Places to go in and around Álora
Álora
is a town with much history, reputedly dating back to the Phoenicians, and more recently with communist traditions until the mid 20th century. Sited on its twin hills, it looks down over the fertile Guadalhorce Valley, verdant with citrus trees. Within the town there is one of the oldest churches in the province, and at Easter, the meeting place for the splendiferous icons of the Virgin Mary and Jesus Christ. The Castle, built by the Moors, is the last resting place for 'perotas' (Álora residents) and sits atop one of the twin hills, and is beautifully lit at night. On the neighbouring hill is a Church, also lit - and between them they represent the history of the town.
Eating Out
Álora has a few good restaurants and some good ventas. Abilio's in the centre of the town tucked just behind the Veracruz Church is a restaurant of long standing. Newly established just off the Plaza Ariba (upper square) is the new restaurant Candela that is gaining a reputation for excellent food and service. At the Bariada del Puente is Restaurante Alejandro , run by Dorothy who has lived in the area for many years. This new restaurant is also making its name. There are also a number of tapas bars, most well known of these is The Correos, the name means "post office" and it is in fact in the old post office building. Lars and Candella, the owners, are Swedish, very popular, and provide a slightly different take on tapas. They also serve the most splendiferous chocolate cake, made to an old Swedish recipe which is top secret.
On the way to El Chorro is the Rocabella restaurant - good menu, good food, and often with live music on a Saturday evening. At El Chorro is the Gargantua Restaurant and further on at the Ardales Lakes you can eat and look over the water from El Kiosko - which has some excellent Basque dishes, or from El Mirador - I always remember the huge plates of roast lamb they serve. Just as you drive through the lakes there is also an excellent restaurant which is part of a smart hotel. The chef is renowned in the area.
The ventas, which are usually large, provide standard Andalucian food, often very good and "home cooked " and excellent value. Most offer "menu del dia"which is a 3 course meal for €6 or €7. Standard but nutricious fare, instigated by Franco to ensure the workers who could not get home for the mid day meal were able to get good food at affordable prices.
We also know of some wonderful restaurants in Málaga and towns around Álora and will happily discuss your tastes and make reservations for you.
Málaga
An under rated city by many who don't know her. Málaga is a centre for Spanish tourism in the main, and has monuments and historical sites worthy of comparison with the other major southern Spanish cities. The tour bus is an excellent way of seeing many of these, and unless you really love walking up long steep hills, your legs will thank you for the bus. However the old town has to be discovered on foot. The Picasso Museum, the Cathedral, the narrow winding streets with tiny shops, tapas bars, restaurants, art galleries etc make the old town a delight to explore. Its also close to the main shopping area with probably more shoe shops than Imelda could cope with, as well as a range of clothes and other shops. Leather goods are of course a traditional Spanish product.
The train station is about 10 minutes walk away from the old town, and Álora has the good fortune to have a regular train service to Málaga, the airport and Fuengirola. Leaving hourly - apart from mid morning and mid afternoon, the train to Málaga takes 40 minutes, is always on time, comfortable with air conditioning in the summer, and extremely good value for money at less than €4 for a return journey.
Córdoba and Sevilla
These are both accessible directly from Álora by train - 7.45 am departure, and within 2 hours you are in Córdoba, and 4 hrs to Sevilla. The last train from Córdoba leaves at 9.45 pm arriving in Álora at 11.45pm. We could drop you off and pick you up from the station - or we could help find you accommodation overnight. There is a very good system for hotels which enable you to stay in 4 and 5 star hotels at 2 star prices. It's a well kept Spanish secret, but we are now "in the know";
Antequerra
is a wonderful town a little further inland from Álora, again, with many ancient monuments and churches worth exploring, and a little further again is Archedona with its circular plaza - beautiful.
Ronda
is of course, a must to explore, and can be reached from Álora in a little over an hour. There is a more mountainous route, with fabulous scenery, climbing up from the A 357 through El Burgo and Yunquera. This can take a couple of hours, but the views are spectacular. Ronda has some wonderful restaurants, palaces and parks, and of course the famous bridge between the old and new parts of town.
Marbella
is now only an hour away as the new motorway network has improved the road link to the swanky end of the costa. However, whilst we love our country way of life, we always love to see how the rich and famous live, particularly the boats at Puerto Banus - ah well, in our dreams! So much busier, these coastal towns nevertheless have a charm of their own, with fabulous seafronts, restaurants, 'the' shops (Prada etc).
Torremolinos
is our usual destination for beach visits - between Torremolinos and Málaga there is a fabulously big clean beach near the Parador del Golf, and with only a few chiringitos (beach fish bars) and no big hotels built here yet. The Málaga beaches are good too, and taken great care of by the MalaguenosTel: 00 34 952 49 55 92, Mob: 00 34 686 29 14 85
E mail: fincalosllanos@yahoo.co.uk