Marbella

Secure, clean, cosmopolitan

• Marbella is worth more than just one visit
• How to get to Marbella
• Climate chart
• Useful telephone numbers
• Consulates

Marbella is worth more than just one visit

Mention this name anywhere else in the world and it will nearly always be linked with spectacular homes, the Jet Set and their corresponding life-style. This is quite wrong! Once you have had a good look at Marbella, a quite different perspective unfolds. It is a place that is favoured by the gods.

Let us start with the climate - air as sweet as wine, very little rain, not too cold, and with lots of sunshine. This alone is enough to make anyone happy. This climate magically creates a dream-like variation of colours. The sea itself is interchangeable; one moment green, the next blue, sometimes grey, sometimes jet-black or any of the shades in-between. The sunrises and sunsets are breathtaking, going from yellow and orange to fiery or dark red. The mountain range, as a backdrop to the sea, offers a magically enchanting, never monotonous, scene.Just a short way into the mountains offers a breathtaking panoramic view as far as Gibraltar, and on many days, to the mountains of Africa. Well-tended and luxuriant vegetation everywhere is a constant joy to behold, and in many places, you have the impression of being in the Garden of Eden " or, at least, close to Paradise.

Strolling through the neat town of Marbella, there is something for everyone. Fortunately, there are still many small, very elegant shops interspersed between international stores that are classed amongst the most important in Europe. Even the old-fashioned "village corner shops" have not completely disappeared. There is a very lovely, and very wide pedestrianised promenade, where you can enjoy a stroll, or even a long walk, along an extensive stretch of sand and sea. The old town, with its narrow, Andalusian style streets, in some places peaceful, and in others bustling, is not to be missed. It is so picturesque that it often resembles a scene from a theatre. Around each corner lies a new, wonderfully peaceful spot. In the middle of all this lies the much-loved Orange Square, which takes its name from its many orange trees under which you can take a rest in the sun to recuperate by having a drink or a nice meal in one of several small restaurants. In the evening, this square is a scene not to be missed. Even in the high season, Marbella is not overcrowded. It carries on in a way that can only be appreciated by seeing it for yourself. If you are not full board in one of the first class hotels, there are many small, elegant, gourmet restaurants in very varied, but always tasteful, surroundings. Whether you are very hungry or just fancy a snack, your needs can be satisfied by a great variety of dishes (Spanish wine, fresh fish and seafood all form part of the list of "musts") We will be pleased to give you recommendations.
You will, of course, also find excellent restaurants, bars, bistros, café and discotheques in the area surrounding Marbella. In spite of the international and very cosmopolitan public, typical Spanish cuisine has still not been lost.

If you are looking for extra interest, then head for Puerto Banús, Marbella's famous yacht marina. There you can admire not only enormous yachts and sailing ships, but you will also find almost round the clock "entertainment", be it breakfasting in one of the café, shopping in one of the many boutiques (open until late at night), having a drink or a meal in one of the countless restaurants, bars and discos, or simply while strolling around. If you are in this area, be sure to pay a visit to the Corte Inglés department store " there is nothing they do not have.

Should you be a golfer, total relaxation is assured on one of the 38 golf courses in the area, all with magnificent views each more beautiful than the last.

The beach is welcoming at any season of the year. In winter there are days in which you can lie on the beach in a swimming costume or, until mid April, ski in the nearby Sierra Nevada at an altitude of 3,300 metres. It is always possible to go swimming, depending on the weather and your fancy, you can either visit an indoor swimming pool, one of the many outdoor pools, or swim in the sea, which, due to the proximity of the Atlantic, is sure to never reach "bathtub temperature".
Did you know that whilst here you can also go for wonderful mountain hikes? It is possible to enjoy the coolness of the mountains on hot summer days, the Pueblos Blancos (White Villages), which are well worth visiting, and finally, excursions are available in any direction " even out to sea! In the course of your travels you can discover countless cultural monuments which lie behind the fascinating history of Andalusia. Keen surfers value the proximity of Tarifa, a paradise of endless, white sandy beaches and large breakers rolling in from the Atlantic.

Along the new motorway, Málaga International airport can be reached in just 20 minutes. Once there, direct flights will take you to every point of the globe.

All these unique features entice more and more Europeans to spend their twilight years in Marbella or to make a temporary retreat here, either from, or to continue, their professional life. After all it makes little difference whether you take a business flight from London to Dublin, for example, or from Marbella to Dublin.

So, discover Marbella - it's worth it - you'll keep coming back.

How to get to Marbella

Useful telephone numbers

Consulates