Torremolinos is probably one of the most famous, or infamous resorts on the Costa del Sol being the first village in Spain to be developed for tourism during the 1950s and 60s. However, this high rise resort became a victim of its own success with hordes of British holiday makers arriving in their droves, contributing to the unchecked development of the town, but much is being done to regenerate this old fishing village.

While the town isn’t as beautiful as Sitges or Ibiza Old Town it does retain much of the authentic Spanish fishing village atmosphere, particularly in the west around La Carihuela with its original fisherman's cottages, pretty houses and bougainvillea covered courtyards, plus the local authorities have done much in recent years to increase the number of public parks, gardens and spaces and to soften the concrete exterior with colourful plants and trees.

As well as a year round sunny climate with 320 days of sunshine and an average temperature of 22 degrees it also boasts a lively gay scene which again, thanks to the local residents, has seen the gay area, La Nogalera, receive a much needed facelift and it is now once again attracting gay tourists from all over Europe.

Torremolinos is probably best known for the beautiful long stretch of beach with lots of palm trees and plenty of activities to take part in, including four gay beaches in and around the town. Apart from having the best climate of any European gay destination with soft winters, sunny springs and hot summers, it is also the closest beach resort from an airport, only ten minutes by train from Malaga Airport to the centre of Torremolinos!

This all makes it a perfect destination for a week, a few days or even a long weekend.

Gay Nightlife
Gay nightlife in Torremolinos is huge, especially at the weekends when people from all over southern Spain make their way to Torremolinos for a long hot Spanish night. There are many gay bars, show bars, big discos and nightclubs. You can go on all night long (if you have the energy) and if you have the stamina you can go to one of the after parties 'till late in the afternoon.

In the last few years many new places have opened. The trendy after beach bar and quality restaurant El Gato Lounge is the place to start the evening. With a big terrace, downstairs bar and upstairs lounge, it’s all about relaxing and having a good time. After El Gato try Parthenon with its totally reformed dance bar upstairs and cool club down under. The biggest club Passion attracts on weekend nights more then 2,000 visitors. Another huge club of more then 1,400m2 opened in February 2008.

With new venues, reformed bars and big clubs it all makes Torremolinos a huge gay destination. From show bars to play bars it's all there. In total Torremolinos has almost 40 gay bars and 5 clubs. The best thing is that almost all the places are situated within 500 meters walking distance from each other!

Culture
For the more sophisticated people among us, Torremolinos is in the centre of one of the most interesting cultural areas of Europe. Andalucia has it all: gorgeous romantic Sevilla, medieval Cordoba with its impressing Mezquita (old Moorish mosque) and, of course, the world famous Alhambra complex in Granada are all close enough for a day trip.

If that is all too much for you, you can get a cultural quickie in Malaga. It’s only 20 minutes by train. See the Roman theatre, the Alcazaba (Moorish fort) or the beautiful cathedral. The best thing is that on your way back to the nightlife you can go shopping in the new big mall at the central train station which is huge!

January and February are low season in the town and are pretty slow, but still very busy in the weekends, but it's from March to December when the season really starts to take off and it gets busy again. So ten months to make the most of - much more than other more northern resorts!

For a list of bars and activities see www.gayinfospain.com.


Find out all the latest gay travel information by ordering the brand new 2008 Spartacus International Gay Guide. Get it online and save some money to put towards the other Bruno Gmunder guides - Hotel and Restaurant Guide and Sauna Guide.