27 Jun Torremolinos – the coast’s most famous charter destination
The name Torre Molinos, the tower of the windmills, comes from the fourteen windmills that were around the village in the 18th century and that were kept running by three streams that flowed into the sea at the beach of Bajondillo. With its 67,492 inhabitants, Torremolinos is today the seventh largest city in the province of Málaga and is located 12 kilometers from Málaga city and only seven kilometers from the airport.
On September 27, 1988, Torremolinos became an independent municipality after previously being a district of the city of Málaga. More than 100 different nationalities are permanently registered in the city and foreigners make up 26 percent of the total population. Of these, 75 percent come from EU countries; the largest group comes from Great Britain, followed by the Netherlands, Germany, France and Scandinavia. Málaga got its own congress center in 1968, the Palacio de Congresos, which is located just outside the city and was designed by the architect Rafael de La-Hoz. It is the first of its kind in Andalusia and since its opening has run an intensive congress and exhibition business all year round.
The tourist paradise of Torremolinos, the Puerto Banús of the 1960s
The first tourist facilities in Torremolinos were already established in the 1920s and the town’s golf course was inaugurated in 1928. The Hotel Castillo del Inglés opened its doors in 1930 and the Parador de Montemar in 1933.
Due to the Spanish Civil War and the Second World War, it was not until the 50s that Torremolinos became a famous tourist resort and even one of the most visited holiday destinations in Europe. Then celebrities such as Grace Kelly, Ava Gardner, Marlon Brando, Orson Welles and Frank Sinatra arrived and the Costa del Sol began to gain international fame.
In 1959, Hotel Pez Espada was opened, which became the coast’s first luxury hotel. In 1962 came Toni bar, the first gay bar in Spain, which was followed by several gay bars and turned Torremolinos into one of the world’s most popular gay tourism destinations. In the following years, lots of new hotels, restaurants, bars and nightclubs were opened.
The ancient history of the city
After the Christian conquest of the Kingdom of Granada, Torremolinos was subject to pirate attacks right into the 18th century. This dramatically stopped the demographic development of the city. During the 18th century, the Arab pirates were replaced by English invaders, and during the War of the Spanish Succession in the years 1701–1714, Torremolinos was attacked by the Anglo-Dutch fleet, led by Admiral George Rooke. The city was looted, houses and factories were burned and the fire destroyed almost all of Torremolinos. The recovery was long-lasting. According to the census, there were only 106 permanent residents in Torremolinos in 1760. But things have happened since then! In 1842, the population consisted of 785 people but had increased dramatically to 27,543 in 1991, to today be up to almost 70,000 inhabitants.
Wonderful beaches
One of the main attractions of Torremolinos is the wonderfully beautiful beaches that stretch for seven kilometers. The largest are Los Álamos, Playamar, El Bajondillo, La Carihuela, Montemar and El Saltillo and the most popular are El Bajondillo, located in the center, and La Carihuela in the western part of Torremolinos.
The first has a beach more than a kilometer long and 40 meters wide and La Carihuela, with about the same width, is about two kilometers long. This beach is located in the old fishing village of the town of the same name and has a wonderful promenade where an abundance of restaurants and bars serve, among other things, the local specialty, fried fish.
