The Ronda Parador is an interesting mix of old and new architecture, with views of the busy and picturesque Plaza de España on one side, and the breathtaking gorge on the other, as well as the 18th century Puente Nuevo bridge that is adjacent to the building. This is an excellent, convenient base for exploring Ronda.
The ruins of this 32 hectare city are located at 1.000m above sea level. This is an urban are that thrived in the first century AD when it had a population of 5.000. It was mentioned in Plini and, inscriptions to Geninn Oppidi, to the god Marse and to Victoria Augusta have been found. The city even minted its own money, which features bunches of grapes.
Being one of the most popular tourist destinations in Malaga province due to its dramatic setting and historic and cultural heritage, it is no surprise that Ronda has an abundance of self-catering accommodation both in the town itself and just outside in the surrounding countryside.
There are two Altira express return trains a day to Madrid Atocha stopping at Antequera Santa Ana, Cordoba Central, Puertollano, Cuidad Real and two in the other direction to San Roque and Algeciras. There are also three return medium-distance stopping trains a day for stations to Algeciras in one direction, and Bobadilla to Granada in the other.
Ronda bus station is located in the new part of the town, only four blocks along the Avenida de Andalucia from the train station and about 5 minutes' walk from the historic town centre. It is located at Plaza Concepción García Redondo.
The longish twelfth day of the Coast to Coast footpath leads you on from El Burgo through a wild swathe of the Sierra de las Nieves Natural Park to the hilltop town of Ronda, the largest settlement which you encounter between the two oceans. Much of the walk is by way of forestry and farm tracks yet until you get within a couple of kilometres of Ronda you'll encounter few walkers or vehicles.
Inaugurated in 1785, Ronda's Plaza de Toros is one of the oldest in Spain, younger and smaller than that at Sevilla, but home to one of Spain's most famous 'schools' of bullfighting, on foot rather than on horseback as at Jerez and Sevilla.
Towering above the Almocábar gate, the monolithic church of the Holy Spirit is the Ciudad's unofficial cathedral, and certainly the place where the señoritos and their ladies from Ronda's old families can be seen at Sunday mass.
As its population becomes increasingly younger and younger, so the lifestyle of Ronda changes, most notably its nightlife. The first-time visitor will be surprised, considering Spain's reputation as a nation of late-night carousers, to find Ronda's streets nearly deserted by 11pm, and retire to their accommodation slightly baffled.
Built on Arabic foundations at the instigation of the Reyes Catolicos after the fall of Ronda in 1485, this imposing structure on the far side of the Puente Nuevo has been rebuilt over the centuries in Mudejar (post-Reconquest Arabic), gothic and Renaissance styles. It has been, variously, a Dominican convent, a private mausoleum for the Moctezuma y Rojas family and, sporadically, a tribunal for the Inquisition.
With views overlooking al Tajo and surrounded by nature, Hotel Catalonia Reina Victoria offers all the comfort and modern amenities of a 4 star hotel. A little to the south of the Alameda, and connected to it by the cliff top Paseo de los Ingleses is a garden, in the centre of which stands the Hotel Reina Victoria.
With views overlooking al Tajo and surrounded by nature, Hotel Catalonia Reina Victoria offers all the comfort and modern amenities of a 4 star hotel. A little to the south of the Alameda, and connected to it by the cliff top Paseo de los Ingleses is a garden, in the centre of which stands the Hotel Reina Victoria.
Festivals in Ronda: Fiesta de la Virgen de la Paz, Feria de la Reconquista, La Virgen de la Cabeza, Feria Goyesca and more.
Somewhere along the way, Ronda became known as "the Eagles' Nest". There was deliberate irony in the name. On the one hand a simple, mildly poetic reference to its perch high in the mountains above its famous gorge; on the other an ironic reference to its inhabitants' reputation for canny ferocity.
Built in the 16th century, possibly on remnants of an earlier bridge, this was the one navigable link between Mercadillo and La Ciudad until the completion of the Puente Nuevo centuries later. Cars still need good gears and drivers with steely nerves to take the steep hairpin bend on the way up to the cuesta de Santo Domingo.
Across the cuesta from the Casa del Rey Moro, the Palacio of the Marqués de Salvatierra family opens irregularly as a small museum of Renaissance art and artefacts. The Palacio is an 18th century renovation of an earlier 16th century building gifted to the family of Don Vasco Martín de Salvatierra by the Reyes Catolicos when they redistributed the spoils of the Reconquest.
Ronda has no shortage when it comes to finding a place to eat. There are restaurants and tapas bars located all around the town, some with terraces that provide an idyllic place to sit and enjoy your meal whilst looking over the famous gorge. Prices can be extautionate in central locations, so don´t be fooled.
As well as Americans Hemingway and Welles, many writers and artists stayed in the genteel mountain resort of Ronda in the 19th and 20th centuries. One of the least-known of these is David Bomberg, an English painter who lived locally in the 1950s.
Sometimes called the Roman bridge, as it was thought to have been built on the foundations of an earlier Roman bridge, this was promptly abandoned when the 16th century expansion of the Mercadillo district required a better link with the Ciudad. Then, the Guadelevín was a much deeper river.
Explore the Arab Baths of Ronda, Málaga, one of Andalucía’s best-preserved Islamic hammams. Discover centuries-old architecture, star-shaped skylights, and underground chambers that once hosted the city’s main Moorish baths..
The Paseo Hemingway leads on to Ronda's great green lung, the 19th century Alameda del Tajo. Originally named the Alameda de San Carlos, this is the front garden for a town where nobody has a front garden. At weekends, particularly in summer, whole families descend here, and much daytime life is lived in its shade.
