| Torre
Street |
beautifulyoo.com  |
| A
stroll along the Paseo Maritimo and beyond in Torremolinos, Costa
del Sol, Andalusia, Spain |
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Many
holidaymakers to Andalucia head straight for Torremolinos on the Costa
del Sol and stay there for the duration of their stay. And with good
reason too, bearing in mind the host of attractions on offer, such
as the Crocodile Park, Aqualand, the lovely beaches, tempting restaurants,
countless theme bars and very attractive shops. In fact for anyone
visiting the southern part of Spain it would be a shame to miss it.
More and more tourists, though, are discovering the inland part of
Andalucia too, with its lovely mountain ranges, beautiful lakes and
incredible variety of things to do, from rock climbing and walking
to horse riding and quadbiking to name just a few, assuming of course
that more is required than relaxing in the sunshine with a good book,
perhaps, occasionally looking up to admire a breathtaking view. The good news is that with the excellent road network, it is very easy to reach the coast from most inland destinations, meaning that a holiday to Andalucia need not be a question of either one or the other. Torremolinos is ideal for a wonderfully varied and exciting day out. I had driven through ‘the big smoke’ a couple of times before, although being so intent on negotiating a passage through the heavy traffic I can’t say that I actually remember seeing much, my view of the place coming second hand from the very impressed passengers in my car. Good news once again was at hand. We were told by locals in our Spanish village about the Churriana shortcut to the coast, a clearly signposted slip road off the A357, which connects Malaga with Campillos. A closely guarded secret, we were informed. Well, perhaps I shouldn’t blab, but secrets worth keeping have a habit of coming out anyway and besides, why should I be selfish? Now we can reach the seaside in just over half an hour, without having to go along the dreaded N340 motorway, which actually isn’t all that dreadful except in the rush hour, but I digress. If you head straight through Churriana, passing the gigantic IKEA warehouse on your left, and continue straight down to the Playa de Golf, you will find yourself on an incredibly long and, except in the peak of summer, a relatively peaceful beachfront, with, wait for it, absolutely loads of parking. On our many daytrips to this lovely stretch of coastline, where you can stroll off to the left towards Malaga, shedding all of your clothes if you want to along the way, which we didn’t of course, or towards the right where a wide boulevard peppered with very pretty and very reasonably priced chiringuitas or bar/restaurants heads off to the skyscrapers of Torremolinos, we had often shrugged off the temptation of the more built up area in the distance. One day though our curiosity got the better of us. We parked the car, enjoyed a lovely walk along Playa de Los Alamos and then ended up in Torremolinos itself. In fact the boulevard just keeps on going and more lovely beaches keep drawing you on, Playa de Playamar, Playa de Bajondilla, Playa de Carihuela and Playa de Montemar. More built up of course, but still extremely attractive. It is well worth popping into the large, well signposted Tourist Information office on the front, where you can pick up an excellent and most informative map of the town. But why would you need a map if you are simply strolling directly ahead along the well maintained, safe and very relaxing beachfront? Well, another secret, less well kept I suspect, and more good news is that if you turn right along Calle de Peligro (Danger Street) you will soon reach a network of streets lined with all manner of arts, crafts, fashion shops and bars and restaurants that lead to Plaza San Miguel, on one side of which is an old church called Parroquia San Miguel Arcangel. The only actual danger here is that you might end up buying rather a lot, since the displays of goods, such as handmade leather sandals, very good quality shoes, ceramic lamp shades, ethnic masks, scarves, dresses, costume jewellery and many other items may prove to be irresistible. “Twenty percent off, all right, thirty percent, well, look, if you are interested we can talk!” Actually, there might be another danger, come to think of it. You may find yourself so engrossed there that you simply flop down at a pavement cafe and while away the rest of the day over a leisurely lunch as you watch other people doing the walking! The danger could be that you don’t leave yourself time to get back down to the beachfront to continue your walk along the boulevard, leaving Playa de Bajondillo to see the next beaches of Carihuela and Montemar. The stroll back to the car gives you the opportunity to see it all again from a different direction, making it a perfect and unforgettable day out to the seaside, a stroll along ‘Torre Street’, before shooting back through Churriana and up the A357 in time for dinner at your chosen holiday home in the peaceful and beautiful inland part of Andalucia. |
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December
2007
If
you would like to experience the beauty of inland Andalucia at
first hand, see details of our superb range of holiday homes, you can also book cheap flights and car hire |