Costa del Sol: sun, beaches, and art
Costa del Sol apartments: Costa del sol, where the sun shines
The Costa del Sol has been considered an international tourist destination since the early fifties of the past century. Nowadays, modern infrastructures and an incomparable climate put the province of Málaga in the first place on the Spanish Peninsula in terms of numbers of visitors.
The Costa del Sol, like all of Spain, has a wealth of art and history to enjoy. Pablo Picasso was born in Malaga and the city has just opened a new museum dedicated to this universal artist. It also has historic buildings and monuments like the Cathedral, Moorish “Alcazaba” (Fortress) as well as its old town, full of palaces and stately town houses. It is also well worth visiting nearby towns such as Antequera, Ronda, Marbella and Nerja whose beautiful, mysterious pre-historic caves are not to be missed. It is definitely worth taking time out from your relaxation by the sea to discover the historic/artistic heritage of this welcoming region, worthy of being one of the world’s prime tourist destinations.
The Costa del Sol’s setting is also perfect for a wide range of open-air sports and contact with nature. If there is one dominant sport in Malaga province, however, it is golf. The Costa del Sol is a Mecca for thousands of enthusiasts. There are almost fifty courses to be found over a relatively small area – in places like Marbella, Malaga, Estepona, Guadiaro, San Pedro de Alcántara, Alhaurín de la Torre, Artola, Mijas and Puerto Banús.
Picasso Museum
With the inauguration of the Picasso Museum in 2003, Málaga joined the ranks of a select group of cities with a museum offer of the highest order. Parallel to the international recognition that this museum received, an unprecedented cultural turnabout occurred in Málaga that extended even to fields unrelated to culture. One might say that, aware that the world’s eyes were upon it, the city shook off its lethargy and devoted all its resources to insuring that the unquestioned lead role of the Picasso Museum would not be an isolated phenomenon but rather the focal point of a vast offer capable of satisfying a thousand and one demands, and that is what has happened.
The more than 200 works from the private holdings of Christine Picasso and her son Bernard that make up the museum’s permanent collection make possible a detailed review of almost every phase of the vast Picasso output, from the artist as a child to the final, surprising paintings in which the great master of the twentieth century seems to summarise in a few decisive lines his life experience and all his prodigious knowledge of the plastic arts as a legacy to generations to come.
The collection is made up of paintings, drawings, sculptures, ceramics and engravings, but since it is the paintings that most attract the attention of the general public a number deserve special mention, either because they have been reproduced countless times in books and magazines or because they exude such magnetism that it is impossible not to feel their influence: Olga Koklova with mantilla, (Barcelona, 1917), Jacqueline seated (Paris, 1954), Bather (Mougins, 1971), Woman with raised arms (1936), Bust of a woman with arms crossed behind her head (Royan, 1939), Portrait with white cap (Paris, 1923), Head of a woman number 2. Portrait of Dora Maar (1939), Woman seated in an armchair (1946), Man, woman and child (Mougins, 1972), Portrait of Jacqueline with gorget (1962) and Woman standing (sculpture in glazed clay, 1947) are just a few of these creations that will attract and retain the viewer’s interest.
A little bit of history
The spectacular growth of Torremolinos in the fifties had a domino effect in reverse, and by the end of the sixties and beginning of the seventies, the surrounding towns of Benalmádena, Mijas and Fuengirola had also grown into important tourist towns. The reasons had to do with climate, relatively inexpensive cost of living, cheap flights from Northern Europe and many more factors, not least the fact that many films were also made on the Costa del Sol – up to the end of 2003, a total of 230.
But just a few kilometres down the coast from Torremolinos, another boom in a different type of tourism was also happening in the fifties. This was at the hands of Prince Alfonso de Hohenlohe, Noberto Goizueta and José Luque, the men responsible for placing Marbella on the international quality tourism map. Prince Alfonso had founded the Marbella Club in 1954, and with his worldwide contacts, managed to attract the cream of the international jet-set, from aristocrats and barons of industry to film stars and society hostesses. Then José Banús began the great marina and property project that was to link his name forever to international tourism in the shape of Puerto Banús. This attracted the people with the big yachts, and Puerto Banús began to acquire the fame that it enjoys today. He was also responsible for turning the land behind into a huge playground of top golf courses and stylish residential developments now known as Nueva Andalucía.
Beaches
Of the nine districts that make up the province of Málaga, three have a coastline: La Axarquía (Eastern Costa del Sol), the Málaga mountains, including the provincial capital, and the Western Costa de Sol. A total of 14 Málaga municipalities are adjacent to the sea, while there are others in the interior at a minimal distance from it. Each of these municipalities contributes its unique topography to the coastline, with the result that its beaches form a sufficiently heterogeneous complex to satisfy any preference in this respect.
They range from the most plentiful type, which are broad and sandy beaches fully equipped with all services and generally with a modern seafront promenade running alongside them, to the most secluded and absolutely virgin coves overlooked by exceptionally beautiful natural landscapes. From one end to the other, the range includes every kind of beach imaginable–including seven for nudists, in Estepona (2), Benalmádena, Cabopino (Marbella), Benalmádena, Guadalmar, Torre del Mar y Maro - for sea bathing in the conditions that the visitor prefers. Nudism is also tolerated on other beaches that due to their characteristics are not frequented by large numbers of visitors, while on all of them going topless is accepted without question.
During the summer, over many of the most crowded beaches the blue flag waves, the symbol with which the European Union attests to the good condition of the water and sand and to the availability of all the services inherent to this type of public facility.
The beaches that are closest to large urban areas are the ones with the greatest number of services, including beach bars (these hospitality facilities may be found even in areas that are not much visited but that have an established clientele) on whose menu never fails to appear the delicious “pescaíto frito” (small fried fish) of the Málaga coast; toilets; showers; children’s playgrounds; Jet Ski, water cycle and ski rental; first aid stations; lifeguards and even cool palm oases.
More information
Costa del Sol
Patronato de Turismo & Convention Bureau
