Podium Restaurante La Gamba Dorada voor flamenco-avond in Velez-Malaga
This blog takes you through the eight provinces of Andalusia, with for each province: cultural highlights, landscapes, must-sees & must-dos, tips for food and drink, and special overnight stays (with booking links where possible).

Think of it as a first introduction to the eight Andalusian provinces — a journey through the lands of Almería, Granada, Málaga, Cádiz, Huelva, Sevilla, Córdoba and Jaén. Each so close together, yet each so different. Andalusia is a large autonomous region with an area of 87,268 km² — about twice the size of the Netherlands — with 8 provinces and over 8.5 million inhabitants. A region full of contrasts.

In the 18 years we have been coming here, the last 9 of which we have lived here permanently, we have truly visited 7 of the 8 provinces, once or several times, and we still want to keep coming back for more ;-) Only Almería remains on our list for a first visit.

An overview of all provinces, highlights, must-dos, and some general tips.

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SHA Toro Torre del Mar Andalusia
© Jan van der Marel, 2015

When we go to Torre del Mar we always look forward to seeing the Osborne Bull looming up as we approach, an amazing sight. In total Osborne has 97 of such bulls throughout Spain designed by the acclaimed artist Manolo Prieto. Each bull is made of iron and has a surface of 150 m2, is more than 14 meters high and weighs about 4,000 kilograms. The first was installed in 1957 in Canabillas de la Sierra in the province of Burgos. In the heyday of the bull, there were more than 500 on the landscape.

Most of the remaining bulls are now in the Marco de Jerez, the sherry area around Jerez de la Frontera in the provinces of Cadiz and Seville. The rest are randomly scattered throughout Spain on the roads which lead from Madrid to Barcelona, ​​Bilbao, La Coruña, Badajoz, Cadiz and Valencia. Usually they are placed on ridges to break the horizon where they are more visible against the sky. In Andalusia there are in total 23 of which only one in the region of Axarquia; the one in Torre del Mar.

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 Stage Restaurante La Gamba Dorada for flamenco evening in Velez-Malaga

A night full of passion and music
A few weeks ago, we experienced an amazing flamenco evening in Vélez-Málaga at Flamenco Abierto (https://flamencoabierto.com/).
But like true Andalusians, we started the evening at Restaurante La Gamba Dorada. There, we enjoyed delicious seafood tapas and a refreshing cold beer and glass of wine. After dinner, we walked to the peña El Niño de Vélez.

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Malaga Marathon in der Halle 2025 mit Stand

With friends, I recently went to a football match at Málaga's stadium, La Rosaleda, located in the district of the same name, and has a maximum capacity of 30,000 spectators. Around the stadium there are stalls where you can buy refreshments and snacks, t-shirts or scarves. So, being true fans, we also entered the stadium with a blue and white chequered scarf, of ‘our’ club, around our necks. This evening, the match between Málaga CF and Real Zaragoza was on the programme, two mid-table players in the Segunda División, so it was going to be close.

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Buy your dream house without worries

Button: for sale

We have no shop window or many properties for sale on this website because we believe in personal attention & tailor-made offers; therefore we always work on a specific request basis. From experience we know that buying a home in Spain is different than in your own country, therefore we make every effort to make it run as smoothly as possible.