Costa del Sol
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Overview
Regularly derided but perennially popular, Spain’s famous ‘sun coast’ is a chameleonic agglomeration of end-to-end resort towns that were once (hard to believe) mere fishing villages. Development in the last 60 years has been far-reaching and not always subtle, throwing up a disjointed muddle of urbanizaciones, each with its own niche. Torremolinos is a popular gay resort, Benalmádena plugs theme parks and aquariums, Fuengirola draws families and water-sport lovers, Mijas poses as one of Andaucía's authentic white villages of yore, Marbella is loudly rich and partial to big yachts and golf, while Estepona maintains a semblance of its former Spanish self. Take your pick.
01 / Attractions
Must-see attractions
Málaga
This unmissable museum in the city of Picasso’s birth provides a solid overview of the great master and his work, although, surprisingly, it only came to…
Málaga
Málaga’s elaborate cathedral was started in the 16th century on the site of the former mosque. Of the mosque, only the Patio de los Naranjos survives, a…
Nerja
It’s hard to imagine the surreal world that lies beneath the mountain foothills 4km east of Nerja, and it’s even harder to believe that these vast caverns…
Málaga
No time to visit Granada’s Alhambra? Then Málaga’s Alcazaba can provide a taster. The entrance is beside the Roman theatre, from where a meandering path…
Málaga
One remnant of Málaga’s Islamic past is the craggy ramparts of the Castillo de Gibralfaro, spectacularly located high on the hill overlooking the city…
Jardín Botánico Histórico La Concepción
Málaga
These exotic gardens were conceived in the mid-19th century by the Loring-Heredia clan, a noble family of railway builders and bankers who bequeathed the…
Málaga
North of the city's main artery, the Alameda Principal, you’ll find this striking 19th-century iron-clad building incorporating the original Moorish gate…
Málaga
Located in an aesthetically renovated 16th-century palace in the heart of the city’s former Moorish quarter, this extensive collection concentrates on…
02 / Plan with a local
Build a memorable collection
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