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Important areas on the Costa del Sol
Nerja
Benalmadena
Fuengirola
Mijas
Calahonda
Marbella
Estepona
Nerja is a tourism-oriented town on the Costa del Sol in the province of Málaga, which lies in one of Spain's 17 autonomous regions, Andalusia, on the country's southern, Mediterranean coast. It lies about 50 km east of the city of Málaga, and is within 1 hour 15 minutes drive of the Alhambra in the city of Granada, and 30 minutes more to skiing in the Sierra Nevada Mountains.
It is the eastern-most town in the area known as the Axarquía and has an official population of around 22,000 (in 2008) — nearly 30% of which are foreign residents, including around 2,600 British — although the true expatriate population is probably at least twice that. In the summer months, tourism swells the population several times more.
Nerja has several beaches set in charming coves beneath cliffs and one of the best climates in Europe. It is also becoming a significant centre for walkers, thanks to the dramatic mountain scenery of the nearby Sierra de Almijara and Sierra Tejeda. The Sierra de Burno overlooks the town and provides an imposing challenge to climbers. Those who are willing to test their mountain skills to the full will find the southern route up this mountain especially rewarding.
The municipality is situated approximately 20 km to the west of the city of Málaga, on the southern coast between Torremolinos and Fuengirola, in the heart of the Costa del Sol and Alhaurín de la Torre in the North. It has a population of approximately 53,000 residents, but also caters for a large number of tourists.Benalmadena has both a traditional Spanish village and a modern, coastal, tourist area.
The municipality has three main urban areas:
Benalmádena Pueblo, the original village, which lies about three kilometres inland at an elevation of approximately 200 m above mean sea level. Its core consists of a typical white-fronted Andalusian village, although much recent building in modern architectural styles has somewhat detracted from its character. The town of Benalmádena also has an archaeological museum with locally-derived artefacts dating back to the Bronze Age.
Benalmádena Costa, an urban agglomeration on the coast. Here there are discos, hotels, beaches, shopping centers and an extensively-equipped marina.[1] Tourist attractions include SeaLife aquarium and Selwo Marina, a theme park with dolphins, penguins and seals among other species. The Parque Paloma is a more recent addition to the attractions, a landscaped park containing a large lake and animals running wild.
Arroyo de la Miel, originally a separate village, is in the interior between the other two areas. It has become the main residential area, and is also the most commercially active. Buildings are tightly packed and tend to be apartment blocks. It also has several attractions such as the Tivoli World amusement park, and a teleferico (cable car running to the summit of the 769-metre Calamorro mountain, which provides panoramic views of the Sierra Nevada, Gibraltar and on clear days, the Moroccan coastline. Arroyo de la Miel translates as "Stream of Honey&quout; in English.
It is a major tourist resort, with more than 8 km of beaches, and home to a mediæval Moorish fortress.
The area enjoys a subtropical Mediterranean climate, with annual average temperatures of 18ºC.
Fuengirola now offers all the facilities to be expected of a major tourist centre - hotels, restaurants, bars, clubs, discothèques, semi-legal sex trade, sports clubs, a yacht harbour, and broad beaches along a promenade extending east and west from the town, that includes smaller adjacent villages.
Of the approximately 60,000 inhabitants registered in the municipality, 25% come from other countries, mainly European (England, Ireland, Scotland, Finland and Sweden, among others), and also from Morocco and Argentina. In the summer especially, the town plays host to throngs of visitors both Spanish and foreign, but in particular British. The English community in particular is large enough to support a fully developed programme of activities and local groups.
Mijas is a town and municipality in the province of Málaga, in Andalusia, southern Spain. It is a typically Andalusian white-washed village located at a mountain side about 450 m above mean sea level, in the heart of the Costa del Sol region. There are some local history museums and many souvenir shops, Mijas also has seven golf courses (four more are under construction) including La Cala Resort the biggest golf resort in Spain. Like much of this coast, it continues to grow in urban development, although at a somewhat more low-key pace. In addition, there are several places to explore the countryside from horseback.
The municipality includes:
Mijas Pueblo (the hillside village)
Mijas Costa (main commercial and residential area adjacent to (but not strictly part of) Fuengirola
La Cala de Mijas (separate village and small resort by the sea to the west)
Las Lagunas (largely suburban and mixed commercial to the north of Fuengirola)
In 2008 it had 70,473 inhabitants, which makes it the fourth minicipality in the province in population. It focuses on three main urban areas: Mijas Pueblo, located on the slope of the Sierra de Mijas, is the historic center of town, Las Lagunas, located in the area called Mijas Costa, part of the urban continuum of the town of Fuengirola and La Cala, a coastal town.
Sitio de Calahonda is a small town in Andalusia in the south of Spain. The town has a predominantly non-Spanish population being very popular with English and Germans. It lies on the coast about halfway between Fuengirola and Marbella. The town comes under the jurisdiction of Mijas.
While the majority of Calahonda's 600,000 square metres is devoted to villas, townhouses and golf courses, there are three commercial centres which house most of the development's restaurants, cafeterias and pubs as well as banks, supermarkets and a variety of other businesses.
Marbella is a city in Andalusia, Spain, by the Mediterranean, situated in the province of Málaga, beneath La Concha. In 2000 the city had 98,823 inhabitants, in 2004, 116,234, in 2010 circa 135,000.Marbella and the nearby Puerto Banús are important beach resorts of the Costa del Sol. The town is famous for being a playground for the rich and famous. Marbella is famed as an exclusive destination for wealthy tourists from Northern Europe, as well as the well-heeled from the UK, Ireland and Germany.
Marbella county covers a total area of 114.3 sq km and 26 km along the coast.
It comprises several important urban sites: Marbella, San Pedro de Alcántara, Puerto Banús, Nueva Andalucia and Las Chapas, as well as several suburbs.
Estepona has a lot of well priced developments. Estepona is close to Marbella and Puerto Banus, however there are many differences between the jetset towns and Estepona. Estepona has a lovely cosy little harbour, which is small and many locals can be spotted amongst tourists. Esteponas essential economic sources were for years, the fishing, agriculture and cattle, and even today, remain some of those economic factors, though tourism has become the main one. And that of course due to its wonderful climate, well kept sandy beaches, such as La Rada and Cristo Beach, and an extraordinary touristic offer, which comprise from golf courses and pleasure crafts harbour to its fantastic restaurants.
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