Ronda, Spain

If you are making a road trip to Andalusia, do not skip Ronda. The road between Sevilla and Malaga will be the most pleasant one: winding roads along the valleys surrounded by mountains and lined trees, hardly any industrial zones, for a couple of hours you will see this beautiful view until you reach to the magnificent mountain city of Ronda.

Since pre-historic times, from Visigoths to Celts, from Romans to Arabs, several communities lived in Ronda. Its strategic location on top of a hill, seven hundred fifty metres above sea level, built on a canyon impresses you at first sight. There are three bridges connecting the two sides of the canyon, one of them, Puente Nuevo, the new bridge- in fact built in eighteenth century- is the most picturesque one; it has view points on both sides and the altitude takes your breath away. Entering the city you will see the oldest bullfight arena of Spain, a theme you can find in Hemingway’s stories who stayed in the city during summer. Not only Hemingway but also the German poet Rilke, Orson Wells are some of the writers who lived here. Indeed, Ronda deserves to be admired by the romantic travellers from Northern Europe since the nineteenth century.