Spain’s Costa del Sol: All the charm of California’s coast at a fraction of the cost
Wide urban beaches alternate with rocky cliffs dropping dramatically to the sea. Palm trees are common, but the inland hills are covered with chaparral or velvety green grass. Today’s Costa del Sol could be La Jolla, Ventura, Laguna Beach or Santa Barbara — 50 years ago.
Málaga is the city at the heart of the Costa del Sol. This once-scruffy seaport has been rediscovered as a sophisticated urban destination. As recently as 20 years ago, guidebooks cautioned visitors to pass through the city quickly on their way to beach resorts. Today, Málaga’s 590,000 residents enjoy more than 30 museums — including two denoted to favorite son Pablo Picasso, as well as outposts of the prestigious Thyssen and Pompidou foundations.
Málaga’s status as a convenient, efficient transportation center is one of its most appealing assets. Spain’s third largest international airport is located on the outskirts of the city. Catch an urban train there, and 12 minutes and less than $3 later, you will be in Málaga’s slick modern train station and shopping center, where high-speed trains arrive from all over Spain. Just across the street is the long-distance bus station.
Heading west, Torremolinos is the city closest to Málaga. In the 1950s, it became one of the most popular beach resorts in Spain. By the 1960s, glamorous celebrities as well as bohemians and hippies were lured by its permissive, open-minded reputation. Ava Gardner, Brigitte Bardot and Frank Sinatra played on its beaches.
A bit farther west is Fuengirola, perhaps the Costa del Sol’s ultimate beach town, with its four miles of golden sands. Countless restaurants, bars, souvenir shops, clothing stores and discotheques front onto its long seafront promenade. On the beach side, numerous stands grill skewers of fresh sardines, called espetos, over glowing coals. In the city center, Mercado La Galería offers a sort of gourmet food court with various gastronomic experiences under one roof.
The municipality of Mijas is one of the largest in the Málaga province, with almost 60 square miles and 82,000 inhabitants. The area below Mijas, known as Mijas Costa, surrounds the city of Fuengirola. La Cala de Mijas is a beachfront town about a 20-minute drive down the mountain, where a four-mile boardwalk runs along the shore. About 36% of the population of Mijas municipality are expats of some 120 nationalities. Sixty percent of those are from the U.K. and 9% from Germany.
Marbella’s beachfront promenade invites sunning on the sand, sitting in sidewalk cafés and shopping in hip boutiques. The wide Avenida del Mar, which connects downtown’s boulevards with the oceanfront, displays surrealistic bronze sculptures by another acclaimed Spaniard, Salvador Dalí. Marbella’s historic old town exudes Andalusian charm. Cobblestone lanes create a shaded labyrinth checkered by plazas filled with orange trees.
Karen Dadonn, who has lived in Marbella for four years, was born in Romania, raised in Morocco and educated in France. She points out that Marbella, and the adjoining communities of Puerto Banús and San Pedro de Alcántara, differs from other Costa del Sol communities by being low-rise and low-density, with open views.
So we had a chance to own these luxury apartments at 50% off. Our price was from just €164,000 . Penthouses that were €665,000 were ours for just €350,000 — if we moved fast. “I think the main reason people choose this side of the coast is because it is so Spanish,” she says. “If you want to integrate, if you want to meet Spanish people, if you want to learn the language, if you want 100% Spanish living, it’s a good place to come. You won’t be stuck in a condo tower where 90% of the residents are only there in summer. In Rincón, 80% of the people live here all year.
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