I visited Ronda when I was a child. I barely remembered it at all, given that it was almost twenty years ago and I was six years old. Still, I’m shocked. After returning this winter with Jeff, I realized it was one of the most memorable places I’ll ever visit and probably in my top three favorite cities in the world. Everyone told us before we went that we would love it, given how ‘romantic’ it is. It’s true. You could spend a weekend in Ronda having an intense love affair with wine, with zebra burgers, with the Puente Nuevo. Even just yourself. Ronda feels like such a little storybook town, it gives you a feeling that no other grand, glitzy city will. It epitomized Spain in so many ways, that I would recommend it to a first-time visitor to Spain, over almost any other city. Here are my top romantic reasons to visit Ronda:

1. It’s the Heart of Andalucía

Ronda is so fantastic because, once you’ve walked the length of the town in a day, you’ll sit back with a  caña and think “damn, welcome to southern Spain.” Ronda is the epitome of Andalucía in so many ways. The small town feel has an old-worldness to it. You’ll see families on the street, people greeting each other constantly when you’re outside. It feels as if everyone knows each other – and probably has for generations.

The contentment and comfort is protected by miles of distance which takes the form of mountains, almost like a surreal, alternate reality. The buildings are older than anything in United States. No bright lights, neon signs or horns honking. Things go quiet after 10 pm, though if you follow any sound or light down an alley, you might be lucky to find a tile-clad bar with flamenco hidden in the history.

2. Small Town Feel

Ronda’s character cannot be what it is without being a small town. The beauty of this is that Ronda is less crowded, even with the tourists, than many other cities in Spain. This makes for a tranquil getaway. Additionally, the town itself really is small enough to see in a day if you had to, but spending two was perfect for us. We enjoyed exploring the small streets and less crowded corners of Ronda, where the cobblestone streets and Islamic architecture made you feel like you were in either Winterfell or some sort of fairy tale. Be playful. Have wine for lunch and enjoy the sunset sneaking through slivers of space between white houses with red roofs.

3. History

For starters, rock paintings have been found in the cave, Cueva de la Pileta indicating that Ronda was inhabited as early as the Neolithic Age. It was first named ‘Arunda’, when settled by the Celts; later, the old Ronda was home to Phoenicians, while the new Ronda was given its current name by Julius Caesar. Germanic tribes conquered Ronda in the fifth century, only to be followed by a Eastern Roman Empire reconquest, then taken by the Visigoths (something I’ve gotten to teach a bit about in my current public school in Malaga!). Like most of Andalucia, Visigoth rule was the pretext for Islamic stronghold on Southern Spain.

Thanks to a bit of research for this post, I was delighted to find that Ronda was the birthplace of Sufi scholar, Ibn Abbad al-Rundi. Ronda was a Muslim refuge during the Spanish Inquisition. The rest is history which you’ll surely learn by the museums, plaques and statues dotting the sidewalks.

4. Stunning Views

I’m getting a little teary-eyed as I write this. I’ll never forget the moment we walked past the Puente Nuevo and saw the view open up into the landscape pictured above. We stayed for two days and spent a decent chunk of that time just staring out, noticing something new every few seconds.

While I’ve traveled a lot in my life, I’ve never seen a view quite like this one. The countless shades of green. The sun shining down on the rolling hills, turning it everything into a golden honey color, especially at sunset. The neighboring town in the distance, peeking over the hill. The house at the bottom of the cliff, which sat in the shade of Ronda and upon a stunningly simple, yet majestic creek. From so high up, watching the water flow around rock piles and slight turns as it carried the glimmering sun was truly magical.

It made me think, ‘one day, if I have enough money to have one of those luxurious getaway homes that so many of us dream of and invite our friends to spend the weekend, I don’t want it on the beach or on an island. I want it to be nestled here, on this cliff in Ronda.’

5. Adventurous Dinners

As if sensory overload wasn’t enough of an understatement by this point…

The food in Ronda was A+++. True Spanish tapas and tradition were plentiful. We tried Toro Tapas twice for small chicken dishes, fried veggies, chorizo and wine. So much tasty wine. It was in the best location possible for people watching and taking in the street life, and in true Andalucían fashion, super well priced. Pictured above was a place we read about in advance and were dying to check out – Gastrobar Deja Vu.

If you want to get out of your comfort zone, then this is the place for you. The menu included kangaroo, bison, crocodile, zebra, ostrich and camel in forms like burgers and carpaccio. I tried the zebra burger. It was shockingly delicious, topped with a slice of beautiful goat cheese, crunchy onions and sauces. It sounds silly to mention potatoes in a post, but these were probably the best fried potatoes I’ve ever had in a restaurant. Jeff had a rich and delicious walnut pesto truffle pasta, topped with crunchy sprouts and aged parmigiano. No words.

6. Holiday Spirit

We visited at the beginning of December, for the puente (essentially a long weekend) and it was a perfect time of year. The daytime weather was mild, but the holiday spirit was in full swing. It couldn’t have been more delightful. You know that time of year when the Christmas decorations have just gone up, stores start playing Christmas music everywhere and you just accept that it’s that time of year? This happened in Ronda. While this always makes me homesick, I couldn’t have thought of a better place to be to remedy that. Every street was illuminated by Christmas light constructs – even the small alleyways that have zero foot traffic. Enjoying them, with us being the only ones on the street, on our way home after a a fair few drinks was too bliss. I would highly recommend visiting at this time of year if you can.

7. The Romance is Real

Like I said, Ronda is somewhat of a surreal place. You can feel that you’re disconnected from the rest of the world, being so far into the countryside. With that, the many little serendipitous surprises, great wine at every turn, breathtaking views in every direction, whether that be a result of the landscape or simple historic charm… It ignites an appreciation for the little things in life, the bliss moments and sharing beauty with our favorite people. In a nutshell, it’s romantic as hell.