The eastern end – from Almunecar to Torrox

If we accept that the Costa begins at Almunecar, the coast between here and Nerja is probably the most beautiful stretch of coastline in the entire area. The coast road twists and turns above pretty, rock-lined coves as the Sierra de Tejeda sweeps down to the sea. Nerja itself is now very developed and is the first big resort in the Malaga section of the coast. This town was ‘discovered’ by the British in the early 1960s. Continuing to the west the next towns of any size are Torre del Mar and Torrox. Both are now being heavily developed due to their close proximity to Malaga airport but if you want to live in an area where there are large modern developments with an almost total expat community in the new developments, this could be the perfect area for you.

Malaga

Next stop on the coast is Malaga itself, one of Spain’s major cities and the provincial capital. Malaga remains an essentially Spanish city and has been improved greatly in recent years with the construction of new man-made beaches all of which are maintained in superb condition. It is probably the one place on the coast where you will find real big-city culture with concerts, theatre (in Spanish of course) and museums. Picasso was born here and the city opened a new Picasso museum in 2003. Despite development, Malaga remains very Spanish.

Two coastal areas which are virtually suburbs of Malaga might also be worth considering, Rincon de la Victoria and Velez Malaga.

Torremolinos, Benalmadena and Fuengirola

Now we come to the Costa del Sol, that everyone knows from the holiday brochures: Torremolinos, Benalmadena and Fuengirola. These are true resort towns, which exist for the holidaymaker’s pleasure. They are brash, noisy and busy, and the party can go on virtually all night. But if you want to live in an area that is very lively these places are hard to beat. The expat community is large – everything British that you could want is easily available. There are many British-run businesses and you may never have to so much as try to speak Spanish here. There is good public transport – buses and trains – so you may not even need a car. The expatriate infrastructure means that there are a huge number of British clubs, British restaurants and even British theatre.

From a purely personal point of view, I would not want to live there but I appreciate that for many potential residents the area is perfect. The other major benefit is that these towns are finished. They are already so built-up that there is very little room for new development so what you see is what you buy and will not change too dramatically in the future. The fact that they were developed almost 40 years ago also means that there is a lot of refurbishment going on in the area.

Calahonda to Marbella

Beyond Fuengirola the coast continues to be very highly developed but here there is still a lot of new development. There are cranes everywhere between Calahonda and Marbella and that wonderful view which your new property has this year may not exist in a year’s time. I will deal with this very real fact of life on the coast later.

Calahonda is already very developed but its close neighbour, Puerto Cabopino is most pleasant, with a relatively low density of building.

Marbella – playground of the rich and famous – is next. Surprisingly, Marbella retains an absolutely charming old town of narrow streets with whitewashed houses and, in its centre, the stunningly beautiful Plaza de los Naranjos – Orange Square. This square, filled with orange trees laden with fruit becomes one large open-air restaurant in the warm summer evenings. In the rest of Marbella and its western suburb of Puerto Banus, money talks and talks loudly. Expensive cars, designer boutiques and private yachts the size of small ferries are much in evidence. Needless to say, property prices around the Marbella area are among the highest on the coast and still the building continues.