Watchtowered on top of a plateau that seems to be cut by a knife by the Guadalevín river gorge, is Ronda. A fantasy just 100 kilometers from Malaga and the third most visited city in Andalusia. It lacks neither beauty nor history to be. Celts (who founded Arunda in the 6th century BCE), Phoenicians, Romans, Arabs and Christians have passed through there. Now only you are left because the place is wonderful for getaways.
round must see on-site, at least once in life. Washington Irving, Prosper Mérimée and Paul Gustave Doré were authors who recounted their travels through this thousand-year-old town in the 19th century, managing to romanticize it. Even Rainer Maria Rilke settled there for two months, already in the 20th century, renaming it as “dream city”.
“I have searched everywhere for the city of my dreams, and at last I have found it in Ronda… There is nothing more unexpected in Spain than this wild and mountain city“, wrote the Czech poet about this walled city wrapped in legends of bandits and bullfighters. We tell you the key points to visit on a getaway so that these same feelings awaken in you.
New bridge
Without a doubt, its most universal symbol is the impressive New Bridge, which connects the old city with the new one over an abyss 100 meters deep. Completed in 1793, the vertigo produced by leaning out when crossing it is the same today.
Ronda Bullring
Ronda is the cradle of modern bullfighting so it is not surprising that it is here the oldest and most monumental bullfighting arena in Spain. It dates from the end of the 17th century and is an elegant square where the famous Goyesque bullfights are held every September since 1954. They have remained trapped in the time of this painter.
Almocabar Gate
To the south of Ronda, in the neighborhood of San Francisco, are the remains of the Muslim walls and the great Puerta de Almocábar. It dates from the 13th century and was the access to the city from the south in Arab times. At the foot of the wall, we also find the Arab baths of Ronda. A hammam of the thirteenth century, which is the best preserved from the Arab period in the entire Iberian Peninsula.
Mondragon Palace
This Mudejar-Renaissance palace was the residence of the Andalusian kings of the Taifa of Ronda and, later, of the governors of the Nasrid kingdom of Granada… until the Catholic Monarchs took the city in 1485. It is currently occupied by the Municipal Archaeological Museum of Ronda, which It is worth visiting to stroll through its beautiful interior patios..
House of the Moorish King
Although travelers cannot access this neomudéjar house from the 17th century, has beautiful terraced gardens designed by the French landscaper Forestier in 1923. In addition, from the garden From the garden, some vertigo stairs allow you to descend to the banks of the Guadalevín. And it is that the house is located on the edge of the river gorge.
Alameda del Tajo
This tree-lined promenade from the beginning of the 19th century has specimens from more than 200 years ago and overlooks the famous Tajo or Ronda gorge with spectacular views of the Serranía. The best point is the so-called Pussy Lookoutso called because that is the first word that those who look at it usually say.
Church of Santa Maria la Mayor
Built on the old main mosque of Ronda, this 14th century church it still preserves Arab elements such as remains of the mihrab. It is Gothic in style, although elements from later periods stand out, such as the Renaissance choir or the Baroque altarpiece of the Virgen del Mayor Dolor.
In addition, the traditional local gastronomy is another monument in itself. So, after kicking Ronda and making stomach, nothing like moving to the Plaza del Socorro and surrounding streets for tapas on its multiple terraces.
Soho Boutique Palacio San Gabriel
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Cover photo | istock