Cosmopolitan and touristic, Fuengirola still looks like the fishing village that it once was. This town, whose watchwords are fun and sun, atrracts a significant number of Spanish tourists, not that it is overlooked by foreign visitors, for whom its beaches and marina offer the ideal place to spend a holiday.

Fuengirola's main monuments are the archaelogical sites of Torreblanca del Sol, Sohail Castle and its parish churches.The October Fair and Easter week see visitors from around the world flocking to Fuengirola to enjoy the town's typical festivities.

Fuengirola is probably most famous for its five miles of sandy beaches, flanked by high-rise hotels and residential blocks of apartments with magnificent views of the Mediterranean and sweeping coastline. A recent landscaping drive by the local municipality has resulted in a wider promenade and plenty of palm trees, interspersed with colourful flower beds and additional seating.

There are also a considerable percentage of British and other nationalities with the result being an impressively wide variety of entertainment and restaurant choice, ranging from the Andalusian traditional tapas (bar snacks) and shellfish dishes to the British bangers and beans standard, together with Guinness on tap. Follow the shopping baskets on Tuesdays and you will find yourself at the largest and liveliest street market on the coast.

Annual fiestas here include the feast of the Virgin del Carmen in July when local fisherman carry an effigy of the Virgin out to sea, while the colourful feria takes place in October and is the time when the town really comes to life with flamenco, fino ... (dry sherry) and fun which carries on from dawn to dusk for a week.