Gibraltar
The town of Gibraltar is a self-governing British overseas territory, situated on a headland just 30 km east of the southernmost point of Europe (Tarifa) and covering a surface of 6,8 km2. It isn't a big city so there aren't many Gibraltar hotels, but they are quite original and the service is outstanding. It is home to nearly 29,000 people, called Gibraltarians, who are of mixed ethnic origin and usually speak both English and Spanish.
Gibraltar pictures
The typical landmark of Gibraltar is undoubtedly its 426 meters high limestone rock, containing many tunnelled roads, most of which are operated by the military and closed to the public, and being shelter to 230 Barbary Macaques – the only wild monkeys found in Europe. The famous Strait of Gibraltar – with a width of 14,24 km at its narrowest point - is a stretch of water that separates the Iberian Peninsula from Africa and was already known in the ancient world as Pillars of Hercules. Thanks to its convenient geographical position, Gibraltar has always been a strategically important base, for example during the well-known Battle of Trafalgar in 1805.
Tourists often come to Gibraltar for a day trip, visiting highlights like St. Michael’s Cave, the Barbary Apes’s Den, the Moorish Castle and the City Under Siege Exhibition. Usually there are guided tours to the rock where visitors encounter the apes. Even though the animals are used to humans, people should not feed the apes because they can become very meddlesome and aggressive. Apart from the rock, Gibraltar possesses six public beaches: Eastern beach, Catalan Bay and Sandy Bay (East side) and Western Beach, Camp Bay and Little Bay (West side). Water sports play a large role in Gibraltarian life and centre around its three marinas, Sheppard’s Marina, Marina Bay and Queensway Quay Marina, where diving, sailing and dolphin watching are widely enjoyed.
Gibraltar is 130 km from Malaga, so taking a shuttle bus from Malaga Airport to Gibraltar may be an economical and quick solution.