The best things to do in Marbella — top beaches, activities, attractions and days out, handpicked for tourists, families and locals alike.
There's far more to Marbella than the beach clubs. The whitewashed Old Town — a maze of orange-tree squares around Plaza de los Naranjos — is free to wander and endlessly photogenic, and the Avenida del Mar promenade leading down to the sea is lined with ten bronze Salvador Dalí sculptures, an open-air gallery you can walk through for nothing.
For something more active, the shell-shaped peak of La Concha rises behind the town — a demanding day hike with 360° coastal views — while families gravitate to the shady Alameda Park and the long seafront promenade. On a hot afternoon, the contemporary print museum (Museo del Grabado) in the Old Town is a cool, cultural hour off the sand.
The early-16th-century parish church on the edge of the old town, blending Gothic and Baroque, with a striking gilded 18th-century altar of Canadian pine.
Calle Hospital Bazán, Marbella
Spain's contemporary print museum, housed in the Renaissance-era Hospital Bazán in the old town — thousands of works including pieces by Dalí and Miró. An ideal cool, cultural hour off the beach.
Wandering the Old Town around Plaza de los Naranjos costs nothing, and the Avenida del Mar promenade is a free open-air gallery of ten Salvador Dalí bronzes. Alameda Park and the seafront paseo are lovely free strolls too.
The Museo del Grabado (Spain's contemporary print museum, in a Renaissance-era building in the Old Town) is a good cool-weather option, alongside the town's galleries and, of course, its restaurants and cafés.
Yes — La Concha (1,215m), the iconic shell-shaped peak above the town, is reached from the Refugio de Juanar. It's a demanding ~5-hour mountain hike with panoramic coastal views; best October–May, or a very early start in summer.