Hotels in Antequera

Antequera is the crossroads of Andalusia, an inland market town roughly equidistant from Malaga, Seville, Granada and Cordoba, and it has history to match its location. Its headline sight is the Dolmens site, a UNESCO World Heritage listing that includes the Menga and Viera dolmens and the Tholos of El Romeral, megalithic tombs thousands of years older than anything else in town. The same listing covers two natural landmarks: the eerie limestone formations of El Torcal and the Peña de los Enamorados, a rock shaped like a sleeping face.

In town, the Moorish Alcazaba and the Renaissance Colegiata de Santa María crown a hill above a centre crowded with churches and convents. Food is hearty and local, from porra antequerana, a thicker cousin of salmorejo, to soft mollete bread rolls at breakfast. Be honest: there is no beach, summers are fiercely hot, evenings are quiet, and the high-speed rail station sits well outside town, so many visitors treat it as a day trip. Stay in the historic centre below the Alcazaba so you can walk to the old town's sights and restaurants and make short drives out to El Torcal and the dolmens.