Weather forecast Marbella

Marbella (including rainfall and temperature averages)

The home of European glam and glitz, Marbella has been around for a long time. Humans started settling on the Sierra Blanca Mountain in prehistoric times and have stayed ever since. The Phoenicians, Romans and Visigoths all passed through, leaving an assortment of monuments behind them, but it was not until the Islamic period that Marbella became a walled city. After the Reconquest it became a backwater: in the 1940s there were about 900 people living there. A breakdown was to change the future of the village.

In 1950, Prince Max Egon zu Hohenlohe-Langenburg and his heir Alfonso de Hohenlohe experienced a problem with their Rolls-Royce in the vicinity. Alfonso was so impressed by Marbella that he decided to buy land commercially, marketing the area as a tourist destination. In 1954 he opened the Marbella Club Hotel, which was loosely modelled on the motel style with lower pitched terracotta roofs among 23,000 trees. The European jet set flocked to Marbella throughout the 1960s, joined in the 70s by the Saudi Princes in their yachts. The town grew ever more lavish, attracting enormous investment, as well as the attentions of gangsters from Italy and Russia. Despite a dip in its fortunes in the 1990s it retains its title as Spain’s most stylish resort and even now has the highest per capita income in Europe.

Sheltered by the Sierra Blanca, Marbella is said to have the most soothing climate of any resort on the Costa del Sol, with mild winters, 320 days of sun each year and temperatures rarely going over 31º even at the height of summer. In a town like this, it’s not surprising that the main activities are posing and shopping. There are ample opportunities for both: the beaches are wide and golden, while the selection of designer boutiques rivals Madrid. The beauties draped all over the yachts probably don’t take full advantage of the excellent local cuisine; a pity for them, as the seafood is exquisite. Fried fish, lobster, fish stew, grilled prawns and calamari salad are among the treats in store.

For visitors who tire of the beach, there are plenty of places to visit. The Golden Mile is a strip of luxury where you can see King Fahd’s palace, which was modelled on the White House. The old town is peaceful: although many of the houses are being turned into shops there are still pretty squares where you can sit on a terrace and drink a jug of sangria looking up to the mountains of Ronda. Hidden amongst the whitewashed streets are the Church of the Incarnation, built in a combination of Baroque and Arab styles. The Little Hospital, opposite, dates to the Reconquest and has marvellous frescoes. The Contemporary Spanish Engraving Museum has work by Picasso, Dali and Miro, while the nearby Bonsai Museum is the oldest in the world, with a wonderful collection of miniature trees.

Marbellans are great partiers and have fiestas throughout the year in honour of their special saints. The two biggest are the festival of San Bernabe in June and the festival of San Pedro in October: people fill the streets, dancing and drinking until dawn. No need to worry if you’re there at other times: the choice of bars and clubs is enormous, ranging from student hangouts to seriously swanky cocktail bars. Just remember to dress up: in Marbella, less is never more!