Marbella

As we all know Marbella is a privileged place due to its location on the Costa del Sol and at the foot of the La Concha Mountain as well as for its year-round climate and its exclusive ambience.

But Marbella is also a paradise for golf lovers. A dozen magnificent courses allow you to practise this sport against the unusual backdrop of the sea and the mountains. The historic part of the town, set in a beautiful bay, is home to beautiful corners with a typically Andalusian flavour, with whitewashed houses and orange trees that adorn the streets and squares. An ideal setting for tasting any of the succulent recipes of the local gastronomy.

Proof of the high quality of its infrastructures is Puerto Banús, one of the most emblematic places in Marbella. Surrounded by exclusive urbanisations, this famous marina welcomes some of the largest and most luxurious yachts in the world every year. Its facilities also offer a select leisure area made up of restaurants, bars and shops of major international fashion and luxury goods brands. From Cabopino to Guadalmina, Marbella offers visitors a beautiful 26-kilometre coastline with a succession of sunny beaches equipped with all kinds of services, including modern hotels, residential complexes, shops and restaurants. The beaches of San Pedro de Alcántara, an important centre located less than ten kilometres from Marbella, are a good example of harmony between nature and tourist development.

Marbella has been and continues to be a reference point for luxury tourism in Spain. But Marbella is not only that, it is also a destination accessible to everyone with many options to enjoy a holiday or a getaway. There's plenty to see and do in Marbella, and here we'll give you some ideas.

Beyond the over-the-top luxury and glitz, Marbella is also internationally recognised as one of Spain's cultural heritage cities.

Marbella's historic city centre preserves its narrow, winding streets, a legacy of its Moorish past, and its Andalusian architecture. It can be visited both day and night and is full of bars and restaurants with pleasant terraces where you can enjoy a drink. In the very centre is the Plaza de los Naranjos, with its old white houses from the 15th century and where you can also find the town hall. Also in the old town is the Museo del Grabado, which is well worth a visit.

Next to the old town you can visit the Alcazaba, also of Arab origin and built in the 10th century, although it is built on Roman remains from the 2nd and 2nd centuries BC.

From the old town and in the direction of the beach, you will find the Avenida del Mar, a very lively and busy place with people strolling around and terraces where you can have a drink. You can see several sculptures in the open air, some of them by Salvador Dalí.

Strolling along the Paseo Marítimo is also a very good and pleasant option, with a length of 17 kilometres from Marbella to San Pedro... a very nice walk!

You can't leave Marbella without visiting Puerto Banús, a well-known and popular destination for luxury and ostentation. It is an ideal place to visit the main brand name shops or to go for a drink in the evening in one of its fashionable bars.

Marbella is a wonderful little town on the shores of the Mediterranean, with something for everyone, whether it's luxury yacht-spotting, luxury clubbing or free excursions through some of the most picturesque mountain and seaside scenery.

It has something on offer for many types of tourism at a wide range of price points, such as Spanish gastronomy, cultural experiences, adventure getaways and, of course, the music scene with Starlite.  And if you're not available in Marbella just an hour away is Málaga, the provincial capital, which boasts incredible art museums, historical monuments, Moorish-style spas and wonderful natural parks, as well as a lively university student community and corresponding nightlife.

For those young adults for whom the night is for the living, a typical week-long Andalusian fiesta, the summer 'feria', starts after midnight and ends at dawn (the coolest part of the day) and is certainly an experience to remember, although for those more conservative types, it remains a traditional institution that will surprise even the most agnostic travellers. Other very attractive cities within a 2 hour or more drive include Gibraltar, Cadiz, Seville, Cordoba and of course Granada. The problem for people of all ages is not finding something to do, but choosing what to do in the time you have in this magical part of the world.

Initially, Marbella's urban bus service had only one line, Line 1, which connected Marbella's Plaza de Toros with Puerto Banús through the city centre and along the N-340 from El Pirulí to the entrance of Puerto Banús.

Gradually, more lines were added to the service, and after various comings and goings, the city now has a total of 13 lines, covering most of the population and areas of Marbella.

In any case, getting around Marbella is generally no more inconvenient than any other city, with occasional times when traffic is heavier and slower, at peak times, but fluid the rest of the time.

Buying or renting a property is not cheap in the province of Malaga. In fact, nine Malaga municipalities are among the 50 most expensive in Spain in the second quarter of this year 2022, according to data from a nationwide study.

If you want to buy a property in the province of Malaga you should know that Benahavís is the most expensive municipality in Spain, with an average total price of 1.8 million euros. The third is Marbella with 1.1 million euros, with Calviá (Balearic Islands) in between at 1.4 million euros. These are average prices and of course there are large luxury villas with much higher costs. Of course, there are also countless properties below these prices and affordable to more modest pockets.

But when you compare the prices of food, accommodation, education and lifestyle with those of other European cities, you will find that Marbella is less expensive. For example, Marbella is 41% less expensive than London, 12% cheaper than Rome and 31% cheaper than Paris.

As for the price of utilities (electricity, water, internet), these are not very different from those found in any other town in the country.