How long by car from Madrid, Spain to Marbella, Spain? Is Marbella a large city?

Question

We are planning a trip to Spain/Portugal for January and are thinking of renting accomodation in Marbella but would like to know more about what there is to do and see if we went on 'day trips' by car or other transportation.

Answer 1

Marbella has some 100.000 inhabitants. Marbella itself has nothing to offer though, it is not beautiful nor surprising, not very special.

But the neighbourhoud !  

Drive from Marbella over the hills to the small white towns of Guaro (half an hour)... Alozaina... stop on the way to eat at a Venta... drive further towards Ronda (other half an hour), which everybody loves. If you can , spend the night in Ronda.

Obviously: Seville, Granada... If you are into hip go to Tarifa.

If you are into quiet and rural, stay in a finca somewhere along the road : horse back riding, hikes in the unesco protected areas...

etc etc

If you don't mind sitting driving for a few hours: drive from Ronda to Seville, or from Malaga to Granada.

I also like Malaga.

Humph... too difficult, too much to see :)

Answer 2

It takes me about 5 - 6 hours with a stop of 15 minutes every two hours.

Marbella isn´t a large city but it´s spreading out with new buildings. Málaga is a large city which is about 35 minutes from Marbella. If you are staying in Marbella then forget Madrid, there will be plenty to see close to Marbella. Ronda, Cordoba, Sevilla, Cadiz, Gibraltar, Granada, etc