Villages & Small Towns

Stroll around the flower laden, villages of Andalucia  © Michelle Chaplow
Stroll around the flower laden, villages of Andalucia © Michelle Chaplow
There's a warm welcome waiting in Andalucian inland villages. © Michelle Chaplow
There's a warm welcome waiting in Andalucian inland villages.

Villages & Small Town of Andalucia

The whitewashed villages of Andalucia are impressive historical monuments in themselves, and their people still live according to age-old traditions, inherited from their Iberian, Roman and Moorish forefathers.

Many of the villages near the coast have become fashionable resorts, while still conserving their ancient charm, whereas others, lost in the highlands of Andalucia, remain rough and ready olive-farming towns, with a special appeal for the adventurous travellers.

Most Andalucian towns began as fortresses, which stood along the ever-fluctuating frontier between the Christian and Moorish realms, as is apparent in the names of such towns as "Jerez de la Frontera", "Arcos de la Frontera", "Morón de la Frontera"... Over the centuries, many have developed into thriving agricultural centres producing olive oil, fruit and vegetables and goat's milk.

Most Beautiful Villages of Spain

Pueblos más bonitos de España (The Most Beautiful Villages of Spain) is an non-profit association founded in 2010 and born out of the conviction to bring attention to the wonderful villages that dot the Spanish landscape. Places of great beauty that exude history and culture. 

There are just over one hundred awarded the title in Spain and 18 are located in Andalucia.

Villages & Small Towns in the eight provinces of Andalucia

Read all about the Villages & Small Towns in the eight provinces of Andalucia

In the Sierra Norte Natural Park, part of the immense Sierra Morena, are some of province's prettiest villages, often in stunning settings, overlooking the undulating slopes of the Sierra clothed… More →

Like neighbouring Cadiz province, Malaga is sprinkled liberally with pretty pueblos blancos, or white towns and villages, the most well-known of all these being Ronda. Malaga is inundated with… More →

Andalucia´s great waterway, the Guadalquivir River - used by the Phoenicians and Romans to sail up into the heartland of Seville and Cordoba - is born as a mountain creek in the lovely wildlife… More →

Part of the rugged Sierra Morena mountain range, the Sierra de Aracena y Picos de Aroche is a protected natural park of extensive woodland dotted with small whitewashed villages. The rolling hills… More →

The best way to discover the villages of Granada is by car many of the whitewashed villages of Granda are impressive historical monuments in themselves. The province of Granada also has a… More →

In the Sierra Morena north of Cordoba city is a wild mountainous landscape where deer and wild boar roam the pine and oak forests. This region is little visited by tourists, but there are many… More →

The rugged hills known as the Sierra de Cádiz are densely wooded with pine trees and cork oaks. Here, clinging precariously to the edges of deep river gorges or perched on rocky cliffs, are a… More →

Like neighbouring Granada, Almeria province is famous for its troglodytic villages, where many homes are dug out of soft sand-coloured cliffs. These "casas-cuevas" (cave-houses) provide excellent… More →