The Flour Fight of the Sierra de las Nieves: One wild way to find...
In the days before online dating, telephones, and even the combustion engine, townsfolk had to get creative in order to find a mate.
And Alozaina, a quaint hilltop village nestled in the Sierra de las Nieves, definitely won first prize in the fun and creativity...
What’s behind Alozaina’s unique coat of arms?
The emblem of Alozaina depicts a woman standing atop a tower throwing beehives onto two Moors who are seen fleeing from below.
The history behind this symbol of the village is an intriguing one with Maria Sagredo, a local heroine, taking centre stage.
The story goes...
Setenil de las Bodegas: A Spanish pueblo paradise inside a labyrinth of steep cliffs
Spain's idyllic white villages are spread out all over the south, below or at the summit of mountains, in forests and hidden canyons, but there’s one pueblo inside a network of caves that deserves to be singled out.
Setenil de las Bodegas, in the province...
ARTISAN ALPUJARRA – the tradition of crafting, recycling, and upcycling in Spain’s Granada
IN this era of moving towards sustainability, “slow fashion” and handcrafted goods are increasingly popular. The rural Alpujarra of Granada has a tradition of using natural resources to create artisan products. This dates to Neolithic times, over 4,500 years ago, when primitive craftspeople made...
Mountains of fun: The countryside behind the bustling Costa del Sol takes you to...
LOOK up inland and from just about every tourist resort or villa on the Costa del Sol you can see a line up of soaring peaks.
Almost always framed by bright blue skies, the majority of them trump the UK’s highest peak of Ben Nevis...
TRAVEL: 10 cities in Spain where you will find the best free tapas scene
The tradition of free tapas are not only a long-standing tradition in Granada—find out where else with the Olive Press’ Tapas guide
Over 100 people apply to run a bar in one of the least populated...
Andalucia’s second smallest village received over 100 applicants to open the only bar in the town. This followed the Council’s call for hopeful entrepreneurs to head up the establishment for only €20 per month in a bid to avoid further loss of population.
The town...
Road to Mandalay: My nightmare on the Costa del Sol’s buses
I HAD been set the challenge of getting from Duquesa to La Cala de Mijas via public transport. Two coastal resorts on the Costa del Sol, just 60-odd kilometres apart, it should be a cakewalk I thought.
Armed with my trusted mobile maps and a...
The abundant Alpujarra of Spain’s Granada – an oasis of fruit and flowers all...
ON the verdant slopes of the Alpujarra, the snow melt water from the high Sierra Nevada supports an oasis of blossom and flowers – growing wild and cultivated. For most of the year, visitors can enjoy the floral tapestry of the beautiful area, and...
PLAN YOUR TRIP: Malaga’s most Romantic settings for Valentine’s Day in Spain
PAMPER yourself and your other half with a romantic getaway to the dreamy landscapes of inland Malaga or one of the charming Costa del Sol towns…
Sweep your partner off his or her feet with an idyllic escape to any one of these four magical...
Fun and Games: Following the Game of Thrones trail in Spain’s Andalucia
LOOKING out across the rolling plains of the Cordoba Campina, my teenage son felt just like Olenna Tyrell surveying her kingdom.
His perch on a balcony near the top of a tower at Almodovar del Rio castle had become part of one of the seminal...
CHILLING OUT: Living on the snowline in Spain’s Granada region
DESPITE the start of 2023 being unseasonably warm, the mercury plummeted in mid-January and early February, with constant minimum temperature warnings from Spain’s meteorological agency, AEMET. Since then, most of us have been deploying thick blankets, padded coats, the wood burning stove, and fighting...
Great Sporting Activities You Must Try if You’re Visiting the South of Spain
If you’re visiting the south of Spain and currently looking for ways to keep active with interesting sport activities, then you’ve come to the right place! Check out the following five activities which you can try while you’re there, as you pump new blood...
Back to its roots: Vegetarian heaven as leading Michelin star joint in Marbella heads...
A LEADING Andalucia restaurant has launched a brand new tasting menu with just vegetables and fruit.
El Lago’s Terra menu is a sustainable tour of the very best produce the Costa del Sol can offer.
Going back to its Slow Food Movement roots, the Marbella restaurant...
The unspoilt little sister to the Sierra Nevada – the Sierra de Contraviesa in...
FAMED for its panoramic views, vineyards producing local ‘vino’, and pink almond blossoms in early spring, the Sierra de la Contraviesa is an unspoilt place to visit. It is known as the low Alpujarra (Alpujarra Baja) of Granada region, although a small part lies...
WHERE TO EAT IN ANDALUCIA: A taste of Cordoba’s tastiest treats
CÓRDOBA was a Roman colony, an Islamic capital and a cultural crossroads where Christian, Jewish and Moorish influences mixed. From Roman olive oil to the sweet and sour flavours of Arabic dishes, the increased use of meat introduced by the Christians and the desserts...
Have a fino day out in Spain’s Cordoba
WHILE I’m here in Spain, I’m eager to make the most of the three day weekends that I have and do a bit of travelling.
I have ambitiously pinned a map of Andalucia to my wardrobe door and I often find myself day dreaming at all...
NO LUCK: The village in Spain that refuses to see the New Year in...
WHILE many people will have woken up across Spain this morning having partied into the early hours last night, there is one village in Spain which has refused to see the New Year in for more than a quarter of a century.
While good luck...
The Malaga winery making fine, dry, elegant mountain wine (just the way Catherine the...
MALAGA’S hugely famous local dry wine enjoyed a 200-year boom until the early 20th century when it faded into obscurity. When winemaker Victoria Ordoñez began researching its history, she embarked on a mission to find and recover the old vineyards and start producing it...
Three hidden gems inland from Spain’s Costa del Sol to escape to for a...
THREE quiet destinations located off the beaten path in Malaga, ideal to spend a peaceful New Year.
Malaga has plenty of hidden gems located in the middle of the mountains, surrounded by natural enclaves that not many tourists or even Malageños know about.
Towns with few...
Granada’s Alhambra Palace is boring, Sevilla’s Giralda is pointless and the Caminito del Rey...
From the confused to the disillusioned to the just plain bored, check out our ‘dirty dozen’ of the daftest TripAdvisor reviews given to some of Andalucia’s most noted tourist attractions
Where to stay on the ski slopes of Andalucia’s Sierra Nevada
IT is hard to describe Pradollano as an authentic mountain village.
But, with a metre of snow on the ground and the sun finally out, it certainly has its charms.
There are lots of places to stay but easily one of the most charming has got...
Winter wonderland: The Skiing destination in Andalucia’s Granada
IT was two decades ago that I looked out from a hillside near Ronda and spotted the distant snowy peaks of the Sierra Nevada over 150 kilometres away.
Like a giant white magnet I was immediately pulled in, seduced by the thrills of winter sports,...
REVIEW: Living amongst Roman remains in Andalucia’s Cordoba
WHEN the owners of Cordoba’s most charming boutique hotel decided to expand a few years ago they knew there would be something below the building next door.
But what the Hospes Palacio del Bailio couldn’t have known was the extent of what they would find,...
REVIEW: A trip to Andalucia’s Cordoba to taste why Noor has two Michelin stars
HALF science lesson, half history, a meal at Cordoba’s culinary science lab, known as Noor, is an essential journey for anyone interested in Spanish food.
Very much the rising star of Andalucia’s culinary scene, its eccentric boss Paco Morales is easily up there with the...
Peak of good dining: Where to eat in Spain’s Sierra Nevada
A PIPING hot raclette, a burger and chips and a few stale tapas used to be the basic offering in the Sierra Nevada two decades ago.
Today a Moroccan Harira soup, ramen and gyozas or a spicy red tuna burrito are more likely to be...
Olive Press Travel
From Moors to modern hub: A look at the illustrious history of La Alpujarra in southern Spain
THE Alpujarra was originally inhabited by Phoenicians and Romans, the latter who introduced the system of acequias to channel water from snow melt into...
Travel News
Spain’s tourism sector hopeful of record-breaking Easter
SPAIN’S Easter break, which officially got underway at 3pm on Friday, is set to be a record-breaking one for the tourism sector, as the...
