My husband & I spent a wonderful week in Marbella for our ten year wedding anniversary. We stayed at the Hotel Fuerte Marbella which was the ideal location to explore the beautiful old town Marbella. I had no idea how gorgeous & captivating the old town would be until we stepped foot into its amazing cobbled streets!
Visiting old town Marbella is like stepping back in history
The old town has been perfectly preserved. When we walked around it was like stepping back in time before there were cars. It’s built on a steep hill. There are endless roads & narrow side streets heading in every direction. Every time we visited we found something new.
Nightlife in old town Marbella
The streets are lined with boutique shops & restaurants. A few shops are open all day long but most are open in the morning & then close around 2 to reopen at 6pm. The restaurants & shops that are near the restaurants are open until midnight or later.
The old town comes to life around 9 – 10pm. Everyone eats dinner late & browses the shops along the way. The nightlife in the old town is dinner with drinks. There are very few pubs / bars. Getting a table along the sidewalk for a late dinner & people watching was so fun as was wandering the streets & shops at night.
There is something magical about the old town Marbella at night! It’s so peaceful & relaxed. The visitors are quiet & respectable. There was no trouble or anyone out of line. The restaurant staff are so efficient, friendly & hard working. They are truly impressive to watch!
Shopping
I LOVED the boutique shops. There is plenty of locally handmade leather goods as well as beautiful clothing, jewelry & gifts. I had two favorite clothing shops that I bought two dresses for myself & one for our daughter. The kids dresses were 15 euros & the adults were 35+. My bit of shopping advice to you is if you see a shop you like the look of, go in because it can be difficult to find your way back to a particular shop the next day.
Attention to detail
The buildings & roads themselves are quaint & beautifully kept. There are plenty of flowers & everything is spotlessly clean. The designs on the footpaths around the old town Marbella were equally as beautiful with intricate details.
Orange Square
In the center of the old town lies Orange Square which is a busy place with lots of lovely trees & tables scattered around them. The restaurants around the perimeter of Orange Square set tables every night for customers to enjoy sitting outside while they dine. The waiters walk back & forth to & from restaurants with impressive skill & efficiency as they make their way through the crowds.
Religion in old town Marbella
There are several churches, religious paintings & fountains scattered around the old town Marbella. The churches are humble on the outside but lavish with gold details & high ceilings on the inside. They were all open for us to have a peak inside.
Discover old town Marbella
Every time we turned a corner in the old town, there was something new to discover! New winding roads, beautiful flowers, restaurants & shops. There was also entertainers & quirky paintings. I walked past these “statutes” below not realizing they were real people. And the woman with the fish is a random painting on one of the walls in town.
The old town Marbella was the highlight of my trip. It totally captured my heart! It was my favorite place to wander, shop & eat. It has so much charm, beauty, culture & dignity it was an absolute pleasure to spend time there with its welcoming people.
Stay tuned for my upcoming Marbella posts! I’m sharing my favorite vino & Spanish Salads tomorrow. And next week I have posts about the best places to eat in the old town & about our trip over to Puerto Banus – the playground for the rich & famous.
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