A real Treat Marbella style

Celebrating Valentine’s Day is not everybody’s cup of tea, for it is perceived by many to be a commercialised day – not necessarily an annual event where lovers celebrate their romantic time together. For those who feel that showing their appreciation of a loved one needs no fixed date in a calendar Marbella has plenty of treats in store that can put the sparkle back into a relationship or simply say “I adore you” the Andalusia way.

An excursion with a difference

If this is one of many spring-time visits to your favourite Spanish holiday destination, Marbella, perhaps it is time to take the next step?

Invite your beloved on a chauffeur-driven wine tasting tour with all the trimmings – explore the mountainous regions close to Marbella; visit the white-washed houses of historic hill town Ronda and stroll hand in hand through its narrow cobbled streets. At the end of the day, full of lovely good food and knowledge about Spanish wine, take your loved one to a place they always wanted to visit...and present them with a holiday home to view!

Spoiled for choice

In some parts of Marbella apartment prices start from as little as EUR 75,000 for a second-hand one bed property that’s fully furnished. Studios are even cheaper. If your budget will allow for a townhouse or villa, there are plenty of fantastic bargains to choose from, with asking prices starting at EUR 285,000 and going all the way up to EUR 40 million for those who can afford to park a super yacht plus trailer on the drive.

Marbella’s property market has a lot in common with the wines Andalusia region produces, for Andalusia’s housing market provides as many styles as there are grapes growing in the Malaga province’s vineyards.

A guided wine tour with your guide acting as chauffeur will take you to the places where the Malaga Moscatel is produced or could take you to the Jerez de la Frontera region where the Manzanilla and Sherry wines stem from. After an hour of taking in the gorgeous scenery of the Axarquia countryside, your loved one is bound to consider the purchase of a holiday home in Marbella more favourably than they would have done had they merely been invited to partake in a candle-lit dinner at your usual restaurant!

A taste of real Spain

If you get the timing just right, your wine tour can be combined some regional events, a chance to really impress your favourite Valentine! For en route your chauffeur can take you to see show-stoppers like the world-famous equestrian event, the Jerez Horse Show, or, if your beloved prefers speed over natural beauty, the Jerez Motorcycle Grand Prix.
 
Or try the colourful Semana Santa, the cheerful Holy Week celebrations that take place in Malaga and Jerez, in Cadiz and Seville, and many other villages and towns all over Andalusia, when religious processions meet carnival atmosphere and the streets are full of smiling, dancing people.

Tasting the difference

To really whet a person’s appetite for a holiday home in Marbella or elsewhere at the Costa del Sol there’s nothing better than enjoying a tapas tour.
Starting in the east of Marbella, where property is great value for money in districts such as Elivira, a typical wine and tapas tour includes Mjias and its Wine Museum, the city of Malaga, Almachar, Nerja, Frigiliana, Comares and Competa. Nerja in particular is well worth visiting, for it has some amazing grottoes with prehistoric drawings as an added attraction.

If, after visiting a tranquil mountain retreat like Competa or Comares, your beloved expresses a wish to return to civilization post haste, you can be certain that the prospect of viewing a stylish apartment overlooking Puerto Banus’ bustling marina with its designer shops, restaurants and bars won’t be unwelcome. Tapas can be just as good in the luxurious surroundings of a designer bar!

Try your romantic luck – are you ready for the next step? The one where your dream of buying a Marbella holiday home together doesn’t seem so far-fetched?