When we booked our AirBnB we were told by our host that Ronda would enchant us. They were not wrong.
Ronda is a city set upon a massive gorge in the countryside of Spain. It is the place where bullfighting originated and the site of many historical places to see. The city is a feast for the eyes from walking through the city to finding the many different lookouts into the beautiful countryside.
We spent one day in Ronda after arriving via ferry from Morocco. We arrived in the middle of the day and we made the most of the next twenty-four hours that we had left in the city by walking through it and enjoying the ride.
One Day in Ronda
Breakdown
- Arrived in Ronda in the early afternoon after a ferry ride from Morocco to Algeciras and then a train to Ronda.
- Checked in to AirBnB.
- Walked around and explored the city.
- Had dinner.
- Visited the Baños Arabes.
Things to Do in Ronda, Spain
What We Did
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Puente Nuevo and El Tajo Gorge
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Mirador de Ronda
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Puente Viejo and Puente Romano
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Walk Around
This is the largest of three bridges that connect the city across the gorge. It is the place that you can wander around and get some beautiful views of the countryside from both sides of the bridge. There are also some great walkways that will lead you to several different lookouts for better views into the rural area surrounding Ronda.
This is definitely the place to start your trip to Ronda if you want to walk around the city.
This is the best outlook into the countryside and is just a stone throw away from the Puente Nuevo. Definitely check this place out on your walking tour of the city and get your views in.
These are the two other bridges for pedestrian traffic across the gorge that are in close proximity to one another that make a great place for some photos.
We never felt rushed when we were in Ronda. Despite not being able to check out the Arab baths like we had wanted to, we did not have a lot on our checklist of things to do in the city. We really just wanted to walk the cobble stone streets and take in the environment. We suggest you do the same while in Ronda.
What We Missed
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Plaza de Toros de Ronda
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Baños Arabes
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Guadalevín River
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La Casa del Rey Moro
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Various Wineries
Walking distance from Puente Nuevo, this is the bull fighting arena of the city from the eighteenth century. This arena does still host bullfights and is open for tours.
Though we did walk to it to check it out, we did not go inside as we were on a budget and doing these types of tours are not high priority during our travels.
I wish we would have had more time to explore this place. These are excavated Arab baths from the thirteenth century. The place look incredible and we only had the time to quickly see it from the outside. With no time to explore the inside, we regretted not allotting the time for this.
You can walk down to the bottom of the gorge, and though we did see people down there we could not find how to get down to the bottom. It would have been a nice place to go for a walk through if we had the time to spend doing so. Definitely check it out if you are in the city.
A lovely palace with a garden that you can explore. Once again, we did not have the time to fit this into our schedule and we were not ready to pay the entrance fee to tour this place, though it does look really nice.
If you have more time to explore the surroundings of the city, be sure to check out some of the wineries and go on a wine tasting tour.
Where to Eat in Ronda
What We Did
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Tapas Restaurants
Near Puente Nuevo, the main bridge that crosses the gorge, is a horde of shops and restaurants that you can visit. There are tons of tapas restaurants that you can take a peek at their menu before deciding on the right spot. Take a seat outside and enjoy the area and beauty that is the cobble stone streets and lovely environment of the city.
The tapas restaurants that we visited were fine enough for a drink and some small grub before moving along on our way through the city.
What We Missed
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Dinner and a View
It would have been nice to have grabbed a seat at one of the restaurants overlooking the gorge. These looked beautiful from the outside and seeing their menus and the photos online only makes us want them even more. However, if you are a budget traveler they are perhaps not in your price range.
If you have some money to splurge on yourself, maybe you could try Parador de Ronda, Albacara, or Duquesa de Parcent. All of which can be found near Puente Nuevo, the main bridge crossing the gorge.
Where to Shop in Ronda
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Walk the Streets
If you are looking for that right souvenir to bring home with you that will forever remind you of this place, simply walk around the streets and you will find a shop. Most of them are located near Puente Nuevo, the largest bridge that crosses the Gorge. That is where we found most of the shops and restaurants that we visited during our short stay here.
How to Get Around Ronda
Ronda is not a big city and most of it can be explored on foot. However, if you are wanting to tour the surrounding countryside you may want to rent a car in order to get around and see the places on your own schedule.
How to Get to Ronda
Train
The train stops right in the city and is a short twenty minute or so walk to the gorge from the train station. The city is very small so if you are not carrying a lot of luggage you will be fine to walk on a nice sunny day without breaking much of a sweat. Plus that is what you will want to do in this city, just enjoy the sights and scenery of this town on foot.
However, if you are leaving the city by train you will want to make sure that you book your train ticket in advance. We went the day of to the trains station to get our tickets and they were all sold out to Madrid. We had to take a bus from Ronda to Malaga where we spent the day until we took a night bus from Malaga to Madrid. Though it was nice to visit Malaga unexpectedly, we missed a full day in Madrid.
Walking
Unless you need to get from one end of the city to the other or you want to explore outside of the city, just walk. You will really be amazed at what you will find, or miss if you choose not to, when walking.
This was our favorite part about being in Ronda. Just taking the time and not being in a rush to see the city, even though we were only here for twenty-four hours. We arrived, we stepped out of our door, and we just wandered for an entire day.
Where to Stay in Ronda
Booking.com
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Air BnB we stayed at
We stayed at a lovely AirBnb that we did not get to enjoy as much as we would have liked. It had such a great location, we were able to walk to the main area of the city in five minutes. The area was safe and the apartment was clean. We never had any meeting with the host and we were free to enjoy our one night in the room.
I would definitely recommend this place should you be staying in Ronda and requiring something small and cozy during your stay. If you want more amenities, perhaps look into another type of accommodation.
Conclusion
Ronda was a lovely little town to visit in the rural area of Spain. We had such a lovely 24 hours there, though we wish we could have stayed possibly one more night to check more things off of the list that we had. If we had that extra day we would have seen the Arab baths from the inside and done more exploring of the city that we may have missed.
Adding another day to that, we would have done a wine tour of the area to really dive into Spain’s wine scene. We feel like we did not have enough wine while in Spain and that was one of the downfalls of our trip. Though we were on a budget and food and drink in Ronda seemed a little bit more expensive than other major cities in the country as budget friendly restaurants were more difficult to find.
Still, this city is perfect for those who want to just enjoy a small town for a day or two. The views, the sights, the city itself all make for a perfect concoction that will please your eyes for the time that you spend here.
From Ronda we were meant to travel to Madrid, but due to a train being all booked up we had to detour and spend a day in Malaga.
We would love to hear about your experience while in Ronda or to answer any questions you may have about your future trip. Leave a comment below!
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Check out more from our experiences in Spain here.
Happy travels!
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