Posts Tagged ‘Marbella’
Marbella is the Costa del Sol’s most expensive town and the place to be for the jetset. Here lives around 100,000 inhabitants. Puerto Banus is located just west of the town, the center for the jetset, filled with yachts, ferraris and famous people.
You will also find the “golden mile”, with the biggest and most expensive nightclubs, and also a casino. Still, Marbella is a perfect place to visit, and there is much else to see.
Old Town
Small narrow, cobbled streets, fascinating shops, churches, nice cafés and squares. It’s a nice escape from the hustle of the bigger avenues, and the sometimes crowded beach walk. The center of the Old Town is the Orange Square, a typical andalucian style square, with Moorish influences, dating back to 1485, surrounded by whitewashed houses. Here is also the tourist office located if you would need any information. In the Old Town you will find many interesting buildings and monuments, such as the impressive cathedral.
Paseo Maritimo
Marbella has a beatufiul beach walk, or esplanade, 7 kms, from the centre of Marbella to the port Puerto Banus. Beaches, cafes and bars, and possibilities to do water sports in the summer months.
Roman Villa & Roman Baths
The remains of a hispanic-roman villa, noted for its well preserved mosaics, as well as the Roman baths there.
Marbella Mosque
A beautiful mosque overlooking the golden mile, one of the first being constructed since the Christian reconquering from the Moors during the 1400′s.
Puerto Banus
Impressive yachts, and the latest models of some sport cars are to be seen while walking along the port. Inside the port you will find alot of pubs and discos, but this is an really expensive area and the place to be if you want to hang out with the jetset, or just spend some more money than usual.
Marbella nightlife varies tremendously, you can wander the narrow winding, cobbled streets of the old-town in search of a local bar or along the promenade. If you’re feeling adventurous you could take the bull by the horns and go on a pub-crawl in the port area and then hit some Marbella biggest and most extravagant nightclubs.
The Costa del Sol is a notorious late started when it comes to partying. Things don’t really get going after 1am, so expect a late night. If you’re considering a night out at one of the major clubs in Marbella, then in summer 3-4 am is a good time to arrive! In fact bring out your sun cream and you can hit the beach on your way home.
During the summer months Marbella is awash with international movie stars, musicians and wealthy business and media people, thus creating a very glitzy nightlife scene with some ridiculously expensive clubs. Foremost among these is the chic Oliva Valer , in the Carretera Istan. Open Friday and Saturday from midnight to 7am with a cover charge of €30. If you want to hobnob with the stars then this is the place to be. If you’re in the heart of historic Marbella, enjoy a night in the bodegas and taverns of the Old Town.
You find several little bars and cafés in and around Plaza de los Olivos and Plaza Joaquín Gómez Aguera . Most of them have a wide choice of sherries, wines, and tapas, the atmosphere in the area of friendly, local and inviting. The best flamenco club in town is Ana María on Plaza del Santo Cristo . The stage is full with singers, dancers, and musicians performing traditional and popular flamenco songs. The club only opens at 11pm and get going between midnight and 4am. The long and often-crowded bar area sells tapas, wine, sherry and a good selection of beers and soft drinks.
In Marbella you will find all kind of sports, and the city house alot of sport facilities. Golf, sailing and tennis are popular activitites, and for outdoor activitites the nearby mountains makes it a perfect setting for those interested in sport.
Puerto Banus, which is located just west of Marbella, welcomes each year, some of the biggest and most luxurious yachts in the world, this is the place to be for the wealthy. Many of these take part in regattas and are used for recreational sailing.
The marina is surrounded by the designer shops, bars and restaurants. Marbella is a sport lover’s paradise, with over a dozen magnificent world class golf courses and a magnitude of water sports to choose from. The city had three marinas where you can hire various sailing, rowing and motor boats, not to mention chartering boats for scuba diving, snorkelling or just a relaxing time in the Med.
The city also has several riding schools, tennis clubs and other facilities to suit a wide range of tastes. The Sierra Blanca hills provide an opportunity to pursue alternative types of outdoor pursuits, such as; hiking and mountain biking. The place to go fishing in Marbella is in the Fuengirola . It´s about 5 miles south of the city and you will find fantastic deep sea fishing. The most prominent fish to catch is this area is tuna and you know what they say ‘the early bird catches the worm’, so set off early for the best fishing conditions.
Marbella maybe not is the center of art, but still has alot of art galleries and museums to offer. The two most important museums are Museo del Grabado Español Contemporáneo (Museum of Spanish Contemporary Engravings), and Museo del Bonsai (Bonsai Museum).
Museo del Grabado Español Contemporáneo
In this very old building in the old town of Marbella, you will find a very good collection of contemporary art. Represented are artists like Picasso, Miró, Tapies, Chillida and other famous painters.
Where: Hospital Bazan, s/n Marbella
Museo del Bonsai
Situated in a modern building in Marbell, the Museo de Bonsai holds a collection of miniature trees, and a 300-year-old olive tree from China. It´s one of the best collections in the world.
Where: Parque Arroyo de la Repesa, Av. Dr. Maiz Viñal, Marbella
The city of Marbella was founded around 1600 BC by the Romans who named it Saldub, which means Salt City. When the Muslims arrived in the first decade of the 6th century, they called the town Marbil-la, and so the town got the name Marbella from the Spanish during the christian re-conquest 1485.
The original Muslim design of the old town is still evident today.
In the 19th century Marbella started to grow again this time more rapidly than before, expanding beyond the historic old town to areas along side what is now the Parque Arroyo de la Represa . The city started to take it’s present shape after the Spanish civil war during 1936 and 1939. It was not until the middle of 1940s that tourists started to go there here in large numbers, though this was after entrepreneurs like Prince Alfonso de Hohenlohe started the construction of hotels and apartment buildings.
Afterwards, the rich and famous started to flock to the resort and praised Marbella by word of mouth all over the world. In a period of just 50 years a small fishing and farming village has been transformed into an international tourist hot-spot, with a magnificent climate and world class golf courses.
