Ronda city walk (city guide): the old and the new city around the famous bridge over the gorge

This tour is part of a series of city walks and tours described in Day trips in central Andalusia: Cádiz - Jerez-de-la-frontera - Pueblos-Blancos - Córdoba - Granada

This walk starts at the Mirador La Hoja del Tajo on the Ctra. de los Molinos, just about the most popular place to take a picture of Ronda (the bridge). No problem to park here for free...

However, there are 2 reasons for this: firstly, for this walk, which easily takes 5 hours, it is better to do the climbing before the hottest part of the day arrives (the second part is much flatter and downhill to the finish ).. Secondly, the sun shines on the bridge from the south in the afternoon so that you can take the most beautiful picture.

The walk consists of 2 loops that meet at the bridge. The first part goes through the old city and requires a lot of climbing . The second part is on the side of the bullring. This part is the new part of the city , as shown on a video during the tour of the bullfighting arena. A (paid) visit to the bullfighting starena is highly recommended!

So we start at the bottom of the Mirador and take the road up. Passing the Puerta del Viento we arrive at the Plaza de Maria Auxiliadora. Past a mosaic for the romantic travelers ('Viajeros Romanticos') it goes to the Casa del Rey Moro with its famous Jardines de Forestier .

We descend further into the gorge until the old bridge Puente Viejo and visit the Jardines de Cuenca . We return along the Ermita de San Miguel and now climb via the Puerta de la Cijara along the old city wall Murallas de Levante and go up to the Puerta de Almocábar.

We return through the beautiful Iglesia Maria Auxiliadora and the Plaza Duquesa de Parcent with the Iglesia de Santa María la Mayor up to the Palacio de Mondragón and finish the first loop in the old town.

We now go over the Puente Nuevo to the new part of the city on the other side of the El Tajo gorge . There are viewpoints (miradors) everywhere, but we mainly go to the bullring , which is known as one of the most picturesque bullrings in the world. This one is worth a visit.

We pass the Mirador de Ronda with a formidable view of the gorge and surroundings, past city gardens, squares and churches to the Mural Okuda mural. Via the Iglesia de Santa Cecilia we end up in the Carrera Espinel , THE shopping street par excellence. We deviate to the Plaza del Socorro with the beautiful church of the same name.

We now return to the bullring, cross the Puente Nuevo to stop at the Mirador de Aldehuela.

Via the Plaza de Maria Auxiliadora we return to dive into the gorge. We take a steeper way down with a few photogenic spots on the Puerte Nuevo.

Be sure to consult the information about the sights here once you are on site . They explain what you get to see!