This is the healthiest place to live in the world, according to the World Health Organisation, thanks to the climate, the water and the largest natural salt lakes in Europe. No wonder so many Northern Europeans buy second homes in Torrevieja and so many Spanish head here on their annual holidays, to stay in their own properties, not to come on package holidays. Summers see the local population swell from 100,000 to 500,000.

The facilities in this modern town are excellent to suit a multi-national population who come here often and for longer periods than your average holiday. There are lots of restaurants specializing in all types of cuisines, six golf courses within 8km of the town - including Villamartin, Las Ramblas, Campoamor, La Marquesa and the famous La Manga, with several more in the pipeline. There are bowling clubs, sailing schools and Torrevieja is home to Spain's biggest street market every Friday. There's also AquaPark waterpark nearby, a theatre, several cinemas and a bullring, plus tennis clubs, a football stadium and a marina, which has moorings for 1,500 yachts.

Then there are the beaches. Most popular are La Mata, Los Locos and Los Naufragos. You can also walk along the salt lakes of Laguna de la Mata and Salinas de San Miguel which surround Torrevieja and create a microclimate which means it never gets cold in winter. Walk or cycle around the lakes and you'll see flocks of flamingos. The nearby Isla de Tabarca, reached by regular boat trips from the town's fishing port, is a scuba diver's paradise.

Given a huge supply of new-build property, a budget of £60,000 will throw up many options in Torrevieja, with schools, health centres and shops nearby. New-build apartments overlooking Torrevieja's golf courses are popular and prices start at around £100,000 for two bedrooms. The Villamartin development south of Torrevieja, next to the golf course, began in the 1970s and is now a beautiful Mediterranean village with about 1,500 apartments, townhouses and villas. Also south of Torrevieja is the popular beach area of La Zenia, located in front of the main entrance of Villamartin golf course.

Cabo Roig is a popular holiday area, with bars, shops, restaurants and schools, south of Torrevieja and properties (mainly news) range from apartments to quads, townhouses and incredibly luxurious villas spanning all budgets. Apartments start at £100,000, townhouses at £200,000, leading up to new-build luxury penthouses for over a half a million pounds.

Just south is Pilar de la Horadada, another popular new residential area with a large choice of new townhouses and apartments - though less in the way of shops or bars than nearby Cabo Roig.