Torremolinos

Torremolinos is a municipality in Andalusia, southern Spain, west of Málaga. A poor fishing village before the growth in tourism began in the late 1950s, Torremolinos was the first of the Costa del Sol resorts to be developed and is still the most popular in the region.

On the western shore of the Bay of Málaga and in front of the Sierra de Mijas 13 km from Málaga, it is served by the A-7 motorway, which bypasses the city to the north, the Cercanías commuter train and Avanzabus.

In 2013, it had 69,389 inhabitants, making it the sixth largest city in the province. The township has an area of 20 km2.

Areas of the town are dotted with older high-rise residential buildings and hotels, but height limitations on new developments and a significant number of original old town properties have kept the town centre much more open than other popular resorts such as Benidorm and Fuengirola.

As the name Coast of the Sun implies, Torremolinos enjoys one of the best climates in Europe. It has long, dry summers with relatively low humidity, and mild winters with occasional, though heavy, rainfall. The town benefits in the summer from cool sea breezes predominantly coming from Africa, although this does mean a fair amount of Sahara dust. Temperatures normally hover around 30 °C in the summer and 17 - 19 °C in the winter. Torremolinos sometimes experiences a sea fog that goes as quickly as it appears.

The beach, which extends for nearly 8 km, has cycle and skating lanes alongside the fully illuminated promenade and features many chiringuitos (beach bars/restaurants). The eastern end of the beach, known as Los Álamos, has live dance music events throughout the summer. The easternmost parts of the beach have kitesurfing and windsurfing except under the flight path of the airport.

In addition to its tourism sector, Torremolinos is known locally for its vibrant and liberal nightlife, particularly its numerous bars and clubs catering to the LGBT community. Torremolinos co-hosted World Pride in 2017 in conjunction with Madrid and holds its own Pride in June, now the third largest in Spain.

History
Archaeological finds, including human and animal bones, tools, and pottery prove that the Torremolinos area was settled as early as the Neolithic Age. Some artifacts and tools are Neanderthal in origin, dated to nearly 150,000 years ago through radiocarbon dating.

According to the Egyptian Greek geographer Ptolemy, the Phoenicians had founded here a colony named Saduce, but the Romans are the most likely to have founded the current town, as shown by findings of edifices and a necropolis (from whose size it has been deduced that the settlement had around 2,000 inhabitants ). They also built the road joining Cadiz with Málaga, passing through Torremolinos.

With the Moorish conquest of Spain, the mills, from which the town takes its name (meaning "Tower of the Mills"), were introduced. However, at the time the population was reduced; the tower was built by the Nasrid rulers of Granada starting from 1300. After the fall of Granada, the town remained subject to North African pirate attacks which lasted from the 18th century; during the War of Spanish Succession, the town was attacked by an Anglo-Dutch flotilla under the British admiral George Rooke and almost entirely destroyed. A document dated 1769 lists a town population of 106.

The mills and the city were rebuilt in the early 20th century, but the mill industry started to decline in the 1920s. It was largely replaced by an increasing tourist interest from 1928, particularly British visitors. Hotel Pez Espada opened in 1960. The first gay bar in Spain, Toni's Bar, was founded in Torremolinos in 1962. The Spanish regime reacted to the free lifestyle of the city with arrests of homosexuals and other repressions during the 1970s.

Torremolinos first appeared on the map of the Ensenada's Marques in 1748. The name comes from the words Torre (Tower) and Molino (Mill). Water mills covered all this area of which only one survives (Molino de Inca) and one tower which forms part of a restaurant. Historians believe that moulded stones discovered at beaches and mountains in Torremolinos indicate the existence of the village 150,000 years ago.

Further evidence of its pre-history are nine skulls, some bones, clay pots, axe heads and arrows, ornaments of necklaces and bracelets, a ring and some animal bones discovered in the excavations of the caves: cueva del Tesoro (treasure cave), cueva tapada (cover cave), cueva del encanto (charm cave), cueva del tejón (badger cave). The study of these items places them at the Neolithic in the Quaternary period, around 5.000 years before Christ at the period when man learned to cultivate, the land. It is estimated that the skeletons found at the caves and at the cape of Torremolinos were 1.5 or 1.6 meters tall (4’9 ft. or 5’2 ft.).

Pre-Roman
According to Ptolemy, Phoenicians built the city of Saduce next to Torremolinos. The Romans constructed a road to connect Gades (Cádiz) with Malaca (Málaga). In the 1990s a Roman necropolis was discovered with 23 graves at the "San Luis build" at Cantabria's square, which confirm the existence of a village of about 2000 years old.

Middle Ages
Around 1300, the Muslim dynasty of the "Nazríes", which governed Málaga between the 13th and 15th centuries, built the defensive tower that can be seen at the end of San Miguel Street. The tower is 12 metres high and was built with earth. It is composed of two floors and watch windows to the sea and a terrace.

Before French revolution
After the Christians conquered the kingdom of Granada, Torremolinos was attacked by pirates until the 18th century.

During the War of Spanish succession, an Anglo-Dutch fleet, commanded by the British Admiral George Rooke, looted and burned the houses and mills and destroyed all of Torremolinos. A census of 1769 shows a population of 106 people.

Modern age
During the first half of the 19th century the town was rebuilt and by 1849, there were 14 mills and 785 inhabitants. With the demise of the mills, Torremolinos became a small fishing village until the end of the 1950s when it became one of the first tourist centers in the Costa del Sol. In the 1950s, many celebrities visited Torremolinos such as Grace Kelly, Ava Gardner, Marlon Brando, Orson Welles and Frank Sinatra.

In 1959, the Art Deco styled Hotel Pez Espada was opened, the first luxury hotel along the coast. In the following years, new hotels, nightclubs and other tourist-aimed establishments changed the face of the town and its beaches. By 1965, Torremolinos was already consolidated as a major tourist destination.

In 2023, Torremolinos achieved record numbers of hotel occupancy and tourist spend, particularly from the LGBTQ events such as Madbear and Torremolinos Gay Pride as well as the Feria San Miquel which attracts over 200,000 visitors.

Climate
Torremolinos has a subtropical Mediterranean climate (Köppen: Csa). The summers are hot and dry with relatively low humidity, and the winters are mild and humid, especially in November and December, with occasional, though heavy, rainfall. The town benefits in the summer from cool sea breezes predominately coming from Africa although this does mean a fair amount of Sahara dust. On rare occasions heavy dust storms known as Calima can discolour the normally pristine white buildings and even turn the sky orange. Day temperatures normally hover around 30 C in July and August and the upper teens in the winter. In the summer, Torremolinos sometimes experiences a sea fog that goes as quickly as it appears. The phenomenon, known as 'Taró', was reported as far back as Phoenician times and is a type of sea advection fog.

Events
Being the principle tourist destination on the Costa del Sol, with over 1 million visitors and 5 million bed stays in 2023 Torremolinos has many events and festivals throughout the year.

In the end of September Torremolinos has the Feria de San Miguel, a celebration that includes parades, music and dance shows happening both in the fairgrounds and in the city center for up to a week.



In mid October each year the Komando Motorbike Festival takes place with approximately 15,000 bikers attending the Palacio de Congresso.

Leisure
Torremolinos is home to the largest water park on the Costa del Sol. Called Aqualand, it is open from May to October. Next door is the Crocodile Park, which is open year-round. Nearby is a large wooded area with public barbecue facilities and seating.

The botanical gardens, Molino de Inca, are located next to the municipal-run Garden center which backs onto Aqualand.

The local radio station is Radio Planeta on FM 92.8 and only plays dance music in English but with Spanish advertising.

A free English paper, Sur in English, is printed every Friday.

The Bull ring is no longer used for bullfighting, and is instead used as an entertainment venue for events such as dance and live music acts.

Twice a week next to the Bull ring, a public market is held. On Thursday morning it is primarily used for the sale of clothing, and on Sunday morning there is a greater range of goods available.

Torremolinos has several large municipal-owned venues, including a conference, exhibition and convention centre, the Palacio de Congresos, the auditorium Prince of Asturias, and the Pablo Ruiz Picasso cultural centre.

The Parque de la Batería is a large public park which includes a boating lake, a children's playground, a running track, exercise machines, an observation tower, several wartime cannons, caverns, and a wide variety of tropical plants.

Shopping
Torremolinos has some early shopping centres built in the 60s and 70s most of which are sparsely populated due to unmotivated landowners and difficulties with disabled access.

The main tourist shops are on Calle San Miguel, Plaza Costa del Sol, the stairs down to the beach and the beach road itself.

A Carrefour hypermarket is located in a large shopping mall on the A340 towards Benalmadena. Aside from a wide range of International Foods, it also sells electronics, white goods and bicycles. In the area of Plaza Mayor there is an Ikea warehouse and several other home furnishing and electrical superstores. Most of these stores offer low cost delivery services and free parking.

Around town the principal supermarkets are Mercadona, Maskom, Aldi, Lidl, Dia and Supersol. There are many large Chinese run stores. The Carrefour Express supermarket is also open on Sundays, unlike most shops.

In 2016, approval was given for a massive shopping, hotel, casino and leisure complex to be built by the same company, Intu, that developed the Trafford Centre in Manchester on land next to Aqualand and the A7 motorway and primary ring roads. Costing in excess of 800 million euros, it will be the largest development of its type in the Mediterranean, incorporating an indoor skydiving attraction, a wave pool, indoor snow skiing, electric go-karting, concert hall and cinemas. Major Spanish retailers such as El Corte Ingles, Zara and Mango will be present. Construction work began in November 2017. Major road works are planned to handle the increased traffic as well as improved transport links to the old town.

As of Summer 2020 the project was on hold following the entering into Administration of INTU PLC. However the partner Eurofund was approached with a view to take over the project. and on 6 November 2020, the President of Eurofund, Ian Sandford, assumed control of the company created to carry out the development of the Intu Costa del Sol shopping and leisure complex. Eurofund had been promoting the development jointly with the British group Intu Properties, but that firm has now filed for bankruptcy.

In November 2021 following a court case brought by the Sociedad Azucarera Larios real estate firm against the developers and Torremolinos town hall, the project has again been delayed by as much as 2 years as the Andalusian Supreme Court has cancelled in its entirety Torremolinos’ current urban development plan (PGOU), in force since 2020. This also affects all new developments. Torremolinos town hall is expected to appeal the decision.

Sports
Torremolinos has many sporting complexes, including two Olympic swimming pools, track and field facilities, tennis courts, racquet ball courts, as well as football pitches; this, combined with the climate, led to over 900 international athletes training in the town in 2023.

During the warmer months, the city offers classes for children, as well as adults, in various physical activities such as Aerosalsa, an activity that combines aerobics with Latin dances and salsa, body tonic, indoor cycling, competitive swimming, children's swimming, functional training, gap, adult swimming, paddle, pilates, basketball and tennis. The covered tennis courts, unusual in the area, have been frequented by Novak Djokovic.

Transport
The coastal towns from Malaga through to Fuengirola are served by Cercanías commuter trains and the fares are divided by zone.

Málaga Airport is 10 minutes away by train, which runs every 20 minutes. It is the 3rd busiest airport in Spain carrying over 16 million passengers annually. However, there is no public transport to and from the airport before 6 o'clock in the morning and past midnight.

Torremolinos is served by 5 rail stations, all of them wheelchair-friendly including the new refurbished main station in the town centre square of La Nogalera, which now has two escalators and lifts following an investment of €7.5 million.

Famous residents

 * Danny La Rue, World-famous female impersonator.
 * Damian Quintero, Karate Champion of the World
 * Alvin Karpis (1907–1979), Depression-era outlaw, lived his last years in Torremolinos after being released from jail by US authorities.
 * Gustavo Thorlichen, photographer of Perón and Che Guevara.
 * Nina Zhivanevskaya, bronze medal winner for Spain in 100-metre backstroke at the 2000 Summer Olympics.
 * Brendan Sheerin, presenter (tour guide) on the British television reality show, Coach Trip.