Mijas Pueblo: things to do, the bus from Fuengirola and where to stay

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The short answer

Mijas Pueblo is the old white village of Mijas, on the hillside about 8 km above Fuengirola. It is the historic heart of a big municipality that runs down to the sea: the coastal half, Mijas Costa, is resorts, urbanisations and golf, and it is not what most people mean when they say “Mijas”.

• Is it worth it? We think so, for a half-day. The village is small, very pretty and has some of the best views on the Costa del Sol. It is also one of the most visited villages on the coast, so don’t expect it to yourself at midday.
• Time needed: 2–3 hours for the lanes, the rock chapel, the Muralla viewpoint and one museum; half a day with lunch or a walk into the hills.
• Without a car: bus M-122 from Fuengirola, about 20–25 minutes, €1.60 cash.
• Pueblo or Costa? We’d come to the Pueblo for the village and the views, and stay on Mijas Costa (La Cala, Calahonda) for beaches and golf.

What to see in Mijas Pueblo

Everything is within a 10-minute walk, but the lanes are steep. Start at the Plaza de la Virgen de la Peña, where the buses stop, and loop up to the Muralla.

Ermita de la Virgen de la Peña

A small chapel carved into the rock at the Compás viewpoint, a few steps from the bus stop. According to the tourist office, a Carmelite friar dug it out in the second half of the 17th century to house the Virgen de la Peña, the patron saint of Mijas, whose image legend says two shepherd children found in 1586, led by a dove. It is open all day and free. Step outside for the view down to Fuengirola and the sea.

The bullring

The Plaza de Toros opened in 1900 and is famous for its shape: not round like almost every other bullring in Spain, but squarish with rounded corners (the tourist office calls it oval). It is tiny, and you can walk round the stands and the sand. It closed in 1968 and reopened in 1977 after a refurbishment; a small bullfighting museum shows costumes, posters and photos. Entry is €3.

The Muralla gardens and viewpoint

Behind the bullring, the Paseo de la Muralla follows what is left of the Moorish walls, with gardens, benches and a series of viewpoints over the coast from Fuengirola towards Marbella. It is free, and in our view the best place in the village for sunset.

Iglesia de la Inmaculada Concepción

The parish church stands beside the Muralla gardens. It was built between the 16th and 17th centuries and consecrated in 1631, and its tower began life as a defensive tower before becoming the belfry. It mixes Mudéjar and Baroque styles. Free.

Calle San Sebastián

Mijas’s postcard street: a steep, curving lane of whitewashed houses hung with flowerpots, with the small Ermita de San Sebastián at the top. We’d come before about 10:30 or late in the afternoon for photos without crowds.

Museums

• CAC Mijas (Centro de Arte Contemporáneo), Calle Málaga 28: the Remedios Medina collection, with works by Picasso and Dalí. Its Picasso ceramics are described as the second most important collection in the world after the Musée Picasso in Paris. €3, Monday to Saturday mornings, closed Sundays.
• Museo Histórico-Etnológico, in the old town hall on Plaza de la Libertad: farm tools, an oil mill, a wine cellar and a replica of the room where Manuel Cortés, the “Topo de Mijas”, hid for 30 years after the Civil War. €1.
• Museo de Miniaturas (Carromato de Max): a quirky collection of tiny curiosities. €3.

The donkey taxis: think twice

Mijas’s burros-taxi date from the 1960s, when visitors began asking villagers riding home on donkeys for photos and rides. Today around 55–60 donkeys and a few horse carriages work from a stand in the village, and the tourist office lists rides at about €15 a donkey and €20 a cart for two.

Animal-welfare groups have criticised them for years. In April 2026 the charity FAADA described the donkeys as tied up for long hours in poor conditions; with El Refugio del Burrito it offered to compensate the handlers for giving up their licences, which most of them accepted, but the talks stalled. A 2024 animal-cruelty complaint is under judicial investigation. The town hall has tightened the rules: since 2025 rides stop between 14:00 and 18:00 on yellow heat-alert days and completely on orange or red ones, and it publishes regular veterinary reports. Our advice: walk. The village is small enough.

Walks above the village

Mijas sits at the foot of the Sierra de Mijas, and waymarked paths start from the top of the village. The classic is the climb to the Ermita del Calvario, a white chapel in the pine woods reached by a path marked with iron crosses (a Holy Week Way of the Cross); a circular route via the chapel is about 4 km and 2 hours. Longer paths continue to the Cruz de la Misión and on to Pico de Mijas (about 1,150 m). There is little shade: we’d go early, outside summer, with water.

Food and drink

Restaurants and bars cluster around the Plaza de la Virgen de la Peña and the lanes above it, many with terraces facing the sea. The places right by the bus stop are the busiest; in high season, we’d eat before 13:30 or after the tour groups have left.

Getting to Mijas Pueblo

• M-122 bus: from Avenida Ramón y Cajal 4 in Fuengirola (since 14 September 2026 it no longer leaves from the bus station) to Mijas Pueblo. First bus about 07:20, last about 21:30 from Fuengirola and about 22:00 back. A single costs €1.60 in cash or less with the Consorcio’s transport card. Timetables on ctmam.es.
• By car: follow the signs up from Fuengirola or the A-7. Park in the Virgen de la Peña municipal car park at the entrance to the village, with about 500 spaces over ten levels: the first hour is free and a day costs very little. See car hire at Málaga airport or compare prices on DiscoverCars.
• Tours: half-day trips from Málaga often pair Mijas with Marbella and Puerto Banús: Mijas tours from Málaga. More ideas in our day trips from Málaga.

Mijas Costa in brief

Mijas’s coastline runs west of Fuengirola towards Marbella. La Cala de Mijas is its most village-like part, with a beach, cafés and a boardwalk of about 6 km along the sea, part of the Senda Litoral coastal path. Calahonda and Riviera del Sol are big residential areas of villas and apartments, popular for long stays. Inland, La Cala Resort and the other courses of the “Valle del Golf” make this one of the busiest golf areas on the coast. You need a car or the coastal buses to get between them.

Where to stay

We’d sleep in the village for quiet evenings, or on the coast for the beach.

• TRH Mijas: a four-star hotel in the village with a pool, a spa and views to the sea.
• La Cala Resort: a golf hotel in the hills behind La Cala, with three courses and a spa. Best with a car.
• VIK Gran Hotel Costa del Sol: a large four-star hotel on the beach at La Cala de Mijas, with pools and family rooms.

For more choice and the train, stay in Fuengirola, Benalmádena or Torremolinos and come up for an afternoon.

When to go

• Time of day: coach tours from the coast arrive from late morning and leave by mid-afternoon. We’d come at opening time or after about 16:00, and stay for sunset at the Muralla.
• Season: we think spring and autumn are best for walking. In July and August the village is hot at midday; evenings are pleasant.
• Feria: the village fair is in September, with extra M-122 buses.

Prices and times at a glance

Mijas Pueblo is the easiest of the white villages to reach from the western Costa del Sol; for a quieter one east of Málaga, see Frigiliana. Heading on west? See the Marbella guide, or the Málaga travel guide for the city.

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