Guide to Fuengirola

Fuengirola is one of the Costa del Sol’s most popular resorts. This former fishing village is now a huge holiday town dedicated to satisfying the demands of a thriving year-round tourist trade.

Located mid way between Malaga and Marbella, Fuengirola is the place with something for everyone. It attracts both Spanish and international visitors, it’s a perfect holiday destination for families and also offers a lively and varied night scene to suit everyone from gays and stag weekenders to disco divas and karaoke queens.

It’s cheaper than upmarket Marbella, 30 kilometres west along the coast, but there’s still a plentiful supply of luxury hotels and top of the range restaurants for the benefit of those seeking a spot of serious self-indulgence. The package holiday market is well served with a wealth of high rise hotels and a vast array of leisure and entertainment facilities all within easy reach of Fuengirola’s finest feature – a seven kilometre long promenade flanking some of the best beaches in southern Spain.

The resort boasts one of the most innovative zoos to be found anywhere in Europe, a wonderful aqua park on the outskirts of town and a yacht marina where you can book a boat safari, learn to scuba dive or simply while away the hours luxury yacht spotting and watching the local fishermen ply their trade.

In fact the only thing you’ll be hard-pushed to find in Fuengirola is a taste of the “real Andalucia”. The best place to gain an insight into what life must have been like here before the advent of mass market tourism is the fishing neighbourhood of Los Boliches with its winding, narrow streets and traditional whitewashed houses. In July the residents of Los Boliches celebrate the Virgen del Carmen fiesta by taking a statue of the virgin out to sea, accompanied by a flotilla of fishing boats.

Besides the inevitable curry houses, pizzerias and British pubs, Fuengirola has many first-class fish restaurants and a plentiful supply of the Costa del Sol’s famous “chiringuitos” – beach bars serving up freshly grilled sardine kebabs. A visit to the resort’s world-renowned “Fish Alley”, between the port and La Plaza de Constitucion, is a must for all serious “foodies”, not just fish fans. Calle Moncayo and the streets leading off it are awash with bars and restaurants offering every conceivable type of food from sushi to steak and chips.

Many of the local bars and cafes are run by ex-pats who came to Fuengirola on holiday, fell in the love with the place and decided to make a new life here.

When it comes to shopping, once again Fuengirola has it all. The Tuesday street market is one of the biggest and best on the south coast and the Saturday “rastro” (the Spanish equivalent of a flea market) is the place to pick up a bargain. Stall holders offer everything from cheap clothes and watches to leather goods and antiques. The Parque Miramar shopping mall, on the northern edge of the town, has a vast array of shops including 50 fashion stores, a 12-screen cinema complex with daily screenings of the latest English-language films and a large outdoor children’s play centre.

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