España – Málaga – Marbella – Old Town (En)
For you to get to know Marbella, I am going to start with its Old Town, a network of narrow streets with an Arab layout and Andalusian architecture. You will love its white houses with balconies full of flowers and bougainvillaea, the local craft shops, the typical taverns where you can have a drink with a tapa and the restaurants where you can try local specialities. You must see Ancha Street, a 19th-century street with noble houses with large balconies full of flowers and coats of arms carved on their facades.
Going down the narrow streets you arrive at Orange square built after the Christian Reconquest in 1485, surrounded by Andalusian-style white houses and historic buildings such as the Town Hall, the Corregidor House and the Santiago Chapel, the oldest religious temple in the city. The centre of the square is occupied by a beautiful Reinassance fountain and numerous orange trees that give colour and name to this square, as well as many terraces where you can have a drink while you watch the daily hustle and bustle of tourists.
From Orange square, you can get to Art and Salinas Street where the walls of the old Citadel are located. Built between the 11th and 12th centuries, during the reign of Abdurrahman III, the ruins of this castle are the most important remains of the Muslim civilization preserved in the city. You arrive at the Church of Santa María de la Encarnación built at the beginning of the 17th century. It stands out for its facade with a magnificent red stone doorway, Rococo style, and a tower over 50 meters high. In the church square you can find a statue of St Bernabe, patron saint of Marbella, and the Museum of Contemporary Spanish Engraving, a beautiful 16th-century Renaissance building with more than 4000 works.
In the next post, you can see Alameda Park, the Avenue of del Mar, the promenade and harbour and Marbella beaches!
