- Autonomous community: Andalusia
- Province: Málaga
- Comarca: Costa del Sol Occidental
- Area (total): 114.3 km2 (44.1 sq mi)
- Population: 147 633 (2020)
- Airport: Málaga-Costa del Sol Airport – 51 км
The city of Marbella, located on the southern coast of the Costa del Sol – is one of the most fashionable and luxurious resorts in Spain.
This is a favorite holiday destination for many celebrities, members of royal families and simply wealthy people from all over the world.
Marbella has a coastline of 28 km along the Costa del Sol. Today, it is one of the most popular resorts in Spain, where there is everything you need to spend unforgettable holidays: luxury villas and hotels, expensive yachts, chic shops and restaurants, beautiful green urbanizations.
Climate of Marbella
Marbella welcomes its guests with a mild Mediterranean climate. About 300 sunny days a year, high average annual temperatures, the absence of stifling heat in summer and frost in winter – all that makes your stay at this resort comfortable at any time of the year. Bad weather conditions? That’s extremely rare for Marbella. The maximum number of rainy days: in November – 4 and January – 4, and the minimum number: in June – 0, July – 0, August – 1, and September – 1.
The beach season starts in May and lasts until October. As early as in May, the air can warm up to +26 C and above during the day. The hottest months are July with +31.4°C and August with +31.4°C, but the summer heat is easily bearable thanks to the fresh sea breeze. The sea water is warmest in August and September: +22.5 °C and +21.6 ° C, respectively.
The «velvet» season starts in September and is characterized by a slight decrease in daytime temperature to +23°C, the absence of the heatwave and by cooler evenings. The Sierra Blanca mountain range protects the city from cold winds in winter. This warm and sunny weather attracts tourists to Marbella for the New Year holidays, so one can rest all year round here.
Beaches of Marbella
Marbella is rich in beautiful beaches, many of which are marked with the Blue flag award. They are located on both sides of the city: from the east and west. All of them are well equipped and focused on the rest of different categories of tourists, as each of them has its own advantages. There are beaches with charge admission and free ones.
Playa los Monteros
The Los Monteros beach is a secluded place surrounded by dunes. It stretches for 450 meters and covered with light-golden sand. The seabed is shallow and flat, that makes it perfect for swimming with small children.
Free parking is available nearby – that’s the other good thing about this, because the most convenient way to get there is by car. By the way, a great hotel with a landscaped park and an artificial pond is placed near the Los Monteros beach, and the residence of Antonio Banderas is also built here – the celebrity comes to rest in the summer.
The beach lies to the east of Marbella, in one of the most exclusive urbanizations of the city, and it is one of the quietest places in this municipality.
In addition to the incredible landscape of the Sierra Blanca chain, laying to the north of the city, there is a healthy microclimate with comfortable temperatures at any time of the year.
Playa del Cable
This is one of the most popular recreation areas in the eastern part of the city, which is often called the «New Bounty Beach». This place is especially loved by young people. The wide coastline is covered with pure golden sand. It has everything you need for a comfortable stay: umbrellas and sun beds, shower, WC, bar with reasonable prices for snacks and drinks, water sports equipment for rent and a variety of entertainment. There are lots of noisy parties every Sunday on summer evenings, that are attended not only by tourists, but also by local youth.
Playa del Alicate
The sandy and pebbly beach of Alicate is 850 meters long and 25 meters wide. This beach is remote from the center, surrounded by palm trees, pleases with pure sea water and the absence of a large flow of tourists. Other amenities include showers, beach umbrellas and deckchairs, WC, boat rentals and other sports equipment. In the summer, lifeguards are on duty at various points of the beach.
The Alicante beach is often chosen by young people as well as romantics of all ages: beautiful landscapes and almost two dozen bars guarantee relaxing recreation any time. Most of the visitors to the beach clubs are the owners of local villas.
Playa de Rio Real
The beach of Rio Real is only five minutes from the Bounty beach. The extension of the Río Real beach is 400 meters in length and about 30 meters in width. This is one of the most picturesque beaches in Marbella. The sand here is dark, coarse-grained.
For those who like sports and water hobbies, the Rio Real beach offers a great opportunity to practice them with jet ski rental and boat rides, among other activities.
Walking down this beach, you will find the golf course of the same name – one of the 70 golf courses that are spread by the so-called «Costa del Golf», surrounded by a magnificent infrastructure, and, of course, with perfect climate that allows to practice sports throughout the year. And on top of everything else, the Río Real golf course is one of the most famous and popular in Marbella.
Walking along the beach, one can also reach the exclusive Trocadero Arena Restaurant, a gastronomic experience that is worth to get.
The unique history of those places is also presented in this area: a site with various ceramic remains that date back even to Phoenician times has been found near the mouth of the Royal River.
The only drawback is that it is very crowded, which is worth to consider, coming in here.
Playa Cabopino
The Cabopino beach is surrounded by sand dunes – protected natural monuments, and the mass building of coastal habitable quarters is prohibited here. The beach is very clean and has excellent services, as evidenced by the Blue Flag award. Cabopino is located just 13 kilometers east of the center of Marbella.
The length of the Cabopino beach is 1500 meters, a width of 25 meters. Fine golden sand and the tender sea beckon everyone to bask in the sunshine. The crystal clear waves are calm and the seabed is shallow: that is why the Cabopino beach is so loved by families with young children. However, despite the popularity of the beach, one can always find a quiet secluded corner.
The Cabopino beach offers many bars and chiringuitos. There are several rental points for sun loungers, parasols and water sports equipment and boats: catamarans, yachts, jet skis, etc. There are organized touristic walks for observing dolphins and many other water activities.
The beach is bordered by the picturesque marina port of Cabopino, which has 169 berths whith luxury yachts moored. In the port of Cabopino, as well as on the beach, there is also a wide selection of restaurants and bars where one can enjoy with local specialities.
Playa Real De Zaragoza
The Real De Zaragoza beach is located in a privileged area 13 kilometers from Marbella and got its name thanks to the nearest urbanization. The beach is 1700 meters of length and about 30 meters of width, it is one of the most extensive beaches of the Marbella’s coastline. The sand here is clean, fine, golden in color.
The entrances to the beach are perfectly signposted, so it is easily accessible on foot and by car. There are also many luxury buildings in its surroundings – this area is one of the most exclusive residential areas in Europe.
Playa Real de Zaragoza also borders some of the most bright beach clubs in the Mediterranean, such as Nikki Beach and Don Carlos Beach Club.
Nikki Beach Marbella – Restaurant & Beach club
As the name suggests, this is not just a beach, but a beach club. Located in the most picturesque coastal area and surrounded by cliffs, it has long been a holiday destination for celebrities. Accordingly, there is everything for an unforgettable holiday, but the prices are quite high.
Playa de la Fontanilla
This is another well-developed city beach, really beautiful and always crowded. In addition to traditional beach restaurants and bars, there are cinemas, shopping centers, and gyms. There is a picturesque promenade nearby.
The construction of several dikes in front of the shore has favored the regeneration of the sandy areas, providing with comfortable walks through the beach. It extends along 1000 meters in length and about 30 meters in width.
Nearby is one of the magnificent hotels, which is considered to be a world-famous center for first-class tourism – the Hotel Don Pepe. The talented local chef Dani García undertook his dazzling career with the Calima Restaurant here.
Just 500 meters from the beach of La Fontanilla, one can find the Adolfo Suárez Congress and Exhibition Center of 10.000 m2 of surface, which houses an auditorium, an exhibition pavilion, meeting rooms and catering areas.
Playa de Nagüeles
The Nagüeles beach is a favorite place of rest of city dwellers in Marbella. The beach line is stretched for one and a half kilometers along the promenade of the famous Golden Mile district. During the season, the beach lovers from all over the country come here, so if you are looking for new impressions and a fun holiday – welcome to Playa de Nagüeles!
Along the shore, there is a wooden pier for small boats, owned by the Marbella Club Hotel. At sunset one can enjoy with the enchanting beach scenery and magnificent views of the Mount Concha mountains right behind the city of Marbella.
This beach has all the necessary amenities, including showers, WC, umbrellas, chiringuito, bars and restaurants – including the popular beach restaurant Trocadero Playa.
If you want, you can also rent anything here – from sun loungers to luxury yachts. In summer, the beach rest is guarded by experienced lifeguards.
Playa Nueva Andalucía
The beach of Nueva Andalucia lies to the West from the exclusive marina port – Puerto Banus. The length of the beach is only 1000 meters, and the width is about 30 meters. Besides swimming, the Nueva Andalucia beach attracts with its extraordinary beauty of mysterious coves that one can explore one by one.
In summer, the beach of Nueva Andalusia is very crowded, so it is almost impossible to park here. The main mass of visitors is students and young people drawn by the prestigious beach club La Sala, popular among celebrities, and the respectable nightclub Ocean Club.
Places of interest in Marbella
The old town begins with Plaza de Los Naranjos (the Orange Square). It includes two historic districts: Barrio Alto in the northern part and Barrio Nuevo in the eastern part. The small white houses on the cozy streets are perfectly restored. In the heart of the Old City, the are preserved the ruins of the Arab fortress – Las Murallas del Castillo – a monument of Muslim culture of the XV century. The fortress of the Moors was built on Roman ruins.
La Plaza de Los Naranjos
This picturesque square is planted with fragrant citrus trees. The architectural ensemble of La Plaza de Los Naranjos was formed in the XV century. Here are the buildings of the chapel of Ermita de Santiago and the Ayutamiento, the Corregidor’s House and the fountain of the XVI century.
El Ayuntamiento de Marbella
The building of the city hall houses the Municipal Museum – Colección Municipal de Arqueología de Marbella – with a rich exposition of the Paleolithic, Neolithic and Bronze Age. The ayuntamiento retained much features of its late medieval appearance.
El Parque Arroyo de la Represa
The park Arroyo de la Represa is a beautiful natural area, botanical garden, and open-air museum of flora, descending to the magnificent city embankment. It also houses an exhibition of bonsai trees (Museo del Bonsai) with an unique private collection of mini-trees owned by Miguel Angel Garcia.
El Museo del Grabado Español Contemporáneo
The museum Grabado Español Contemporáneo is placed in the Gothic building of the former hospital Bazán (XVI century) since 1992. This is a modern Spanish engraving museum – the largest in the country. Here one can see works by Picasso, Antonio Lopez, Miro, Chillida, Dali, Tapies.
La Avendida del Mar
There are original sculptures of the famous surrealist artist Salvador Dalí, and they are presented on the city street without security fences. The collection of sculptures by Salvador Dali was purchased by using of municipal funds. The walking area is paved with white marble.
La Iglesia de Nuestra Señora de la Encarnación
The functioning Catholic Church of Nuestra Señora de la Encarnación was built in the XV century. From the outside, the temple looks modest, idecorated only with a relief main portal and a gate mosaic. The interior decoration is striking with an abundance of gilding and luxurious carvings. The organ of the church has its own name – Sol Major, and it is considered the largest on the coast.
El Parque de la Alameda
The green park de la Alameda gives out onto the seaside streets and the promenade of Marbella. Many sculptors, painters, masters of carving and embossing sell their works here. The park is home to exotic shrubs and trees, and hosts live concerts and cultural events.
La Plaza del Santo Cristo
The square of Santo Cristo is placed in the historic district Bario Alto, it is famous for the picturesque chapel – Ermita del Santo Cristo de Marbella with a bright ceramic dome on the bell tower. Also, it is home to the most famous flamenco school in Andalusia – Flamenco Ana María.
Real estate in Marbella
There is a wide range of properties in Marbella. At the same time, despite the luxury of the resort, sometimes there are options at quite reasonable prices.
According to the portal idealista.com, in January 2021, the average cost of housing in Marbella was 3111 €/m2. For comparison: for the same period, the price per m2 in Madrid was 3686 €/m2, in Barcelona – 3983 €/m2, in Valencia – 1832 €/m2, in Alicante – 1494 €/m2.
The most expensive properties are located in the luxury beach areas of Marbella: Nagüeles-Milla de Oro with the price of 3567 €/m2 and Nueva Andalucía 3472 €/m2. The most affordable options are offered in Elviria-Cabopino – 2595/m2, Las Chapas-El Rosario 2880 €/m2 and San Pedro de Alcántara 2880 € / m2.
The most budget-friendly apartment in Marbella will cost from 53.400 € (59 m2), this property is distributed in living room, kitchen, 2 bedrooms, 1 bathroom and terrace.
A typical Andalusian house costs from 129.000 € (52 m2), includes living room, kitchen, 1 bedroom, 1 bathroom and terrace.
The duplex will cost from 89.990 € (42 m2): on the ground floor there is one of the bedrooms, the kitchen, the bathroom with a shower, and a small hall. On the upper floor we will find a study with a closet and the second of the bedrooms.
The price of the penthouses starts from 124.000 € (60 m2): top floor apartment with 2 bedrooms, 1 bathroom, living room, equipped kitchen and large terrace with great views of Marbella and the mountains.
Would you like to own a property in Spain, in luxury Marbella?
