Things to do in Ronda

Ronda stands about 740 metres up. The Guadalevín river has cut its plateau in two with the Tajo gorge. The old Moorish town, La Ciudad, lies south, and the Mercadillo grew north after Castile took Ronda in 1485.

Bridge, old town and bullring

Things to do in Ronda start at the Puente Nuevo, which joins the two halves. These sights lie within a kilometre of it.

• Puente Nuevo. Finished in 1793, nearly 100 metres above the river. A room above the central arch, once a prison, now holds an exhibition on the bridge.
• Plaza de Toros. Opened on 19 May 1785, with a ring 66 metres across and a bullfighting museum inside.
• Alameda del Tajo. An early 19th-century park on the cliff edge, next to the bullring.
• Casa del Rey Moro. Despite the name, the house dates from the 1700s, with gardens by Forestier and a Moorish water stair cut into the cliff.
• Palacio de Mondragón. A palace rebuilt in the 1500s on Moorish foundations, now the municipal museum.
• Santa María la Mayor. A church begun in 1485 on the site of the main mosque, whose mihrab survives.
• Arab Baths. A bathhouse of the 13th and 14th centuries below the old town.

What gets booked

Tours in Ronda are mostly guided walks. They take about two hours and run in English or Spanish.

Day trips also run from the Costa del Sol. Canyoning runs south of town, in the Genal valley.

Practical

• Weather. In January the afternoons reach about 12C and the nights fall near 4C, with frost possible from November to March. July and August afternoons pass 30C. Rain comes mostly between October and March.
• Tickets. Monument entry is usually paid separately, and the bullring costs about 10 euros.
• Getting here. Málaga lies about 100 km off, Marbella 60 and Seville 125. The road from the coast crosses mountains.
• Canyoning. Guided canyon descents in the Genal valley take about four hours.
• Shoes. The lanes are cobbled, so wear flat, sturdy shoes, and bring a jacket in winter.
• Goyesca. The bullring's Goyesca fight, first held in 1954, falls in early September.