of Picasso's Two Dancing Ladies, Torremolinos, July 2007. '''Torremolinos''' is a town on the Costa del Sol in southern Spain. It is approximately 12 km south of Malaga located between Malaga Bay and the Mijas Mountains.

Understand

Torremolinos was originally a fishing village back in the 1920s, but has been rapidly overtaken by tourism. Its nominal population is around 43,000 but this can rise to 250,000 during the tourist season.

Tourists will be most familiar with the beaches of Torremolinos and the pedestrian-only Calle San Miguel, which is lined with shops, and runs from the center of town down to the beach. The lower half is a winding stair-stepped path, and is fun to descend and fortifying to climb!

Beginning in the late 1980s, Torremolinos developed a well-deserved reputation among tourists as being the armpit of the Costa del Sol. An angry, tourism-dependent community affected some changes at Town Hall, and new priorities were put in place. Today, Torremolinos is once again an attractive, clean, safe haven for northern Europeans escaping the fiercer climes for the sunniest spot in Europe. It is also one of the most popular resorts for Spanish tourists, with some of the districts (especially La Carihuela) having as much of a Spanish feel as an international tourist one.

Torremolinos is made up of several distinct districts stretching either side of the Town Centre: El Bajondillo is the beach area closest to the town, east of here are the commercial tourist area of Playamar (home of the infamous high-rise hotels from the 60s and 70s) and then the pleasant beach-side district of Los Alamos. West of the Town Centre lie La Carihuela - the old fishing village, of which some architecture survives, and then Montemar which adjoins the neighbouring municipality of Benalmadena.

La Carihuela is famous throughout Spain as a major centre of Andalucian cuisine, with the emphasis being heavily on seafood of all kinds. The old fishing village has been pedestrianised and runs parallel to one of the best beaches on the Costa del Sol. It is in La Carihuela that the tourist boom began in the 1950s with the arrival of the jet set, including Frank Sinatra and friends.

Gay Life

Since the beginning of its tourism surge in the late 1950s, Torremolinos has been a safe haven for Europe's vacationing homosexuals. Even under Franco, while homosexuals elsewhere in Spain were being brutalized, imprisoned and executed, the value of the solid currencies that vacationing "deviants" brought into Spain's faltering economy trumped whatever personal feelings Franco had about homosexuality and kept Torremolinos a Mecca for Friends of Dorothy long before the word "gay" evolved into common usage.

Today, gay life in Torremolinos centers around the Nogalera complex in the very center of town where there is a gay bar to suit just about every taste one can imagine. The complex itself is very mixed, with gay and family restaurants, bars and shops, all jumbled together, making for a nice, comfortable ambiance. Given the "macho" reputation of Spanish culture, many first-time lgbt visitors are surprised to discover the general indifference of the locals to sexual orientation.

Get in

There is a regular train service connecting Torremolinos to Malaga and Malaga Airport to the north of it and south to Fuengirola. The journey to Malaga takes about 30 minutes. An interactive map of this train line is available at the Renfe Web site: [http://www.renfe.es/cercanias/malaga/mapa_zonas.html]

Get around

There is a regular local bus service that serves most of Torremolinos allowing you to get to the town centre from the outlying parts which can be up to 2 km away. Buses are approximately every 40 minutes and cost around ?1.25. The Portillo Bus Company operates routes out of the Torremolinos Bus Station that connect to just about anywhere you'd want to go on the Costa del Sol. Detailed schedules are available here: [http://www.gomarbella.com/costadelsolbuses/].

See

  • '''La Carihuela''' fishermans quarter.
  • '''La Carihuela''' beach.
  • '''Crocodile park''', C/ Cuba, 14, tel. 952051782, e-mail: arkosaurio@crocodile-park.com, [http://www.crocodile-park.com/eng/finformacion.html].
  • '''Municipal Auditorium "Principe de Asturias"''', C/ Pedro Navarro Bruna s/n, [http://www.torremolinos.com/torremolinos/grb/auditorium.htm ] is one of the biggest auditoriums in Andalucia. Used mainly for classical concerts, ballet, theater and all types of cultural events.
  • Monuments

  • '''Parish church of San Miguel Arcangel'''
  • '''Torre de Pimentel'''
  • '''Casa de los Navaja'''
  • Do

  • '''Aqualand''' - A water park claims to be the biggest in Andalucia. It is located about 10 min. from the town center.
  • '''Windsurfing'''
  • '''Kitesurfing'''
  • '''Water skiing'''
  • '''Pedal boats'''
  • '''Boat trips''' - These can include '''dolphin watching''' and tend to depart from Benalm%C3%A1dena marina
  • Events and Festivals

  • '''Semana Santa''' (''Holy Week'') the week before Easter Sunday. Processions through Torremolinos on Maundy Thursday and Good Friday. Torremolinos is a good base for visiting the spectacular daily Semana Santa processions in nearby Malaga (the largest outside Seville) as the frequent train service means avoiding the traffic-chaos in central Malaga.
  • '''Fried Fish Day''' (''Dia del Pescaito'') takes place every year on the first Thursday in June. It takes place on La Carihuela Beach on the south western side of the resort.
  • '''Festival of the Virgen del Carmen de La Carihuela''' on July 16th every year. The climax to the Feria de La Carihuela this includes the procession of the image of the Virgen from the small church in La Carihuela through the streets and down to the seafront, from where she tours the other beaches of Torremolinos.
  • '''Festival of San Miguel Arcangel'''. Last week in September, culminating on St Michael's Day, September 29th. A very busy week-long festival of processions, parades and events. San Miguel is the patron saint of Torremolinos.
  • Buy

    The revitalised Torremolinos Town Centre is now home to many national and international chain stores as well as the usual tourist shops. It's increasing popularity with Spanish tourists means that many of the old 'tat-shops' have now been replaced with designer boutiques. A surprisingly good variety of shopping is available if you explore the little side streets and alleys off Calle San Miguel, the main shopping street.

    Eat

  • There is a huge range of restaurants, especially in the La Carihuela district.
  • Fresh ''pescaito frito'' stands can be found along the beaches
  • Drink

    As a major Spanish and international tourist destination Torremolinos has cafes, bars and cafe-bars to suit all tastes. It is also the home of the famous 'chiringuitos' - beach cafe-bars which offer beach-side drinks and meals throughout the year. The best of these are to be found in the district of La Carihuela.

    Sample the local vino de Malaga, a fortified wine similar to sherry.

    Sleep

    A major 10 year programme of hotel upgrading funded by the EU, the Junta de Andalucia and Torremolinos Council is nearing completion. This was designed to rid Torremolinos of it's old 'cheap package' image and its success can be seen by the fact that Torremolinos now has one of the highest hotel occupancy rates in Europe (well over 80%) and the highest on the Costa del Sol.

    There are a wide range of hotels available on all the usual websites. Torremolinos also has many small hostal/pensions and a wide range of self-catering apartments and houses available to rent, many of them owned by British or Dutch ex-pats.

    Get out

    Torremolinos is well-placed as a base for visiting the various sights of Andalucia, connected by efficient public transport to much of the Costa de Sol. There are many excursion shops offering 'all-in' day trips too.

  • The mountain village of Mijas -famous for its white-washed houses.
  • The city of Malaga with its Moorish Castle, Picasso Museum etc.
  • Marbella with its famous Old Town and chic shopping.
  • The marina at Benalmadena with yacht-hire, fishing trips etc.
  • Seville Granada and Cordoba are all easily reached by connecting train from Malaga