Benalmadena
Welcome to Benalmadena. My local gazette is a website designed not only for those visiting the area, but for those 30,000 + people who have made it their home, British, Spanish and other nationalities alike. It is a great place to visit and live and there is so much going on, you simply won’t have time to fit it all into one visit. Luckily for foreign visitors, it lies less than 20km from the newly expanding Malaga airport.
Benalmadena itself is pretty big. It extends about 8km along the coast and up into the edge of the mountains (good for those firming those muscles) to the main motorway running along the coast, covering approximately 30km2. It lies between Fuengirola and Torremolinos and its boundaries with these areas are clearly shown by the arches sporting their names that go over the coast road (N 340).
To get to grips with the layout of Benalmadena it’s best to remember it is made up of three distinct areas. Benalmadena Costa runs along the coast and includes areas such as Torrequebrada and Torremuelle. This is where you will find several large tourist hotels and of course those beautiful blue flag beaches. Arroyo de la Miel is the town centre where the main station is as well as the commercial centre of the area. Benalmadena Pueblo is a small white traditional Spanish village up in the North West of the area and with a different character to the other areas.
Last but not least, make sure you get the pronunciation right. The name comes from Arabic Ben Al Madina and means ‘children of the mines’ for the mines that used to exist in olden times in the area. The emphasis in on the second a, not the i, so it sounds BenalMADena (not BenalmaDEEna). You sound like a local.
Enjoy your time in Benalmadena, however long or short and remember you are warmly welcomed to give your views or ask us questions here at my local gazette. Remember, we are still a fledgling site and growing all the time so do visit us again.
Hasta Luego.
