Soleil

Marbella is the flagship municipality of the Costa del Sol, stretching 27 kilometres along the Mediterranean coast between the Sierra Blanca mountains and the sea. Its population reached 173,420 registered residents on the municipal roll (padrón) as of January 2026, up from 156,295 just three years earlier - a gain of over 17,000 people in three years, with more than nine in ten new arrivals coming from outside Spain. Roughly 36% of residents hold a non-Spanish nationality across 155 countries; Morocco is the single largest foreign nationality (over 6,100 residents), followed by large British, Colombian and Northern European communities.

Six distinct sub-markets make up the residential landscape: the western beachside neighbourhoods of Guadalmina and San Pedro de Alcántara, the golf-rich hills of Nueva Andalucía, the prestigious Golden Mile corridor, the historic old town, and the long eastern coastal strip from Los Monteros to Cabopino.

How Marbella Became Marbella
Marbella's transformation from fishing village to international byword for luxury traces back to 1947, when the Spanish-German aristocrat Prince Alfonso von Hohenlohe bought land here. In 1954 he opened the Marbella Club as a private retreat for friends and their circle - it drew Deborah Kerr, Ava Gardner, Frank Sinatra and a growing roster of European royalty and industrialists, and effectively invented the town's jet-set reputation. A decade later, developer José Banús built on that momentum: construction on Puerto Banús began in 1965 under architects Antonio Lamela and Noldi Schreck, deliberately designed as a low-rise Andalusian village rather than the high-rise blocks originally proposed, and the marina opened in 1970. Puerto Banús now holds around 915 berths for craft up to 50m, among the most expensive marinas in Europe to moor in.

On the western flank, Guadalmina Baja and Guadalmina Alta offer mature villa plots beside the Guadalmina Golf courses. San Pedro de Alcántara is a genuine Spanish working town with a redesigned boulevard, weekly market and year-round local life. Inland from Puerto Banús, the Nueva Andalucía Golf Valley clusters around Las Brisas, Aloha and Los Naranjos golf clubs, making it one of the densest golf catchments in Europe.

The Golden Mile links Puerto Banús to Marbella old town, lined with the Marbella Club Hotel, Puente Romano Beach Resort and flagship beach clubs. Above it, Sierra Blanca and Nagüeles provide gated hillside estates with panoramic sea views. The Casco Antiguo (old town) centres on Plaza de los Naranjos, laid out in 1485 after Marbella passed peacefully to the Catholic Monarchs; its Renaissance-style town hall, built in 1568, still carries plaques in Old Spanish commemorating the 1485 conquest, and the adjoining Ermita de Santiago is the oldest religious building in the city. Whitewashed lanes, tapas bars and a growing gallery scene fill the streets around it.

East of the centre, the coastline runs through Río Real, Elviria, Santa Clara, El Rosario and Las Chapas, each offering a mix of beachside villas, gated communities and international schools such as Swans and the English International College. Cabopino closes the municipality with a small marina and protected natural dunes. Inland, Palo Alto is a boutique eco-development near the village of Ojén.

Dining in Marbella
Marbella's restaurant scene runs from Michelin-starred fine dining to beach-club glamour. Skina, in the old town, holds two Michelin stars. Puente Romano's dining strip includes Nobu Marbella, COYA, Dani García's LEÑA and GAIA. Along the coast, beach clubs like La Sala by the Sea in Puerto Banús and Nikki Beach in Las Chapas anchor Marbella's daytime social scene.