Mijas Costa & Pueblo is located just 25 minutes west of Malaga Airport, and 30 minutes east of Marbella, 5 minutes from Fuengirola, and in good reach of all amenities. With excellent transport connections, including train services from Fuengirola, access to the AP7 (toll road) and A7, and with good bus links to all the main towns. Mijas appeals to anyone wishing to be at the heart of the coast, and offers excellent entertainment, activities, restaurants, culture and places of interest, as well as some stunning beaches. There is a huge range of properties, from apartments by the sea, golf properties, to luxury properties. It is possible to find properties to meet all budgets, styles and locations (sea, mountain, golf).
Mijas municipality includes Mijas Costa, La Cala de Mijas, Mijas Campo (countryside), Mijas Golf, and the delightful Mijas Pueblo, a white-washed village residing at 430 metres above sea level. The municipality boasts one of the highest surpluses of any of the town halls in Malaga province, which means that it is well managed and well maintained. Mijas municipality has a population of 90,000, no debt and as of April 2018 has just under 70 million euros in its bank account.
There are seven golf courses, with four more on the way, this includes La Cala Resort, which is the largest golf resort in the whole of Spain.
Potted history of Mijas – founded by the Tartessians in prehistoric times, the ancient Greeks and Phoenicians came as a result of mineral wealth locally, then came the Romans who knew Mijas as Tamisa, followed by the Visigoths after 714 AD. Following the Visigoths, came the Moors, who kindly allowed the locals to keep their property, customs and religion in exchange for a third of their produce from farming. The Moors shortened the name from Tamisa to Mixa, which in present day, is of course, Mijas.
The village was conquered by Umar Ibn Hafsun, who took it during the period of the Emirate of Cordoba, Mijas was under the rule of Bobastro, until the late 9th Century. During 1487 Mijas held out against the attacking Catholic monarchs, during the siege of Malaga. Once Malaga fell, the villagers had to surrender, and most were sold into slavery. Despite this, Mijas remained loyal to the Spanish crown, some decades later during the Revolt of the Comuneros. The crown gave Mijas the title of Muy Leal (very loyal). Not long after Mijas was given the status of villa (town), which allowed it to be excused from paying royal taxes.
During the 19th century, Mijas was mainly depended on fishing, farming and mineral extraction. Until the Philloxera plague, Mijas main income came from vineyards, the plague put pay to the production of grapes. The other important source of the Mijas economy was from paper production. In the mid 1800s Mijas prospered from paper-makers, who arrived from Valencia, and carpenters from Alicante, this produced new links among manufacturers.
During the 1950s, in order to reduce unemployment in the area, an asbestos factory was built, and around this time the first hotel was built, as the Costa del Sol became well known.
Mijas Amenities & Activities
Depending where you are in Mijas the journey to the airport is between 25 and 30 minutes (28 and 30 kms). There is access to AP7 and A7, an excellent train from Fuengirola and bus services throughout the area, connecting Mijas to all the major towns along the coast.
Mijas Pueblo is mainly a tourist area, with shops aimed at visitors. There are art galleries, and the village is home to a number of artists. There are numerous cafes, restaurants, and bars, some great museums including CAC Mijas (Centro de Arte Contemporáneo), a delightful private museum, which is home to the second most important Ceramic collection by Pablo Picasso. It also houses a small collection of work by Salvador Dalí, and normally has a visiting collection. Museo Historico-Etnologico, is a museum which has archaeological remains, discovered locally, and displayed in a reconstructed traditional dwelling. In addition, there is the Exposicion Artesania de Espana an amazing exposition of wonderful ceramics.
Mijas Pueblo, has amazing views of the coast, buses to local areas, donkey rides within the village, and some splendid walks in close proximity, you can book walking tours through Mijas Walking Tours. If you are into motorbikes, the Adventure Rider Centre, who have a good reputation, have trips around the area on their bikes. If you enjoy chocolate there is also the Mayan Chocolate Factory, where you can go and make your own chocolate, a fantastic way to keep the children entertained.
Mijas Costa, there are three blue flag beaches, La Cala, Calahonda and El Bombo. Other blue flag beaches in close proximity are Carvajal Beach, Los Boliches and Fuengirola Beach. All the usual beach activities are on offer including boat hire, para-sailing, and diving.
Mijas has a very good water park, easily reachable from the A7, exiting on kilometre 208, accessible by the roundabout. There are many gyms in the area, and public swimming pools. You will find classes in almost every activity, Pilates, Yoga, Body Building, Aqua Aerobics, Tennis, Padel Tennis and many more are on offer.
There are a number of private clinics, the Boris International Medical Clinic, offering a wide range of services and found in Las Lagunas, Mijas. There is also the Policlinica Alen, which again offers a variety of services. The nearest hospitals are Parada Bus Hospital in Fuengirola and Inmaculada Granada in Mijas. The nearest state run hospital is the Costa del Sol Hospital, 30 kms away, or a 25 minutes drive.
Mijas has a good state education system as does all the Costa del Sol. The local International, private fee-paying college is St Anthony’s College Mijas, which is the oldest independent school in Andalucia (1968). It offers British education to children ageing from 3-18 years old, and is con-validated with the Spanish curriculum. It has children from many different nationalities. There are a number of schools catering to different nationalities, for more information, on the wide range of private schools on the Costa del Sol.
Mijas Markets
Mijas has a market most days of each and every week, the largest of which is held on Wednesdays and Saturdays at La Cala. Most markets last from 9am until 2pm and will sell anything and everything, from clothes to fruit and vegetables, souvenirs and flowers.
Tuesday mornings in Mijas Pueblo and in Fuengirola there is a huge market, where you can probably get the best deals.
On Thursday there is a market in Calahonda on Saturdays, and on Sunday mornings there is a small second hand market as well, offering furniture etc.
Mijas Golf Courses
The Costa del Sol is also known as the Costa Golf, and Mijas has its fair share of courses, with La Cala Golf Resort, not only the largest on the Costa del Sol, but throughout Spain. The most local courses are:
Mijas International Golf – two golf courses – Las Lagos and Las Olivos
Santana Golf
El Chaparell
La Cala Golf
Calanova Golf Club
In close proximity, there are more:
Alhaurin Golf (14 mins/8.7km) Artola (19 mins/16.9km)
Santa Maria (19 mins/19.2km) Santa Clara (23 mins/23.3km)
Rio Real (25 mins/26.3km) Guadalhorce (28 mins/33.5kms)
Aloha Golf (31mins/40.6km) Lauro Golf (32 mins/20.8km)
Los Naranjos (35mins/42.8km)
