t Old and new Ronda, linked across the gorge by the Puente Nuevo
t Old and new Ronda, linked across the gorge by the Puente Nuevo
Experience Cádiz and Málaga
The cities of Cádiz and Málaga are two of the oldest in Europe, having been founded by the Phoenicians in around 1100 BC and 770 BC respectively, and continuously inhabited ever since. Their prime coastal locations made them attractive to foreign forces and the cities were occupied by the Greeks, Carthaginians, Romans, Visigoths and Byzantines before the Muslim invasion of Iberia in AD 711.
This was one of the last corners of the peninsula to fall to the reconquista. Cádiz remained under Muslim control until 1262, and Málaga was part of the Nasrid Kingdom of Granada until 1487.
Cádiz’s port brought wealth and status to the province over the following centuries. In 1493 and 1502, Columbus sailed from there on his second and fourth voyages to the Americas and the Puerto de Indias trade monopoly transferred from Seville to Cádiz in 1717. The city’s importance was cemented in 1812, when it briefly became Spain’s capital and the first constitution was declared here.
In the 19th century, Málaga became a popular wintering place for English travellers seeking warmer climes. Then, in the 1960s, the narrow strip of coast to its east and west was claimed by the nascent tourism industry as the “Costa del Sol”. A rash of high-rise developments around the beaches of grey sand at Torremolinos’s eastern end soon made the resort’s name synonymous with package holidays for the mass market. Meanwhile, further southwest at Marbella, an exclusive playground for international film stars and Arab royalty took shape. Today, these popular beach resorts are surrounded by charming hilltop villages, sprawling vineyards and hidden coves.