Fuengirola Information
Fuengirola is a large coastal town on the Costa del Sol region of southern Spain. It is a major tourist centre with over 8 kilometers of sandy beaches and offers all the facilities expected of a major holiday destination including hotels, restaurants, bars, clubs, discotheques, and a yacht harbour.
The town is around a twenty minute drive from Malaga Costa del Sol airport, and there is a clean efficient train service going to the airport and Malaga city itself, leaving Fuengirola every 30 minutes. Fuengirola is also a short drive from Marbella and Puerto Banus and should you need to visit Gibraltar with all its British shops then it is about an hour's drive from Fuengirola.
The Fuengirola Zoo, now renamed the Bioparc, is well known internationally and specialises in captive breeding for endangered species, chimpanzee group research and tropical-forest education. The zoo was modernised in 2001 to improve the environment for both animals and visitors. It now boasts a series of natural tropical habitats with a huge artificial tree as its centre piece.
Another great attraction in Fuengirola is the Aqua Park. Although geographically it is literally just outside of the town and under the jurisdiction of the Mijas town hall it is easily accessed by the frequent dedicated bus service from Fuengirola town centre or a short Taxi ride. Facilities include self-service restaurant, changing rooms, safety deposit boxes, gift shop, floats and a picnic area. The park has several flumes and other water based features suitable for all ages. Bring along plenty of sun screen if you are planning to spend a day here.
A small fishing fleet still works from the old Fuengirola port which has recently undergone a refurbishment as has the entire paseo along the seafront. The beach itself is sandy and sunloungers and sunshades are available to rent from the abundance of vendors. There are several beach bar/restaurants (chirinquitos) actually built on the sand itself and the site and smell of fresh sardines cooking over an open fire (in an old rowing boat) during the summer season will linger in the memory.
The town itself is urbanised with many high rise apartments and hotels to be found along the seafront. Further inland the properties tend to be of lower construction with some of the old narrow streets remaining. Out of town development has seen the building of a large commercial park and shopping mall called The Myramar Centre. Free WiFi is available here. There is also a recently constructed branch of the El Corte Ingles chain store located in the area known as Las Lagunas which is to the north of Fuengirola alongside the N340 coastal highway.
Leisure facilities abound, a 50m Olympic-sized swimming pool and a new purpose built skateboard, rollerblade and BMX bike park complete with graffiti wall opened in 2010.
The Moorish Fuengirola Castle (Sohail Castle) was built in the mid-10th century. The castle remained an abandoned ruin until renovations began in 1995. In 2000 the interior of the castle was completely renovated and the Sohail castle now hosts festivals and concerts throughout the summer. Additional work was carried out in 2002 and now the castle is an important venue for Fuengirola’s cultural and historical scene, with internationally popular artists and bands a regular feature.
Full list of property for sale in Fuengirola HERE
