Marbella, Spain. Top things to do in Marbella Spain and day trip to Ronda Spain.
History and Location
Marbella is one of the most glamorous cities in Spain.
It has a population of approximately 142,000.
It is a resort city in southern Spain on the Costa de Sol and is part of Andalusia. Marbella covers an area of 27km of sandy beaches, villas, hotels and golf courses.
West of Marbella town is the golden mile of prestigious nightclubs and coastal estates that leads to Puerto Banus marina filled with luxury yachts and is surrounded by upmarket shops and bars.
The nearest airports are in Malaga to the east and Gibraltar to the west.
Sugar cane was introduced to Marbella in 1644 resulting in the construction of numerous sugar mills. Sugar cane was a very valuable commodity at this time.
Ricardo Soriano Marquis of Ivany moved to Marbella and popularized it amongst his rich and famous friends. The beginning of tourism in Marbella started in 1943 when he built a resort Venta Y Albergues El Rodeo.
Soriano’s nephew - Prince Alfonso - then continued the tradition and opened the Marbella Club in 1954. It is an international resort which appeals to famous actors, business executives and nobility.
Old Town Area
Right in the heart of the old town is the Plaza de los Naranjos. It is quite a large square surrounded by gorgeous shops, restaurants and bars. It has the traditional orange trees around the cobblestone plaza, but now to make it look even more spectacular, the local restaurants all have bright orange umbrellas.
The old town area is pedestrian only. Many of the streets are very narrow. It is definitely one of the prettiest old towns in Spain. It combines the historic buildings with the white quaint buildings with balconies, cobblestones, pretty flowers and quirky shops.
It is one of those gorgeous places that you could wander around for hours.
There are quite a few plaza areas around the old town where the restaurants have tables spilling out on the streets where you can sit and enjoy eating tapas and enjoy a vino.
Parks and Beaches of Marbella
It is an easy walk from the Old Town of Marbella to the beach. First though you walk through Alameda Park. This beautiful shady park has marbled paved walkways, water fountains, lush vegetation and gorgeous benches with hand painted ceramic tiles.
Next is a short walk down Avenida del Mar (Beach Avenue) which takes you to the main beach area of Playa de La Venus.
Along the avenue, which is a wide pedestrian street, are the most amazing Salvador Dali statues that are placed down the length of the walkway.
The beach areas of Marbella have many places to relax and enjoy the atmosphere. There are many beach chairs and umbrellas for hire. If you are hungry or thirsty while you are at the beach, then there are bars and restaurants either along the path or right on the sand that you can purchase something to eat or drink and wander back to your shady beach chair.
Puerto Banus
This area is a 7km walk along the beach from Marbella. It is a port marina area for the rich and glamorous of the world.
Along the walkway are the expensive and private resorts and estates of the very wealthy.
The luxury marina and shopping district of Puerto Banus was opened in 1970. It was built by Jose Banus, a local property developer.
The marina berths 950 boats. It is rumoured that the King of Saudi Arabia and several of the world’s wealthiest people keep their yachts there.
It is surrounded by upmarket restaurants and luxury boutiques.
There are 32 golf courses within 30 minutes of Marbella.
Day trip to Sierra Blanca
Ojen, a white village close to Marbella in the Sierra Blanca.
We were lucky enough to meet up with some new friends that we had made on Instagram – Janet and Michael.
We spent a day with them exploring a pretty area in the Sierra Blanca called La Concha which is a short hike to a lookout at 1200m. The views back to the ocean and Marbella were incredible.
You could also see a cute little white hillside village called Ojen.
We headed to Ojen for lunch and had some fun navigating the very narrow streets. Eventually we made our way to our lunch destination of Hotel Mondo which was originally a castle.
Such a great day finished off at an authentic tapas bar in the Old Town of Marbella.
Day Trip to Ronda
We took a bus trip to Ronda from Marbella. It is an hour and 10 minutes windy, scenic drive to the village of Ronda which is 749m above sea level.
The main tourist attraction of Ronda is the world famous bridge called the Puente Neuvo – or new bridge – that is 120m high and spans 68m across El Tajo gorge which separates the Ronda’s 15th century new town from its old town dating back to Moorish rule.
It is called the new bridge because the original bridge collapsed in the late 1735s killing 50 people. The current bridge was completed in 1793.
The Plaza del Toros (bull ring) was built in 1785. You can do a tour of the bullring.
You can walk across the bridge into the Old Town area. One of the best places to see the history of the gorge is at the Casa Del Rey Moro. This palace was built by the Moors in the 14th century.
There is an entrance from the garden area to a small staircase that takes you to the bottom of the gorge.
There are many vantage spots to take photos and view the famous bridge.
Next place to visit on this side of the gorge is the Cathedral of Ronda with one of the most beautiful bells towers in all of Spain which is in the town hall square.
The square is a nice place to enjoy a meal at one of the local restaurants.
The “newer” part of Ronda has some great plazas to explore as well. The main shopping area is located here, and it is usually decorated with bridge colours.
Ronda is a very popular daytrip location as it is close to several bigger cities in Andalusia.
We would recommend staying overnight if possible to enjoy the views when the tourists leave and the sun goes down.
Favourite Place to have a wine
Lyle’s favourite place was in Ronda with the views of the gorge and the bridge.
Leanne’s favourite place to have a wine was at Casa Del Moro in Ojen with our friends Janet and Michael.
You can listen to the full podcast episode about Marbella and Ronda here.