Costa del Sol area guide
Learn more about the Costa del Sol and its town and municipalities
The Costa del Sol, which translates into english as Coast of the Sun, is a region of Southern Spain, in the autonomous community of Andalusia. As the name implies, the region consists of the coastal towns and communities along the Mediterranean coastline found in the province of Malaga. The Costa del Sol is situated between two lesser known costas: Costa de la Luz to the west and Costa Tropical to the east.
The Costa del Sol includes the city of Malaga, which the province takes its name from, and the towns of Torremolinos, Benalmadena, Fuengirola, Mijas, Marbella, San Pedro de Alcántara, Estepona, Manilva, Velez Malaga, Rincon de la Victoria, Nerja, Torrox, the community of Sotogrande, San Roque and La Linea de la Concepcion.
The region also has a long history with settlement dating back to the Bronze Age, and it has been colonised and ruled by many cultures such as the Phoenicians, Carthaginians, Romans, Vandals, Visigoths and Moors, before the Reconquista by the kingdom of Spain.
Formerly made up of the city of Malaga plus a series of small, quiet fishing and mountain villages, the region has been completely transformed during the latter part of the 20th century into a world renowned tourist destination.
Discovered and developed to meet the demands of international tourism from the 1950s onwards, the Costa del Sol has since become a popular destination for foreign tourists not only for its beaches but also for its local culture, with the quintessential flamenco playing an important role. The area is particularly famous for its towns like Marbella, which provides the Costa del Sol with its reputation for being a playground for its super-rich and famous visitors.
This popularity, combined with funding from the central government and the EU has led to an expansion in the level and quality of hotels and tourist facilities to cater to the international tourists who have made the Costa del Sol their second home.
During the late 1970s and 1980s, the region became known as the “Costa del Crime”, due to the trend for British gangsters to escape from legal trouble at home by moving there to live their lives in luxury. This was followed in the 1990s with the title of “Costa del Golf” due to the large amount of golf courses having been created..
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