Fuengirola

Excellent for the tourist, the town of Fuengirola is another favourite Costa del Sol location among regular visitors to our area, both Spanish and foreign. The Phonecians called it Suel, the Arabs renamed it Sohail, and it was in the eighteenth century—when the town became an important supply centre for boats heading for the Straits of Gibraltar—that it received it’s definitive name of Fuengirola, derived from the term “girola”, the name given to the Genoese dragnet vessels.

DETAILS

SOHAIL  CASTLE
The most important monuments are the archaeological sites of Torreblanca del Sol, Sohail Castle   and the parish churches. The rapid development of tourism has given rise to a large number of places of leisure and entertainment along the promenade, which is one of the longest in Spain and is in close proximity to the marina, the sailing club, the fishing port and the Centre of Oceanographic Research.

FAIRS  &  FESTIVITIES
The most important festivities, in honour of the town’s patron saint, La Virgen del Rosario, fall in October. Another important celebration is La Virgen del Carmen. During this event, in the district of Los Boliches, there is a maritime procession in July. In addition, the carnival is held at the start of Lent, with street musicians and procession contests followed by Holy Week, with it’s attractive processions offered by different religious fraternities. The summer months see “La Noche Rosa”, a series of concerts of modern music which normally is in July. The open-air celebrations take place on the eve of San Juan in June, starting in the San Jose district and culminating in the burning of “Juas” (effigies).

CUISINE
Fuengirola’s cuisine is in keeping with it’s cosmopolitan nature, but local dishes are based on locally-caught fish, especially fried fish and skewered sardines, not forgetting rice with seafood, salt fish and baked fish etc.