Discover the town that cured German poet Rainer Maria Rilke’s writer’s block. “I have searched everywhere for the ‘city of dreams,” he wrote, “and found it here, in Ronda”. Take in the same sights that inspired him on this walking tour from the Lady Goyesca Statue in the Alameda del Tajo garden, over the world-famous Puente Nuevo de Ronda to the old town and back.
On the way, you’ll pass two breathtaking lookout points, the Mirador de Ronda and the Mirador de Aldehuela. As we leave the new town behind us and enter the old, you’ll visit Ronda’s former border at the top of Puerta de Almocábar, and quake in the boots of history’s soldiers as you imagine approaching armies. From there you’ll follow the old defensive wall to the Arab Baths and the Puente Viejo bridge, before making your way back over Puente Nuevo. The tour ends in front of Plaza de Toros, the Bullring of the Royal Cavalry of Ronda, which was the country’s very first.
On this tour, you can also look forward to:
• Hearing about Centro de Interpretación del Puente Nuevo, the museum housed inside the bridge that was once a prison, a hotel, and even a tapas bar
• Listening to traditional Spanish guitar and learning where you can go to hear live concerts
• Taking in the Mondrágon palace and hearing about the people who lived there
• Standing on the oldest bridge in Ronda
• Finding out about La Casa del Rey Moro’s room of secrets and the Moorish Kings’ hidden gold
I’ll also provide answers to some intriguing questions like:
• What did Blas infante, the father of Spanish nationalism, do in Ronda?
• Why is one particular Italian priest famous around here?
• Who built Puente Nuevo?
• Did Queen Isabella really visit Ronda?
• When did the Christian conquerors arrive?
• How important is bullfighting in Andalucia?
Join me on this 75-minute stroll around one of Spain’s most striking towns, or take as long as you like to enjoy the sweeping views of the El Tajo gorge. By the end of the tour, you’ll be as inspired as Rainer Maria Rilke himself!
Music credit:
This tour is accompanied by the mesmerizing guitar of Paco Seco, a professional musician who began playing Flamenco at the age of seven. Paco studied flamenco and classical guitar, jazz, world and electronic music, and ethnic percussion. He has composed music for theater and musical productions. A Ronda local, Paco holds regular concerts in the beautiful Casa de Juan Bosco, on the Tajo gorge.
