City trips and excursions with families

The charming and photogenic  Alhambra with its beautiful gardens (Generalife) is the number one tourist attraction in Andalusia. It is beautifully situated and from it, you can see the old town and the old Jewish quarter of Granada. Granada is an enchanting town with many nice squares, restaurants and shops. And the ski resort of Sierra Nevada is only a 30 minute drive.

The Mosque of Cordoba is just as beautiful as the Alhambra. It is the only remaining ancient mosque of Spain from the period of the Spanish Inquisition and inside of it, there is a cathedral that was built years later. It is highly recommended to visit the mosque during a day trip at Cordoba, which is a lovely quiet town that was once the capital of Andalusia.

The old town of Ronda is beautifully situated on a rock formation in a green valley, and for that, the inhabitants of Ronda live right next to the precipice. Ronda is also a nice city to visit with plenty of restaurants, shops and a bullfighting museum. A combined visit to the Tajo gorge is a must for walkers, cyclists and other sports enthusiasts. The nature around Ronda is in fact beautiful and there are many different types of nature.

The eastern part of Malaga centre is really old and cosy with such an ancient Roman theatre, the Plaza de la Merced (with the Picasso Museum) and the Calle Larios shopping street. From the centre you can walk up to the mountain through the historical Alcazaba fortress to the ruined castle Gibralfaro. It is guaranteed that here you will enjoy a spectacular view. Below you see in the  rose gardens and the (cruise) port with the new ‘Muelle Uno’ with shops and restaurants along the promenade. It is also nice to combine this with a bike ride along the beach (on the boulevard) to Pedregalejo. And during lunch time at one of the fish restaurants, children can also play on the beach.

For older kids it’s nice to rent an electric scooter. You can find those at each corner.

In Seville, you can quietly spend two days before you have seen all the historical sites. The famous cathedral tower (La Giralda) is just one of them. The centre is full of carriages with horses everywhere and the evenings in the city are also very entertaining because you can have a very good time in the terraces taking some tapas. The next day, you can visit one of the beautiful beaches of the Costa de la Luz, or go to Tarifa, which is always good for surfing, or make a stop in Gibraltar.

The town of Tarifa is an hour away by car from Ojén. Tarifa has a nice old centre with trendy cafes, restaurants, shops and the remains of fortress walls and towers. Furthermore, it’s the meeting point of the Mediterranean and the Atlantic. Beyond Tarifa, you will find the expansive white beaches that are often populated by surfers and it’s a very exciting seeing them surfing. At the beach, you can find good food and possibly climb the big dune from where you can get a beautiful view.

In 1926, the construction of a railway between Jerez and Almargen were started, but because of the fall of the former dictatorship and the subsequent economic crisis, the work on the railroad ceased and never prosecuted. The Via Verde de la Sierra is now a beautifully landscaped bike path – that you can use as path – through nature, with thirty tunnels (the longest is half a mile) and four viaducts.

The path consists of 36 kilometres and is situated between Puerto Serrano and Olvera. In both places, there is a small train station and a restaurant where you can start the journey from. Also halfway Coripe is found, whre you can rent bikes. Then, you ride up first towards Olvera and then return to Coripe, where you can park the car. Along the way, at the railway stations enroute sometimes it is possible to eat or drink. Also if you rent a bike in Olvera , you can go to Puerto Serrano and then they bring you back to Olvera by car.

Important: book a bike to be sure that the bikes and drop-off point are arranged in advance. From Ojén there is a 1.45 hour drive to Olvera, via a scenic route along Ronda.

This walk starts from La Posada del Angel, right through the Barrio Antiguo of Ojén. The tour takes you along the Nacimiento, the place where all the water of Ojen comes from. The path eventually leads to the Cerezal, a botanical garden. Also a good place for a picnic while watching the river that comes from the mountain. The road goes along waterfalls and follows the route of an acequia (irrigation canals that water all of the gardens and farmlands in Ojen, even in summer). Then go down and through the caves you reach the village square with the church (from 1400), where you can have a cool drink on one of the terraces.