Title: Marbella Spain - Full Travel Guide for 2024 Copyright: Travel Scout
56 km west of Málaga lies the most famous tourist and vacation paradise on the Costa del Sol, Marbella, with its 26 km long coastal strip from Cabopino to San Pedro de Alcántara. The city of Marbella itself is a combination of two cities, the old Marbella and the new one built in the 1960s and onwards.
The old town is dominated by narrow streets and small white houses and the most famous place is probably the Plaza de los Naranjos - the orange square.
In the new town there were built lots of villa and townhouse urbanizations, luxury hotels and apartment complexes. The city may at first glance give a stereotypical image and that is probably the opinion of many, but it is undoubtedly the Costa del Sol's and all of Spain's most famous and in a class of its own.
The previous municipal government, led by controversial mayor Jesus Gil, made major changes to the city. They modernized the seafront, planted thousands of plants and trees and made the town, which was relatively run-down in the 1980s, the most interesting and visited tourist spot on the Costa del Sol.
Gil's methods were not always popular in all circles, and he was a highly controversial figure, opposed by the other political parties. But he worked wonders with the city, which has now blossomed again and is once more attracting the jet-set of Spain and Europe.
In addition, several of the oil sheikhs and their families have established themselves in the area and therefore a mosque has also been built just outside Marbella. Marbella offers most things a visitor or resident can dream of. The offer is complete and there are, among other things, countless golf courses, tennis facilities, sports complexes, a large number of art galleries and a business fair and congress palace. Marbella has three marinas and a fishing port within the municipal boundaries.
The most famous is Puerto Banus between Marbella and San Pedro de Alcántara. The main attraction of Puerto Banus has always been the harbor and the special nightlife that is created in the area with an amazing collection of yachts, Rolls-Royces in long rows and Lamborghinis carrying their passengers to and from the nearby casino to crowded bars and delicious restaurants where almost every night you see some world celebrity.
Near Puerto Banus, Nueva Andalucia is an area with four famous golf courses, Aloha - Los Naranjos - Las Brisas and La Quinta - and where thousands of northern Europeans have bought a home.
This area is home to the most Swedes on the entire coast, closely followed by Fuengirola. Nueva Andalucia also has a large bullring and one of the coast's two casinos, Casino Nueva Andalucia.
The other two marinas are located in Cabopino, east of Marbella, and in Marbella itself. San Pedro de Alcántara is a town in its own right but belongs to Marbella municipality. Also very popular with Swedes with the two 18-hole courses at Guadalmina Golf.
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