30 Photos that will make you want to visit Antequera (Spain)
Updated August 2024.
We visited Antequera on a recent trip around Andalusia. It is a city that really impressed us – Antequera actually impressed us much more than Ronda which is on everyone’s Andalusian itinerary.
Antequera is considered “the heart of Andalusia” because of its central location among the famous cities of Granada, Cordoba and Seville. Because of its neighbours Antequera gets overlooked which is both a shame and a blessing – you’ll see few foreign tourists here.
Accommodation: The Best Hotels in Antequera
Antequera is a UNESCO World Heritage Site by virtue of the Antequera Dolmens. These are ancient burial sites dating back 5000 years (you can loosely say that they’re the Spanish version of the Egyptian pyramids which date to about the same period). They’re located just outside the city center.
But we didn’t see the Dolmens on this trip. Instead our visit covered the city itself – a city full of churches and topped with a large Moorish castle. Behind the city the mountains of the Sierra del Torcal loom. It is a rich city, both in terms of its history (the Romans and Moors both settled here. You’ll see remains of both civilizations) and wealth (created due to its location which made it a commercial and agricultural center). The wealth of the city is evident even today: the city is clean, has nice parks and modern infrastructure, and has lots of museums – in fact, I read that the museums of the city house 80% of the art treasures of the province of Malaga.
I’ll write much more on Antequera at some point. But this post is all visual and is meant to show off the beauty of Antequera.
Some photos:
Practical Tips and information
- You can get to Antequera from Malaga by bus in 1 hour. The schedule is here (note: in 2024, Antequera was included in the Malaga area transport network and you can no longer book Alsa for bus tickets to Antequera).
- You can also take the train to Antequera’ s AV station from various destinations including Malaga and Granada. That’s brand new, meaning you can get to Antequera in 25 minutes from Malaga. Antequera’s 2nd station (Santa Ana) is 20 minutes from town and is also on the high speed train lines – so you have easy access to Cordoba, Madrid and Sevilla (as well as Malaga).
- Restaurant recommendations: Bar Infante tapas for good and inexpensive tapas. Loulu Bistro for all meals – great breakfast (we had tostadas and coffee), desserts, lunches etc…great place. Right next to Plaza de San Sebastián.
- The Alcazaba is FREE on Tuesdays between 2 – 6 PM. Otherwise it’s 6 Euros/pp.
- Where to stay: Hotel Manzanito across from Parroquia San Sebastián. Very comfortable, large rooms, inexpensive.
Related: Hiking El Torcal de Antequera
Related: 24 Hours in Málaga (in Photos)
Related: How to plan a Trip to Spain
Just found your post and Wow!… Antequera looks great! Great enough to have convinced my wife and I to visit. We will be traveling in Spain from end Sept through early November. Any recommendations on where to stay? Am reading all your post on Spain as my wife and I are following a similar course… looking for a place to semi-retire in Spain. My wife is Honduran so at least one of us speaks Spanish. Would be great to have a bite or a glass of wine while we are in Antequera…?
Hi Jeff, unfortunately we’ll be in Mexico during the Sept – Nov period.
I have a hotel in the post that I recommend, on the main square in the old town. It’s where we would always stay before deciding to move here.
Best of luck, don’t be shy if you have any questions 🙂
We totally agree! Antequera is a hidden gem in Andalucia and much better than Ronda. During our 1 month stay in the region, we actually visited twice. If you go back, visit the Dolmen sites – they are fascinating. But try to read up a bit before you go, there was very little information on site. They had build a new museum – that might be open by now (was still closed, when we visited).
Thank you Natascha. And I’m happy you agree about Ronda (I’m not sure why we weren’t blown away by Ronda. Everybody seems to love the place).
We will be back and will definitely visit the Dolmens. Thanks for the tips!
PS Tomorrow (Jan 25), they are opening new high-speed train routes to the station in Antequera (ie. not Santa Ana, the station at the edge of town). It means Antequera will be connected by train to cities like Malaga and Granada. 25 minutes from Malaga to Antequera Av station! It’ll make Antequera much more accessible.
wow. you’ve sold me.