7 Best Sights in Ronda, Andalusia

Beyond the bullring in El Mercadillo, you can relax in these shady gardens, one of the loveliest spots in Ronda. A balcony protrudes from the face of the cliff, offering a vertigo-inducing view of the valley below. Stroll along the cliff-top walk to the Reina Victoria hotel, built by British settlers from Gibraltar at the turn of the 20th century as a fashionable rest stop on the Algeciras–Bobadilla rail line.

The excavated remains of the Arab Baths date from Ronda's tenure as capital of a Moorish taifa (kingdom). The star-shape vents in the roof are an inferior imitation of the ceiling of the beautiful bathhouse in Granada's Alhambra. The baths are beneath the Puente Árabe (Arab Bridge) in a ravine below the Palacio del Marqués de Salvatierra.

This old Moorish town has twisting streets and white houses with birdcage balconies. Cross the Puente Nuevo to enter La Ciudad.

This stone palace with twin Mudejar towers was probably the residence of Ronda's Moorish kings. Fernando and Isabel appropriated it after their victory in 1485. Today it's the museum of Ronda, and you can wander through the patios, with their brick arches and delicate Mudejar-stucco tracery and admire the mosaics and artesonado (coffered) ceiling. The second floor holds a small museum with archaeological items found near Ronda, plus the reproduction of a dolmen, a prehistoric stone monument.

The main sight in Ronda's commercial center, El Mercadillo, is the bullring. Pedro Romero (1754–1839), the father of modern bullfighting and Ronda's most famous native son, is said to have killed 5,600 bulls here during his career. In the museum beneath the plaza you can see posters for Ronda's very first bullfights, held here in 1785. The plaza was once owned by the late bullfighter Antonio Ordóñez, on whose nearby ranch Orson Welles's ashes were scattered—indeed, the ring has become a favorite of filmmakers. Every September, the bullring is the scene of Ronda's corridas goyescas, named after Francisco Goya, whose tauromaquias (bullfighting sketches) were inspired by Romero's skill and art. The participants and the dignitaries in the audience don the costumes of Goya's time for the occasion. 

Immediately south of the Plaza de España, this is Ronda's most famous bridge, an architectural marvel built between 1755 and 1793. The bridge's lantern-lit parapet offers dizzying views of the awesome gorge. Just how many people have met their ends here nobody knows, but the architect of the Puente Nuevo fell to his own death while inspecting work on the bridge. During the civil war, hundreds of victims were hurled from it.

This collegiate church, which serves as Ronda's cathedral, has roots in Moorish times: originally the Great Mosque of Ronda, the tower and adjacent galleries, built for viewing festivities in the square, retain their Islamic design. After the mosque was destroyed (when the Moors were overthrown), it was rebuilt as a church and dedicated to the Virgen de la Encarnación after the Reconquest. The naves are late Gothic, and the main altar is heavy with baroque gold leaf. A visit to the rooftop walkway offers lovely views of the town and surroundings. The church is around the corner from the remains of a mosque, Minarete Árabe (Moorish Minaret) at the end of the Marqués de Salvatierra.