Torremolinos

What to See in Torremolinos

Surely, it is because of its proximity to Málaga and the fact that for so many years, it was "just another neighbourhood" of the provincial capital, but Torremolinos has no remarkable monuments of any great antiquity except for the Torre Pimentel (Pimental tower). By way of compensation, however, it does have one of the most complete leisure offers on the Costa del Sol, an excellent sports and cultural infrastructure, some charming neighbourhoods, an impressive seafront promenade and some beaches whose quality has allowed it to maintain its position as a leading tourist destination.

Even before the unstoppable tourism boom was unleashed in the late 1950’s, Calle San Miguel was already the nerve centre of Torremolinos. What at first sight may seem just another pedestrian mall crowded with businesses of the kind found in any coastal town has been transformed in this case into a thoroughfare with its own unique identity due to its bustling cosmopolitan atmosphere and the odd indefinable feature that confer upon it an ambience that is absolutely different from other streets with similar characteristics. San Miguel Street is also known as "The Street of Europe," for it’s one of the most crowded thoroughfares on the continent. In the summer, it’s trodden upon by about 100,000 pedestrians every day. In fact, it’s the backbone of Torremolinos’s Open-Air Shopping Centre, where you can see residents and out-of-towners from as many as 127 different countries. As you go down this street towards the sea, you will encounter the Torre de Pimentel, which in different eras was also known as the Torre de los Molinos, Torre Molinos and Torre de Molinos (all referring to it as being "the tower of the mills"). There is a virtually exhaustive history of this tower since 1490, both as relates to its nomenclature and as to the repairs that were necessary to it, the personnel that worked in it and other details that are conscientiously collected in various documents. It is the opinion of Juan Temboury that the tower was erected in the fourteenth century, and he describes it as a "rectangular prism measuring 7.2 by 6.1 metres at the base and 6.63 by 5.05 on the roof, with a height of about 12 metres".

The Casa de los Navajas (Los Navajas house, Calle Las Mercedes) is a beautifully eccentric work by a resident of Churriana who in 1925 decided to build a large mansion in the neo-Mudéjar style, whose architectural canons consist only of unabashedly copying construction done by Muslims under Christian domination between the fourteenth and sixteenth centuries. This style enjoyed great popularity beginning with the Ibero-American Exposition in Seville in 1929.

The Molino de Inca (Inca Mill, in Los Manantiales district) is the oldest of all those that used to be in the municipality –there were 19 in 1923– and was the first to receive the water from the mountains. It was used for grinding grain. Dating back to 1488, it’s been fully rehabilitated, its looks and workings having been faithfully reconstructed. To operate it again, it was necessary to build a tank holding 50,000 cubic metres. A 40,000 square metre botanical garden has been built in its surroundings that has more than 150 palm trees of 50 different kinds, 300 trees of 60 different species and 400 shrubs from various places. The animals that can be spotted in the area are mostly birds, especially macaws, toucans, nymphs, and cockatoos. The Inca Mill is in a magnificent setting, where the original sources of Torremolinos’s water springs –Inca, De la Cueva, Del Albercón del Rey– used to be located. Four strategically placed viewpoints have been installed to take a look at the area.

The complejo deportivo Ciudad de Torremolinos (City of Torremolinos sports complex), in the suburbs of Torremolinos between the city centre and Los Manantiales, is made up of numerous installations such as the El Pozuelo lawn football field, the Palacio San Miguel multi-use sports facility, the Virgen del Carmen Olympic swimming pool, the track and field grounds, tennis and paddleball courts. This is one of the most complete sports complexes of its type in Andalusia, and numerous foreign teams customarily train in its facilities, especially in winter when the climate in their own countries hinders outdoor sports practice.

The barrio de La Carihuela (La Carihuela neighbourhood) in the western part of the municipality is the paradise of the famous pescaíto frito (small fried fish) and is certainly one of the most famous restaurant districts on the Costa del Sol. Despite the flood of tourists that it receives the neighbourhood has kept its most typical corners intact: narrow streets, small and secluded plazas brimful of plants and flowers and, most of all, its distinctive maritime atmosphere. The seafront promenade links this district to El Bajondillo and Playamar, where just as in La Carihuela the beaches and the culinary offer live up to their reputations.

The Palacio de Congresos y Exposiciones de Torremolinos (Torremolinos Congress and Expositions Palace) is located very close to the centre of the city, on a small hill that affords an excellent view of the coast. It has 22 meeting rooms with capacities from 12 to 900 persons and also an exposition hall that can accommodate 180 stands. Its architecture was innovative in its time for its modern form and continues to be remarkable for its solidity and functionality.

The Auditórium Municipal Príncipe de Asturias (Prince of Asturias municipal auditorium) is one of the large cultural infrastructures in this municipality. The building has a surface area of 6,500 square metres and seating capacity for 1,790 persons and standing room for 5,500 more. It was intended for all kinds of events; in it are held musical (opera and zarzuela), dramatic and dance performances, and occasionally it hosts large banquets.

Although they’re not in themselves, the beaches are one of Torremolinos’s greatest attractions. They’re fully equipped and offer a wide range of services. Their regularly controlled water and sand make them an exceptional natural resource. They play such an important role that there’s a Beach Monument on Paseo del Bajondillo (2004) –a tribute to all Spanish autonomous communities, whose flags fly in a big circle, and to Málaga-born artist Pablo Ruiz Picasso, for the monument draws inspiration from his painting "Women Running on the Beach" (1922). Torremolinos’s beaches are safe (watched 24/7) and their 7 kilometres can be done on foot along a sea promenade. There’re lots of beach bars whose fish (usually sardine) skewers can be seen roasting in the sand or aboard old barges. They’re stuck in the sand and the sardines skewered in them spit-roast slowly with the heat of charcoal. On the beach, tourists can engage in a wide array of water sports, from traditional pedal boat rides to novelties like kitesurfing.