Marbella is the second largest town on the Costa del Sol and the most important beach resort in the area. Although it often has the stigma of being a luxury resort for the rich, you'll find plenty of classic restaurants and reasonably priced shops.

Thanks to its extensive tourist infrastructure, Marbella is widely visited by tourists from all over Europe.

Beaches and swimming

Marbella's beaches are among the best on the Costa del Sol if you're looking for easily accessible and nicely maintained beaches right in town. Perhaps only nearby Fuengirola can compete in number and length of beaches. The local beaches offer complete tourist facilities from restaurants, beach bars to discos. Of course, there are sunbed and umbrella hire shops or a wide range of water sports and other activities. The price of two sun loungers and one parasol is between 20 eur and 30 eur per day.

Free toilets and freshwater showers are available on all beaches.

A beautiful pedestrian promenade with palm trees, benches and dozens of restaurants lines practically the entire coastline of Marbella, which measures over 6 km.

Marbella's best beaches

Playa Puerto Banús - Marbella's most spacious beach, located near the Marina Puerto Banús on the western edge of town. A beautiful and peaceful setting with palm trees, a yacht marina and fine light sand. Bus lines 1, 4 and 5 run here.
Playa de Venus - a bustling urban beach right in the centre of Marbella boasts fine grey sand and great walking access to the whole city
Playa del Cable - a spacious beach only about 10 minutes' walk from the city centre, which is considerably quieter and cheaper than Playa de Venus
Playa de Nagüeles - a beach between Marbella and Puerto Banús, both places can be reached on foot in about an hour on a very slow walk along the promenade. This beach is the quietest and most natural, with only small villas occupying the surrounding area. The beach is covered with fine light sand.

Puerto Banús Marbella

Playa de la Venus

Town and monuments

Marbella welcomes tourists with all the facilities in the form of hypermarkets and supermarkets, hundreds of restaurants and bars and shops of all kinds.

The small historic centre of Marbella is filled with typical narrow streets with white houses, the central monument of the old town is the Iglesia de Nuestra Señora de la Encarnación. Otherwise, Marbella is not a city of monuments, but rather of hotel resorts and apartments.

Marbella

Accommodation Marbella

Marbella is one of the more expensive resorts on the Costa del Sol, and prices for classic hotels during the summer months range between 3,500 and 183 eur per night in a double room. Cheaper apartments not directly by the sea can be found for prices from 73 eur per night for 2.

Cheapest apartments: El Tio Mateo, Pensión Aduar, Hostal El Caprichito Marbella
The best deals directly by the sea: Hotel Apartamentos Princesa Playa (4*), Boutique Hotel B51 (4*), Apartamentos Mediterraneo (3*)

Transport and parking

If you're heading to Marbella by rental or private car, you'll soon find that parking can be a tricky problem. However, the beaches around the centre of Marbella and Puerto Banús are surrounded by several parking houses or garages, but prices are not among the lowest. You'll pay around 20 eur on average for a day's parking.

In Marbella, non-residents are not allowed to park in the blue zones (streets marked with a blue dashed line), but you will find several free public unsupervised car parks, click for a map:

Marbella is served by several public transport buses which take you from the centre to all the beaches and the main bus station. A ticket for a single ride costs 1,18 eur and maps with timetables can be found at marbella.avanzagrupo.com/es/.