museum gathers almost everything excavated: a vestibule devoted to the Lady and three rooms, Iberia, Hispania and Spania, which run from Iberian culture to Late Antiquity, with spaces where you see the archaeology and restoration work. Start with the centre, continue around the site and leave the museum for when you already have the plan in your head.

Opening hours and tickets

It is open Tuesday to Sunday from 9:30 to 14:30 and closed on Mondays. It opens on public holidays, except 1 and 6 January, Easter Monday, 1 May and 25 December. After 14:30 you cannot stay inside, and the Foundation recommends allowing about two hours, so arrive by 12:30 at the latest. General admission costs €5; reduced, €2, for students, unemployed people, teachers, large families, over-65s and people with disabilities; groups of 20 or more pay €3. Up to age 6 it is free. Telephone: 966 611 506; email, [email protected].

On the Dolores road

It is at kilometre 2 of the CV-855 road, from Elche to Dolores. By car, from the A-7 motorway take exit 30, go round Elche on the EL-20 and join the Dolores road. From the city centre the R6 city bus runs there. The Foundation offers educational workshops for schools with an outside company; for groups, ask.

How it fits into your day

La Alcudia is a morning: it closes at midday. If you want the full Lady, go afterwards to the MAHE, in the Altamira Palace, which tells the history of Elche from the Iberians, or leave the municipal museums for Sunday, when they are free. For lunch, the Camp d'Elx is next door: Restaurante Cachito makes wood-fired arroz con costra.