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The arts and crafts of Elche
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Palm Sunday procession in Elche © Turespaña
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A scene from the re-enactment of the Elche Mystery play © Turespaña
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Palmeral de Elche palm grove © Turespaña
The city of Elche is particularly well known for its arts and crafts. On the one hand you'll discover the unique tradition based on the white palm (palm leaves which turn white when deprived of sunlight for months); and on the other, the footwear industry.
White palm weaving is typical in the Palmeral de Elche, an enormous garden of palm trees –declared a World Heritage site– where the white palms are collected and made into attractive decorative articles by the local craftspeople. The best time to see the tradition of the palm are the days just before Palm Sunday (with the Palma Blanca street market) and in October, before and after the re-enactment of the Elche mystery plays. What's more, all year round you can visit the El Palmeral Museum and the municipal crafts workshop located in the centre of the city, and see how the palm leaves are woven.
And if you're a footwear enthusiast, you can see how shoes are made by taking one of the guided tours arranged by the Salvador Artesanos factory-shop. You'll also find numerous factory outlets selling directly to the public, as well as others which have their own museum, such as Pikolinos.
