Here are some of the best free things to do in Fuengirola, suitable for solo explorers and families alike. Our family loves local outdoor and cultural activities that don’t cost a penny. These are some of our favourites, from feeding hungry fish to discovering street art—and you can enjoy them 100% free.
1. Spot sea creatures at the Espigón
The Espigón is a long rock pier at Torreblanca beach and our family favorite. If you and your kids love hopping from rock to rock and spotting interesting little critters like crabs, sea cucumbers and fish, come here at low tide. For safety, do not go out on the rocks during high tide or when the sea is rough. On days with levante wind, bring your board or just watch the surfers. Or, if you just like to sit on a rock and listen to the waves splash against the pier, I recommend catching a sunrise or sunset here. Afterwards, grab a selfie at the Fuengirola letrero, below.
📍 Location
2. Grab a selfie at the Fuengirola “letrero”
This is a gorgeous bit of Fuengirola’s beach promenade—right next to the Torreblanca Espigón mentioned above—and a great place to grab a selfie. The name “Fuengirola” is spelled out in metallic letters on the beach promenade wall, flanked by two palm trees. It’s the perfect spot for capturing great photo angles of the town. For the best lighting, I recommend visiting early in the morning or late in the afternoon when the sun is at a low angle and casts a beautiful golden glow.
📍 Location
3. Explore Las Presas Park
This lush park is not your typical landscaped playground, but more of an urban jungle. With winding paths and walkways set in a lush gorge with a stream running through it, you can spot insects and small animals, as well as an amazing variety of trees and plants. It’s the perfect place for family adventures. The park is also connected with the Las Presas hiking path for a longer walk if you fancy it.
📍 Location
4. Discover the Mural Walk
I can’t tell you how much I love this! The Fuengirola “mural walk”, also known as the Paseo de los Murales, consists of 20 huge street art paintings. You’ll find them on the north facades of the tall buildings in the El Boquetillo neighbourhood. The huge murals feature scenes inspired by Fuengirola’s history, local culture and community, especially fishing and the sea. What’s more, two of the murals were nominated as the best urban murals in the world.
📍 Location
5. Explore Sohail Castle
Yes, it’s free! On the hill at the southern entrance to Fuengirola, Sohail Castle offers fantastic panoramic views of the coast and glimpses into Fuengirola’s history. It’s also ideal for wearing out the kids or giving your dog a good workout, with the steep climb up from the beach below. Note that during the Marenostrum summer music festival, May to September, access to the castle grounds becomes limited—so this is more of a winter activity.
📍 Location
6. Feed fish in the port
This one might sound a bit weird, but I promise your kids (and probably you) will love it. Bring a few chunks of bread to the Fuengirola port. Head to the area where the yachts are, by the seafront restaurants. Try dropping a few bits of bread into the water around where the Ku’Damm Berlin restaurant is. Then wait for it…
📍 Location
7. Climb to the Toro de Osborne
If you’re looking for exercise, I recommend you hike up to the iconic Toro de Osborne in Torreblanca. It offers nice views—and a touch of Spanish popular cultural heritage. (Sadly, there’s also a lot of rubbish left behind by previous hikers. If you can, please collect some while there.) Below, I’ve included both the location of the bull itself, as well as the start to the hiking path.
Briefly, in case you don’t know the story behind them, the Orborne bulls you see all over Spain were originally created as adverts for Veterano brandy in 1956. Each one is 14 metres tall and weighs around 4,000 kilos. In 1994, Spain passed a law to remove roadside advertising, but people loved the bulls so much, they were saved and became part of the country’s popular culture heritage. There are still over 90 of these bulls across the country—and this one is in Fuengirola!
📍Beginning of hiking path – Location
📍Toro Osborne – Location
8. Read the papers in the library
Fuengirola boasts three fine libraries with “mediatheques” where you can read the press in Spanish and other languages. Apart from catching up on newspapers, you can make use of the free WiFi, work on your laptop, and, if you’re a resident, get a library card to borrow books. All for free.
📍Biblioteca Miguel de Cervantes
📍Biblioteca Francisco de Quevedo
9. Collect sea glass
One of life’s simple pleasures is walking along the beach, collecting seashells, rocks and colourful pieces of glass, all smoothed by the waves and sand. Carvajal Beach is one of my favorite spots for this activity. It has a “wild,” unmanicured feel that stands apart from the more touristy beaches, at least outside of the summer months.
Technically, Carvajal Beach isn’t in Fuengirola but just over the municipal border in Benalmádena. However, as it’s a beloved spot among us fuengiroleños, it feels very much a part of our community, so I’ve included it here.
Best free things to do in Fuengirola: which are yours?
As you can see, Fuengirola offers lots of fun activities that don’t cost a thing. Do you have an idea for a free Fuengirola activity for this page? DM on me on Instagram or send me a message.