Ultimate guide to visit Muralla Roja in Calpe
Everything you need to know about the Squid Game house
This building probably became way more famous after the show Squid Game aired on Netflix. It’s one of the most streamed shows on Netflix in the first month until this day and if you haven’t watched it yet, give it a go as it’s SO good. If you have seen the show, you’ll probably know about the scene of all the players walking around the staircases in vibrant colours. The staircase in Squid Game looks oddly familiar with an apartment in Calpe, Spain. Even though Director Hwang Dong-hyuk said that he took inspiration of the Dutch artist M.C. Escher’s lithograph print Relativity, you can’t deny the series and the appartment in Spain are almost the same. But enough about that, you probably want to know how to get inside La Muralla Roja, so keep on reading!
You might also like: Ultimate guide for visiting Valencia
For your information, all these pictures were taken in January 2023.
Table of Contents
What is La Muralla Roja?
La Muralla Roja, located in Calpe to the south of Valencia in Spain, is a postmodern apartment complex. The building is designed by a Spanish architect, named Ricardo Bofill in 1968 and constructed in 1973. Ricardo was known for designing the most special buildings around the world, like in France, Belgium, Italy and even Japan. The architect took influences of North African casbahs and Arab Mediterranean architectural styles. The building itself is painted red/pink on the outside, but has violet and blue incorporated on different sections inside.
In the middle of the building, you have these staircases that resemble the one in Squid Game, but these ones lead to solariums, a pool for all the residents and a stunning view on Peñon de Ifach in the distance. It was originally meant as social housing, but these days, the apartments are all privately owned.
You might also like: Hiking to the Peñon de Ifach in Calpe
How to get to La Muralla Roja?
The easiest way to get here would be with a rental car as it’s pretty far away with public transport from Valencia or Alicante. As we were here when it was low season, we had no problem finding a parking lot on the street to walk around the apartment to take a look.
By car: You can park your car at right next to the apartment complex.
With public transport: There is a bus that goes all the way from Alicante or Valencia to Calp. If you depart from Alicante, it takes between 1 or 2 hours and if you depart from Valencia, it takes between 3 or 4 hours, depending on which bus you takes, to complete the trip. Find more information about the bus trips here.
When is the best time to visit La Muralla Roja?
Spain is a year round destination, so you won’t do wrong with any time. But I would recommend to go during the off-seasons as the apartments would be a lot more cheaper to rent. We were there in January and it still was pretty cold. There is also a bigger chance of rain. However, the day we visited Calpe, the sun was shining and it was nice to see the sun.
But to answer the question, the best time to visit Calpe is between March to May (Spring) or September to November (Fall). These months, the weather is the most pleasant, the crowds are less and it’s less expensive.
Can you get inside without staying at La Muralla Roja?
The short answer is no. You can’t get inside the apartment complex without booking a stay. We didn’t know that until the day before, so I don’t have any pictures of the inside of the building. We still decided to go as the outside architecture still is very impressive, but it would’ve been better if we actually got to see the inside. As people actually live there, it makes a lot of sense that they don’t want tourists to get inside and take pictures of their home all day. If you want to go inside, you need to stay the night inside the complex. You can rent it on Airbnb, with some starting with around €100 per night.
If you don’t have a booking, that doesn’t mean you don’t need to visit this place. As it’s only a 15 minute drive away from the city center of Calpe, it’s a shame if you would skip it. Undoubtedly, the outside view of the apartment is pretty nice to see and you still get to make cool pictures, even though you are limited. Also, you will have a beautiful view over Peñon de Ifach that you definetly want to climb later on!
Other things to do near La Muralla Roja
Right next to La Muralla Roja, there is another special building, called Xanadú. It’s also from the Spanish architect Ricardo Bofill and is one of his most iconic works. It would be a shame if you didn’t see this building! This one is also possible to rent! You can’t deny that Ricardo knows how to make literal artpieces!
Other things you can do while staying (or visiting) La Muralla Roja is Calpe itself! It’s a very beautiful town and I’m glad we decided to visit this for one day after visiting Valencia. You can do the same so find out more about those places by clicking below:
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Hello, I’m Ellen and welcome to this blog! I’m in love with exploring the world and hopefully I get to inspire you with these blog posts and pictures to feel the same. You will find detailed itineraries, hidden gems, tips and so much more!
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