Marbella

Language

Spanish is the predominant language although English runs a close second.

Best travel time

Marbella enjoys an excellent climate especially outside the hot mid-summer months. Daytime temperatures in the winter are usually around 17C and in the summer 28C and above.

Communication

Marbella is a sophisticated town with good cell and broadband networks.

Traditions and Culture

Marbella and neighbouring Puerto Banus are the most important tourist destinations for the rich and affluent on the Costa del Sol. Marbella is particularly popular with part-time residents from Northern Europe who migrate south during the winter. Society in Marbella is a mix of British, Irish and Germans complemented by wealthy Arabs and Royalty from UAE and Saudi Arabia. Marbella is truly international and accommodates most tastes but it is still a Spanish town and offers excellent fish, meat and leather goods and ceramics markets and some very fine restaurants. The recession has impacted on Marbella as it has other regions of Spain but life is good because the weather is so kind. Away from the coast, the countryside is mountainous and beautiful and there are many delightful villages where lunch or dinner is not as eye-wateringly expensive as in Puerto Banus. Most entertainment is eating and socialising but there are clubs in Marbella and, of course, the soft sand of the beaches and the lapping Mediterranean.

Religion

Roman Catholicism is the official religion but there are also worshippers of Islam.

By bus

There is a Municipal bus service and local taxis are plentiful.

By plane

Malaga is the nearest airport and it is advisable to rent a car from the airport as getting around in Marbella without personal transport can be time consuming.

Sights

Marbella is an attractive town but a succession of corrupt and now jailed councillors caused it to be seriously overdeveloped. However, inland, there is the mountain hideaway of Ronda, a small town with its own historic bullring that is accessed via a twisting mountainous road. Once there, the views are magnificent and the atmosphere within the stone walls is green, floral and relaxing. Well-worth the trip!

Food

Owing to the extreme wealth of many of its residents, Marbella has some of the finest cuisine in the world. For those with pockets not quite so deep there is still a fabulous choice of reasonably priced restaurants offering paella and other seafood dishes and classic Spanish lamb. For lunch, many restaurants offer gazpacho cold soup, omelette and salad, veal, chicken and French fries / chips.