Costa del Sol — Destination Guide: Overview

The Costa del Sol offers a benign climate, fiestas, fun, budget prices, and the sapphire-blue Mediterranean. It also has Málaga city and a beautiful hinterland of craggy mountains, and rolling hills covered in olives, almonds, citrus and vines. Though a busy port, Málaga is increasingly sophisticated with burgeoning art, music and restaurant scenes. The striking Gibralfaro fort overlooks the city. On Málaga's most scenic street and in its most beautiful palace, is the brilliant Museo Picasso. To the west, one urban area merges into another uniting what were once fishing villages. The main towns have long, wide, sandy ...

The Costa del Sol offers a benign climate, fiestas, fun, budget prices, and the sapphire-blue Mediterranean. It also has Málaga city and a beautiful hinterland of craggy mountains, and rolling hills covered in olives, almonds, citrus and vines. Though a busy port, Málaga is increasingly sophisticated with burgeoning art, music and restaurant scenes. The striking Gibralfaro fort overlooks the city. On Málaga's most scenic street and in its most beautiful palace, is the brilliant Museo Picasso. To the west, one urban area merges into another uniting what were once fishing villages. The main towns have long, wide, sandy beaches and numerous foreigners. Torremolinos is party town while Benalmadena has a semi-luxury marina and theme parks. Benalmadena fuses into Fuengirola, above which is the attractive village of Mijas. Then it's on to glitzy, expensive Marbella, known for recent corruption scandals. Visit its pretty, old town and its luxury marina, Puerto Banús. The two are joined by the Golden Mile, a stretch of road flanked by millionaires' homes. Farther west, Estepona is a lower-key, family beach resort.

About the Expert

John Noble and Susan Forsyth are coauthors of Lonely Planet's Spain, Andalucia, and Mexico as well as many other LP titles from Indonesia to Belize to Brazil.