Marbella is a city that combines history and modernity. If you are planning to visit Marbella, you can't miss these three must-see places.
Marbella wears its history quietly. Behind the marina and the boutiques sits an old town that has kept its rhythm for five centuries — and there is no more atmospheric week to feel it than Semana Santa, when the lanes fill with incense, drums and candlelight.
1. The Old Town and Plaza de los Naranjos
Start where Marbella started. Laid out in 1485, the Plaza de los Naranjos is still the heart of the casco antiguo — orange trees, a Renaissance fountain and the Ermita de Santiago, the town’s oldest chapel. During Holy Week the processions thread through these streets at dusk; arrive early and walk the quiet lanes first.
2. Santa María de la Encarnación
Marbella’s main church is the anchor of the Easter processions. Its baroque façade and great organ are worth a visit any day, but in Semana Santa the brotherhoods gather here before carrying their pasos through the town.
3. The city walls
Only a fragment of Marbella’s Moorish wall still stands, tucked between houses near the old town — the kind of place you would walk straight past without a guide, and exactly what our Behind Marbella’s Walls tour is built around.
Holy Week is one of the finest times to see Marbella. If you would like to experience it with someone who knows which corner to stand on and when, tell us and we’ll shape the day around you.
