We were both looking forward to moving back into our waterfront apartment this week because we really miss having a terrace to sit out on. Yes, apartment number two, does have the outside dining area, but the sun never really spills down on to us because of the high walls surrounding the terrace.
But, we really have enjoyed spending three weeks living in the Old Town. It is charming, historic, and chock full of restaurants and other amenities. And the beds were very comfortable, and it was an easy walk away from one of our favourite grocery chain’s several outlets in town. So, no real complaints
I would be seriously remiss if I did not walk you through the Old Town, or Old Quarter as it is often referred to; I want to show you just how enjoyable it is. To that end, I have laid out another map in Google Maps to show you where the area sits in Estepona.
Have a look at the map and after you are finished, I will explain the things I have highlighted.
As you can see, some of the things I have pointed to or circled were on the last map as well. Those include my Red Star, indicating what I think is the central most point, and Calle Terraza, showing you the path of the street as it winds its way down toward the beach. And finally, there is a red arrow pointing to the blue dot where we stayed. I should point out that the blue dot is not actually in the correct position. It should sit on the other side of the word “Málaga”.
Newly marked on the map are Calle Real, the second principal pedestrian shopping street in Estepona. It continues east straight across through the Old Town. The small purple square is Plaza de las Flores, which really is the heart of the city. And finally, the little purple arrow is pointing to a small purple camera icon. This spot is typically marked in Google Maps as the “Centro Histórico de Estepona”. You probably don’t even need me to translate that into “historical centre of Estepona”. 🙂 And, tying that all together is a sweeping red line I have drawn to generally show the boundary of the Old Town.
Don’t take the sweeping red line as being accurate though. I’m pretty sure I have left out a lot of streets that are actually in the area. This is just generally the area in which we have been wandering.
Let’s take a look!
Where We Are Staying
The apartment we have rented is on the second floor of a building on Calle San Pedro. It sits between Calle Málaga and Calle Caridad. Having spent three weeks here, I would have to say that this is an excellent location.
Let’s check out some photos.
1. The building has been completely renovated recently, so the apartment is very fresh and modern. If you were to search on Google Maps, it still shows the old rundown single-family home that sat here previously.
2. Adjoining our building is a lovely little restaurant called Oliva.
3. The main entrance to Oliva is on Calle Caridad. The Love-goddess is checking out the menu. 🙂
4. Calle Caridad is a bit of a restaurant strip here in the Old Town. I took this photo on Saturday, February 8. I have walked east to the end and am looking back in the general direction of our apartment.
Exploring East of Calle Terraza
I am going to divide the Old Town in half to give you a better sense of where these photos were taken. Again, the dividing line is Calle Terraza. On the east side, and very close to our apartment are the following.
5. In this image, our walk to explore the Old Town has begun. I am standing on Calle Caridad very close to the corner of our street. We are going to be heading up the stairs here looking for the “Centro Histórico de Estepona”.
6. Up we go!
7. There are lots of these inviting narrow streets in the area. I’m not sure that we actually ever found the “Centro Histórico de Estepona” but it was easy to see why this area was referred to as the historical center.
8. We came around a corner and discovered this set of stairs heading down to the street below. I decided it was the perfect location for a photo-op. 🙂
9. Back up at the top of the staircase we then wandered down this very narrow Street.
10. I thought this use of an old anchor as a decorative landscaping features was just too delightful not to take a picture.
11. Everywhere you walk in the Old Town you see signs of Estepona’s commitment to literally being “The Garden of the Costa del Sol”.
Exploring West of Calle Terraza
Most of the photos in this next group were taken between Plaza de Las Flores, and I suppose the western limit… that red line I imposed onto the map. 🙂 If I had to draw a bit of a distinction between what I have identified as the east and west sides of the Old Town it might be that the west side is a little hillier. But, to be perfectly honest, perhaps I simply haven’t wandered around the backstreets of the east section as much as the west section. Both sides are both uniquely lovely.
12. There are many tile murals and quotations adoring the walls in the old town. I will probably do a separate post on some of these features at some point.
13. I love this shot because it’s got this beautiful old lamp feature, a fountain, and in the background, the Castillo de San Luis, which houses the remains of a Moorish watchtower and the foundation of a Roman mausoleum. We have not had a chance to explore it yet.
14. I remember seeing this house in 2023 when we were here last. I would love to see the inside. 🙂
15. There are, of course, a few lovely old churches in the Old Town.
16. I took this photo in 2023 when we first visited Estepona, I thought the whole area was very flat, but as you can see, there are a number of ups and downs in the Old Town which really do add to the charm.
Exploring Plaza de las Flores
Plaza de las Flores really does have a lovely feel to it. It is a proper square and houses the nicest hotel in town (El Pilar). We have stayed there before and even though it’s probably the most expensive one in town, it is worth a stay if you ever get here.
17. A Birdseye view of the plaza using satellite view in Google Maps
18. We visited the plaza on one of our first days here this year and I had to take a picture of the Love-goddess in front of the beautiful El Pilar hotel to send to friends at home who will be staying there in March. As you can see, they have not gotten around to taking down the Christmas decorations yet. 🙂
19. I took this photo in 2023 from our hotel room. It provides a nice overall view of the Plaza.
20. There are several nice little restaurants tucked away in the plaza’s various corners.
21. The Love-goddess is headed towards the Tourist Information Office.
22. And here is the Tourist Information Office. I didn’t take a picture of the office itself inside the building because it’s just the small entrance hallway and you are separated from the office and the people in it by a kiosk window. No strolling in and browsing the brochures, etc. There are a few things set out on the counter, but that is the full extent of it. Not the best TI we have ever seen in Spain… but the people working there were very helpful.
23. That said, the inside of the rest of the building is lovely and worth a visit. Most of it houses an art gallery. So, in we go.
24. The principal room in the art gallery up on the second floor. It was all set up for a lecture of some sort.
25. Even the stairwell was interesting.
Heading Home
26. We exit from Plaza de las Flores in the northeast corner and head through Plaza Doctor Arce toward Calle Terraza. We ate in a couple of restaurants in the small plaza on our previous visit.
27. We ramble around Calle Terraza headed in the general direction of home.
28. After a gruelling couple of hours of wandering through the Old Town, it’s best to sit down and have a relaxing gelato. 🙂
Some Final Words and a Video
As I was working on this post, I was looking for more detailed information as to what parts of town constituted the Old Town. I was really looking for a map that outlined it. There wasn’t anything available other than one that the real estate company “Terra Meridiana” offers showing a map of what they thought were the four different regions of the old quarter; this does set some boundaries for the whole thing.
Of course, you take real estate companies’ identification of neighbourhoods with a bit of a grain of salt. I used to live in what was called the “North Beach” in Toronto not the “Beach” proper. That was because I lived just north of Kingston Road rather than south of it. I have a sneaking suspicion that that area is now spoken of as being part of “The Beach”
That said, “Terra Meridiana” did a very good job on the page where I found their map describing what the Old Town was like. I would encourage you to read what they had to say, if you are interested in learning about the area in more depth.
And, they included a nice video which I want to share with you here. I could have just provided a link to their page where the video sits, but I don’t think they would mind that I have embedded it here because I am certainly informing people who’s responsible. If I were looking to buy a property in Estepona, I would probably contact these folks.
