Despite the metamorphosis experienced by Fuengirola in the last fifty years, this city which is located at the epicentre of the Costa del Sol continues to have the typically quiet and calm spirit of a sea town. It is true to say that its approximate 60,000 inhabitants, that is those who took part in the census (this number should be added to the thousands of people who are not registered as residents of the area and also to the number of visitors) have encouraged the Town Hall to work conscientiously towards improving the infrastructures from within the Town Hall. Its small geographical area (10 km2) and its spectacular demographic growth has put the normal development of this coastal city in an awkward position. However, despite the increase in holiday tourism and the increase in foreign residents, Fuengirola has managed to maintain its status as a privileged summer resort destination as well as a privileged residential area.

A long story
The numerous Phoenician, Arabic and Roman artefacts found provide the evidence for the antiquity of this area. These great civilisations left a deep mark in Fuengirola. Thus, at the foot of the mountain where the Arabian Sohail Castle stands, we can see the remains of an Iberian-Punic population, which later became Roman. We are talking about Suel, this city was named either by the eminent geographers Mela and Pliny or by the great astronomer Ptolemy.

From fishing to tourism
To be able to understand the transformation of the town, it is necessary to travel back in time to May 1916. With the arrival of the railway, a new era had begun. Fuengirola was visited, in the old days, by lost travellers, especially in the summer. Some magazines of that time highlighted the weather, the hospitality and the attention offered to the visitors.

In the 50’s, there was a definite tourist boom with the construction of a few small hotels and the first camping site. The old train was replaced by a diesel train (the famous ‘cochinita’) and Fuengirola, a town beside the sea, tried to accommodate the high flood of tourists who arrived from Europe without losing the comforts offered.

This is the recent history of this great town, which represents the fight between two personalities: the modern and cosmopolitan Fuengirola full of attractions and services, and the Fuengirola town with its traditions and customs and longing for calmness.

A complete destination
Fuengirola offers a great variety of attractions for all types of tastes and people. The attractions range from visits to the Zoo, which is one of the best in Europe according to the magazine National Geographic, to the rides through the city on the tourist train or on a carriage passing by the lively night entertaining zones. At the same time, all types of services complement its eight kilometres of large beaches: parasols, restaurants, showers, water sports and rental equipment, pedal boats and lifeguards…

For their part, the Palacio de la Paz and the Casa de la Cultura offer a varied and valuable supply of leisure and culture full of exhibitions, concerts, theatre and dance …

In the last few years, Fuengirola has focused most of its efforts on the embellishment of its avenues, streets and squares. Among the most emblematic building works, we need to highlight the Promenade and the renovated Constitución Square.

Other attractions to visit in Fuengirola are, for example, the Sohail Castle, located right at the mouth of the Fuengirola river, houses an archaeological museum and on summer nights it becomes a magical outdoor auditorium; the bullring, whose best bullfights take place at the same time as the famous and well-attended Rosario Fair; the Marina, with 226 moorings; the popular Andalucian architecture in the Town of López, with its narrow and small streets; or the neighbourhood of Los Boliches itself, a fishing centre, with its typical restaurants and ‘chiringuitos’ (beach restaurants) where the fried fish, the grilled fish or the sardine skewers are the scaled and delicious main characters.

Fuengirola, as its slogan suggests, is a sun city not only because of the 3,000 hours a year reigned by the sun; no, this is not the only reason, but the hospitality of its people and the easygoing nature of this town originated on the banks of the Mediterranean sea are the irreplaceable basis for its extraordinary kindness.