DESTINATIONS COSTA DEL SOL SPAIN & PORTUGAL
British visitors looking for budget holidays. Change is under way,
however. The dynamic new mayor in Torremolinos has instigated measures including pedestrianisation of the centre and a range of cultural activities. The resort’s image as a
gay-friendly destination is also getting a boost with new investment and promotion, while a massive shopping and leisure complex has just been given the green light next to the town centre.
A decade or so ago, Benalmadena and Torremolinos started landscaping the old coastal motorway, taking advantage of the opening of the inland bypass, and the result is a pleasant dual carriageway with gardens and fountains that will surprise many who remember the busy coastal strip of the 1980s and ’90s.
w FUENGIROLA
Although it has been popular with British tourists for nearly half a century, Fuengirola has managed to retain a genuine Spanish feel – in some of the town, at least – and offers accommodation types to suit everyone. Los Boliches at the eastern end is quieter with a substantial community of British and Scandinavian residents. Fuengirola also benefits from a direct train link – via Benalmadena and Torremolinos – to Malaga airport. The zoo consistently ranks as one of the best family attractions on the Costa del Sol, while the new La Galería gourmet market, in the heart of the town, is a sign of the resort’s modernisation.
w MIJAS The white village of Mijas in the hills above Fuengirola has
ABOVE: Torremolinos
weathered very well despite its fame as the bus excursion to “the market in the mountains” of 1960s package tours. It is still a magical place to
wander around the lanes and take in views back towards the coast. Mijas Costa, the eight- mile coastal strip between Marbella and Fuengirola, is an
area of midmarket hotels and apartments with a substantial resident British population. There is a range of easily
accessible golf courses, while a new four-mile boardwalk promenade, which will soon be extended to Marbella, is always busy with walkers and runners, as the Costa del Sol
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travelweekly.co.uk 9 June 2016
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