Places to Visit in Andalucia.

We can't describe in detail all the places to visit when you will be staying in one of our apartments in Estepona, in the heart of Andalucia, but we can give you some information regarding the places worth visiting.

Ronda

Ronda, the total driving distance from Estepona to Ronda is 75 kilometers.
It is one of the most beautiful and visited cities in Spain (the third most visited city in Andalucia).There are several points of interest:
Puente Nuevo. Offering unforgettable views over the El Tajo gorge. The Puente Nuevo – new bridge – was actually completed in 1793 and took forty two years to build. The bridge joins the old Moorish town and the newer, El Mercadillo parts of the city. It is, by far in a way, Ronda’s most famous landmark.
The Bullring. The Real Maestranza bullring is one of the oldest and most picturesque in Spain. It was built in 1785 by the architect Jose Martin Aldehuela - the same architect who built the Puente Nuevo. The ring can hold up to 5000 spectators.
Arab Baths. The baths are located in the old Arab quarter of the city, known as the San Miguel Quarter. The Arabic baths in Ronda are the best preserved in Spain. They were built at the end of the 13th century during the reign of King Abomelik.
Mondragon Palace . The Mondragon palace is home to the municipal museum and some truly outstanding gardens. Built originally in 1314 by the Moorish King Abomelik, it was later used a the primary residence for Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand.

Sevilla

Sevilla, the total driving distance from Estepona to Sevilla is 232 kilometers.
According to legend, Sevilla was founded by Hercules and its origins are linked with the Tartessian civilisation. It was called Hispalis under the Romans and Isbiliya with the Moors. The high point in its history was following the discovery of America in 1492.
Seville's primary public park, the Parque de María Luisa stretches along the Guadalquivir River near the center of the city. Most of the park’s grounds were originally part of the gardens of the Palace of San Telmo and were donated to the city in 1893. Landscape designer Jean-Claude Nicolas Forestier is responsible for the park’s present configuration.
For visitors who are interested in the Spanish tradition of bullfighting, the Plaza de Toros de la Maestranza is a can’t-miss destination. The oldest bullring in Spain, the 14,000-seat arena dates back to 1758, and bullfights are still held here on Sundays from spring to fall.
Plaza de España.. In 1914, Sevillian architect Anibal Gonzalez began designing a series of buildings in preparation for the upcoming 1929 Ibero-American Exhibition. Located near the Santa Cruz neighborhood in the Parque de María Luisa, the building were constructed for the world’s fair to showcase Spain’s role in history, industry and technology. Among the exhibits housed in the main edifice were manuscripts written by Spanish explorers Columbus and Cortes. The buildings are a rare example of the Regionalist Revival style of architecture.
Located to the east of the Old City, the Barrio Santa Cruz is bordered by the Guadalquivir River. The neighborhood was Seville’s Jewish quarter until the late 1300s, when synagogues were closed, homes were confiscated and thousands of Jewish people were either killed or forced to convert to Christianity.
The Torre de Oro. No other structure in Seville better explains the role that the Guadalquivir River played during Spain’s colonial period than Torre del Oro, the Golden Tower. Seville owed much of its success in maritime trade to the navigable river, which offered ships more protection than a traditional European port. For centuries, a heavy chain was strung across the river from the tower to protect the city from seafaring invaders. Built in the early 1200s, the watchtower’s name comes from the golden glow that the reflection of its building materials casts on the river.
The Cathedral. Built on the site of a grand Almohad Mosque, Seville’s medieval cathedral was built to demonstrate Seville’s power and wealth after the Reconquista. At the time of its completion in the 16th century, it supplanted the Hagia Sophia as the largest cathedral in the world. It is still the third-largest church in Europe, and the biggest by volume.
The Alcazar. Still used today by Spain’s Royal family on state occasions, the Alcazar complex of royal palaces, patios and gardens has undergone many transformations over its more than one-thousand-year history. In the 11th century, Muslim Moors constructed a palace on the site of a 10th-century fort, which was converted to a Gothic-style structure in the 13th century.
The Giralda is the only remaining structure of the 12th-century mosque torn down during the construction of the Seville Cathedral. Moors built the minaret with a series of ramps so that guards could ride to the top on horseback. Today, the 35 ramps make it easy for visitors to ascend to the summit to enjoy panoramic views of the city below.

Granada

Granada, the total driving distance from Estepona to Granada is 204 kilometers. There are several points of interest:
The Alhambra complex is the world's most spectacular Arab citadel and the symbol of Granada. Several visitable areas: the Alcazaba, a citadel with a watchtower, the Palace of Charles V, a Christian building that houses the Fine Arts Museum, the Generalife, a leisure residence and gardens, and the Nasrid Palaces, the heart of the Alhambra and home of the sultans.
If you are planning a visit to the Alhambra Palace it is essential that you obtain your entrance tickets in advance please vist: Alhambra Tickets
The monumentality of the Catholic Monarchs favourite city is felt in impressive monuments like the Cathedral, a symbol of Granada's Christianity and an excellent place to start a stroll through the heart of the city. The Royal Chapel, the Monarch's mausoleum, is nearby, and, a little further on, the Monastery of San Jerónimo, an outstanding jewel of the Renaissance.
Realejo is the old Jewish neighbourhood of Granada, or Garnata al-Yahud as it was called in the Arab period. It is right at the foot of the Alhambra.
Sacromonte is Granada's most distinctive neighbourhood, known worldwide for its houses in caves and stunning views. It is also considered to be the cradle of flamenco.

Cordoba

Cordoba, the total driving distance from Estepona to Cordoba is 243 kilometers. There are several points of interest:
The Mosque-Cathedral of Cordoba (World Heritage Site since 1984) is arguably the most significant monument in the whole of the western Moslem World and one of the most amazing buildings in the world in its own right.
The Alcázar (castle) of Cordoba, with its thick defensive walls, served both as a fortress and a palace, and is a perfect illustration of the development of Cordoban architecture through the ages. Roman and Visigoth ruins lie side by side with Arabic remains in this magnificent building.
The view over the Mosque-Cathedral, with the river, the Gate of the Bridge and the Roman Bridge of Cordoba itself, is one of the most wonderful sights of Cordoba.
The Synagogue, situated in the heart of the Jewish Quarter of Cordoba, is unique in Andalusia and one of the three best preserved Medieval synagogues in the whole of Spain.
At the southern end of the Roman Bridge stands the Calahorra Tower of Cordoba, an ancient defensive fortress which is mentioned in a number of Arab sources on “Al-Andalus” (Arab Andalusia), as well as historical records ever since the Christian conquest of Cordoba.

Nerja

Nerja is the last town East of Málaga, bordering with Granada and its subtropical climate, making Nerja an ideal place to visit.
Situated in the district known as Maro, we can find the Nerja Caves. In this cave, you will be able to see rock paintings, stalagmites, and stalactites. You can also find one of the largest columns in the world. There is also a theater inside the caves, here they hold the Festival de las Cuevas de Nerja.
They were discovered on the 12th of January 1959 by a group of young locals who were on a late-night walk searching for bats. The Nerja Caves are the perfect place to relive a bit of Nerja’s past. In the Nerja Caves, you and your family will enjoy a 45-minute excursion of one of the most important caves in the World. Here you will find the oldest work of art known to man and also some of the largest rock formations around.
In the Nerja Caves there are 3 galleries, as far as we know. The public gallery, the high gallery, and the new gallery, at this moment only the public gallery is open to tourists.