11 Reasons Why You Should Visit Marbella At Least Once in Your Lifetime

Marbella is preceded by its reputation: it’s just a glitzy party town, full of plush nightclubs and bars where celebrities mix with Middle Eastern royalty. Right? Not really, as it turns out. Marbella is often conflated with the Golden Mile and Puerto Banús (see below), both of which lie outside the city itself. A trip here will enable you to see for yourself whether Marbella city deserves the reputation it has as a party town and little more.

If you like city beaches, then a trip to Marbella won’t disappoint. It boasts some excellent playas, all of which back onto bars, cafés and restaurants to suit every taste. The main stretch of sand is the Playa de la Fontanilla, which runs along the Paseo Maritimo and the southern edge of Marbella; if you head further west, beyond the city centre, you’ll find the city’s fishing quarter and the lovely Playa Bajadilla.

There is much more to Marbella, though, than its oldest quarter. Surrounding the casco antiguo are residential neighbourhoods that form the soul of the city. Miraflores (north of old town) will charm you with its street fruit and veg stalls, which serve as morning meeting points for the locals, while Divina Pastora (east of Represa Park) boasts one of the city’s liveliest food markets and a church with paintings of the eight provinces of Andalusia.

Most Andalusian cities hold their annual ferias on big sanded fairgrounds out of the city centre. During Marbella’s June Feria de San Bernabe, though, the partying also takes over the streets: there are flamenco performances, live concerts of every kind of music, fireworks and, of course, lots of drinking and dancing. It’s a great time to visit the city, and to see the local women attending the street parties in their finest flamenco attire.

Beautiful as Marbella’s old town is, it’s not just a neighbourhood of charming old buildings. This small chunk of the city is also home to one of southern Spain’s best shopping scenes (although not for shoppers on a budget): its streets are packed with classy boutiques selling everything from clothes to jewellery, shoes to artisan gifts and souvenirs. The neighbourhood almost feels like an unbelievably attractive, open-air shopping mall.

No visit to Marbella would be complete without sampling its wonderful seafood. You’ll discover your favourite whilst wandering around, but La Lonja is a popular spot for the locals, whilst Restaurante Puerto Playa is perhaps Marbella’s best-appointed seafood joint: located in the fishing neighbourhood, it has tables out on the sands of Playa Bajadilla. As with many of Marbella’s chiringuitos, fish are often cooked here over an open fire on the beach.