Marbella

Marbella (UK: /mɑːrˈbeɪjə/ mar-BAY-yə, US: /mɑːrˈbɛlə/ mar-BEL-ə, Spanish: [maɾˈβeʎa]) is a city and municipality in southern Spain, belonging to the province of Málaga in the autonomous community of Andalusia. It is part of the Costa del Sol and is the headquarters of the Association of Municipalities of the region; it is also the head of the judicial district that bears its name.

Marbella is situated on the Mediterranean Sea, between Málaga and the Strait of Gibraltar, in the foothills of the Sierra Blanca. The municipality covers an area of 117 square kilometres (45 sq mi) crossed by highways on the coast, which are its main entrances.

In 2023, the population of the city was 156,295 inhabitants, making it the second most populous municipality in the province of Málaga and the seventh in Andalusia. It is one of the most important tourist cities of the Costa del Sol and throughout most of the year is an international tourist attraction, due mainly to its climate and tourist infrastructure. It is also one of the fastest-growing cities in both Andalusia and Spain.

The city also has a significant archaeological heritage, several museums and performance spaces, and a cultural calendar.

The Marbella municipality occupies a strip of land that extends along forty-four kilometres (27 miles) of coastline of the Penibético region, sheltered by the slopes of the coastal mountain range, which includes the Bermeja, Palmitera, Royal, White and Alpujata sub-ranges. Due to the proximity of the mountains to the coast, the city has a large gap between its north and south sides, thus providing views of the sea and mountain vistas from almost every part of the city. The coastline is heavily urbanised; most of the land not built up with golf courses has been developed with small residential areas. Marbella is bordered on the north by the municipalities of Istán and Ojén, on the northwest by Benahavís, on the west by Estepona and on the northeast by Mijas. The Mediterranean Sea lies to the south.

There are five geomorphological areas in Marbella—the Sierra Blanca, the Sierra Blanca piedmont (foothills), the lower hill country, the plains and the coastal dunes. The Sierra Blanca is the most centrally located in the province, peaking behind the old village. The mountain range has three notable peaks—La Concha, located further west at 1,215 m (3,986 feet) above sea level, Juanar Cross, located eastward (within the municipality of Ojen) at 1,178 m (3,865 feet) above sea level, and the highest, Mount Lastonar, located between the two at 1,270 m (4,170 feet). Marbella's topography is characterised by extensive coastal plains formed from eroded mountains. North of the plain is an area of around 100 and 400 m (330 and 1,300 feet) above sea level, encompassing low, rolling hills, with higher foothills and steeper slopes approaching the mountains behind. The coast is generally low-lying, with sandy beaches that are more extensive further east, between the fishing port and Cabopino ^[es]. Despite the intense urbanisation of the coast, it still retains a natural area of dunes, the Artola Dunes (Dunas de Artola), at the eastern end of town.

The entire region lies within the Andalusian Mediterranean Basin. The rivers are short and have very steep banks, so that flash floods are common. These include the Guadalmina, the Guadaiza, the Verde and the Rio Real, which provide most of the water supply. The irregularity of rainfall has resulted in intermittent rivers that often run dry in summer; most of the many streams that cross the city have been bridged. The La Concepción reservoir supplies the population with drinking water—apart from this water feature, there are other reservoirs, like El Viejo and El Nuevo (the 'Old' and the 'New'), that irrigated the old agricultural colony of El Ángel. Additionally, Las Medranas and Llano de la Leche irrigated the plantations of the colony of San Pedro de Alcántara.

Marbella has a subtropical Mediterranean climate (Köppen: Csa) with humid, very mild winters (for European standards) and warm to hot, dry summers. Marbella is protected on its northern side by the coastal mountains of the Cordillera Penibética and so enjoys a climate with an average annual temperature between 18 and 19 °C (64 and 66 °F). During winters, the highest peaks of the nearby mountain range are occasionally covered with snow, which can be seen from the coastline of Marbella when it snows on the Sierra Blanca mountain peak at 1,275 m (4,183 ft). Average rainfall is 645.8 mm (25.43 in), while hours of sunshine average above 2,900 annually.