Ronda is a stunningly beautiful pueblo blanco, or white town in Andalucia, located in southern Spain. It’s most well known for the bridge over the plunging El Tajo gorge that splits the town in half but Ronda is so much more than one view. It’s a beautiful old town with so much culture and history (it’s actually one of Spain’s oldest towns) that the whole family is going to fall in love with Ronda. Read on to find out how to enjoy Ronda with kids and really make the most of your trip to this gorgeous small town.

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Ronda highlights

Why do people visit Ronda?

El Tajo Gorge and the three bridges: Despite its location inland, away from the popular tourist city of Malaga and the Costa del Sol, tourists love to visit Ronda on a day trip from either Seville or Malaga.

It’s famous for being a mountain-top city that traverses a magnificent gorge, El Tajo, which is around 160m deep. Like Budapest, the two halves of the city are linked by bridges and it’s these bridges people come to see. The bridges separate the new town from the old but, in true European style, the new town is also very old. It dates from the 15th century and the old town’s origins lie in the time of Moorish Spain. There is also, of course, an actual modern area of town but most visitors don’t spend much time there.

Plaza de Toros: Whatever your views on bullfighting (and to be clear, I am absolutely anti bullfighting), the bull ring and its museum in Ronda are a draw for many. It is, apparently one of the oldest bullrings in Spain. 

➡️ What to do with 1 Day in Ronda

Where is Ronda?

🧭 Ronda is a small town in the mountains of Malaga Province, Andalucia, in southern Spain. Despite being a mountain town, the roads in and out are good, like most roads in southern Spain. 

⭐️ Since Ronda is easily visited from either Malaga or Seville, you can visit from either in a day.

➡️ Ronda is a great option for a day trip from Sevilla.

➡️ Ronda is around 1hr30 from Malaga. 

➡️ The mountain town of Mijas Pueblo is an easy day trip from Ronda and is one of my favourite small towns in Spain.

✈️ The closest airport is Malaga airport. 

⭐️ Many road-tripping visitors to Spain choose to include Ronda on their itinerary so if you’re planning a road trip in Andalucia, do not forget to include Ronda on it. 

⭐️ Note on Travelling Around Andalucía with kids – this region of Spain is absolutely perfect for exploring with children. It has everything you could wish for: beaches, history, culture, museums, water parks, aquariums and more.

History of Ronda

Ronda is one of the oldest towns in Spain along with nearby Cordoba and the magnificent Antequera. Remains have been found that date back to the Neolithic period but it’s believed that humanids were in the area even earlier than this.

📌 Ronda really rose to importance during the Middle Ages after the fall of the Roman Empire when it was the capital of Takurunna, one of the provinces of Al-Andalus. Ronda was an important border area and was conquered by the Catholic Castilians from the Moors in 1485. It was at this point that the blending of the two cultures in Ronda, began and the incredible city beloved by visitors today began to take shape. 

Despite what you might think, Ronda is not a UNESCO World Heritage site but that doesn’t mean it isn’t worth your time. 

Historic Note: Neolithic remains have also been found in Zuheros, a gorgeous mountain town in Córdoba province  and ancient remains have also been found near Alcalá de Guadaíra, just outside Sevilla. It surprised me when I learnt that Gibraltar is thought to have been home to Neanderthals longer than anywhere else in Europe.

But hold on, did the kids care about any of this history when in Ronda?

That’s what you really want to know, right? 😉

They did not.

What to do in Ronda with kids

So, if the kids don’t really care about the history or Ronda, why take them? Well, honestly, there are many reasons to visit Ronda with kids, the most important being:

📍 It is a beautiful city and even my little hooligans were very appreciative of the views and the adventures we found for them in Ronda.

⭐️ Ronda is one of those places everyone should visit at least once. It’s gorgeous and there’s plenty to do for everyone visiting Andalucía, even the kids. 

Ronda with kids: The bridges

There are three bridges in Ronda and it’s worth checking them all out.

Puente Nuevo 

This is the primary bridge, the one you’re going to Ronda to see. It’s big, it’s impressive and you’ll come home with dozens of photos of it from various angles. This ‘new’ bridge was built in the 18th century to span the gorge and the Guadalevín River. 

📌 It is not only a tourist attraction (and believe me, it is), it’s also a working bridge so keep hold of the kids and ensure they’re on the pavement/sidewalk at all times. Do check out the views on both sides of the road.

Tip: sunset from the bridge is just gorgeous if you can stick around long enough. My kids were bored while we waited for the sun to set. They declared that they’ve seen the sun set plenty of times but they’re little and wrong, what do they know?

Where to find the best views of the Puente Nuevo:

• Mirador de Ronda (it was surprisingly windy here) by the bull ring (there’s also a playground and plenty of space for kids to run nearby)
• Mirador de Aldehuela
• Mirador del Puente Nuevo de Ronda – this is a little bit of a trek down perfectly decent paths. The entrance is on Plaza de María Auxiliadora. If you’re heading down with kids, take water or they’ll whine at you and that’s not fun. There are a couple of good spots for views. You can also park in the carpark below and walk up, if you are so inclined (walk up – inclined, hahahahahaha I’m funny).

➡️ There is a small museum for the bridge, in the bridge itself.

⭐️ We took a long-ish hike down under the bridge to the ruined buildings (old electricity company buildings) you can see if you look down far enough. The kids absolutely adored exploring down here. We clambered over boulders, walked carefully through the ruins, found little caves and had a big old adventure.

Puente Viejo

The second bridge is Puente Viejo. It’s smaller but also really very lovely. It is reached via a short walk through town or through the Botanical Gardens, the Jardines de Cuenca.

Puente Arabe/Romano

The third, and lowest bridge is accessed via a set of steps down from Puente Viejo. The bridge is sometimes called the Arab Bridge and sometimes the Roman Bridge. 

We carried on walking down, until we found the river, which was really little more than a stream when we were there in mid-October. We skimmed stones and the kids jumped around on stepping stones and fallen logs. The moment we got here their energy levels bounced right back up and we eventually had to drag them away as they kept ‘tricking’ us into letting them have just ‘one more’ go at crossing the stream alone.

⭐️ If you’re looking inspiration for city trips with kids, have you considered the gorgeous city of Porto in northern Portugal?

2 excellent museums in Ronda for kids

La Casa del Rey Moro

The garden is nice enough but the point of being here is to get to the bottom of the mine, which is many, many steps down to the bottom of the gorge where there is a platform upon which you can sit and paddle your tired feet / take lots of photos. Most people took photos, we mainly paddled our feet. The water is numbingly cold but this was wonderfully refreshing and we all enjoyed sitting with our feet in the water. It revived us for the long walk back up the steps. I’m a huge fan of walking down as well as up to find amazing views. In Segovia, for example, a good tip is to walk down until you’re underneath the alcazar. The views are spectacular. 

Details about the museum and mine here

Museo Lara

Undoubtedly one of the more eclectic museums you’ll visit (it reminded me of Museo del Mamut in Chihuahua, Mexico) and here you can touch nigh on everything. The kids spent ages hopping in and out of old carriages, pretending to take each other for a carriage ride and fiddling with old cinema machines. They thought this was going to be the highlight of the museum, and then we went downstairs to the torture room where, you guessed it, they sat in stocks, put their heads in the guillotine (to be honest I’m still having nightmares about this bit since the blade remains in place), and locked themselves in horrid cages. I drew the line at some torture instrument that would have required me to turn screws into their backs5

Find more about the museum here

⭐️ There are a myriad of excellent reasons to visit Spain, keep reading to learn more about this magnificent country ⭐️

Plaza de Toros

I was not keen to visit, especially when I learned we had to pay for adults but we really wanted to see inside so in we went. The museum did not hold anyone’s attention but the ring is spectacular. It’s enormous and the views are lovely. The kids loved being able to run around in the wide empty ring. 

Museum details here.

If the kids do happen to be interested in history, take them to 

Acinopo Ruins – Roman ruins just outside of Ronda

​Mondragon Palace  – a history museum in Ronda

Parks and view points

By the Plaza de la Merced is a park with incredible views over the valley below. There is a playground here as well as space for children to run around. 

Check out:

📍 the mirador (viewpoint) at the Alameda del Tajo

📍 stroll along the Paseo de los Ingleses

📍Find the Balcon del Coño and tell the kids what coño means (ass. It means ass)

📍 Paseo de Blas Infante

📍See if you can find the Ernest Hemingway Sculpture and if you can persuade your kids to translate the text under it. It’s interesting. 

Ronda: the details

Where to stay in Ronda – we didn’t stay in Ronda, we chose to stay in nearby Osuna but actually I’d have loved to have stayed in Ronda since sunset was gorgeous and I imagine dawn is pretty spectacular there too.

➡️ Check hotels in Ronda now

Where to eat – in such a touristy location it can be hard to know where to eat. We took a recommendation from a friend and ate at Gastro-Bar MK. I highly recommend this spot, despite its incredibly uninspiring, un-Spanish name. The food was utterly delicious, the staff were very welcoming and without eating here we would never have found Museo Lara.

Where to park – if you’re coming in for a day trip with your own car, simply search for a parking lot on google and head to it. We parked under Plaza del Socorro (download the app, believe me, if a carpark suggests downloading its app, do it and save soooo much money on parking), which was great as it meant the kids could check out the souvenir shops and we were close to Carrefour for extra drinks for the ride home.

A final word on visiting Ronda with kids

With its astounding panoramic views and winding streets, this might not immediately strike you asa great place for kids but I assure you, as tourist attractions go, Ronda is a great spot for families. It’s just a short drive from both Malaga and Seville and kids will love the spectacular views of the surrounding countryside, the opportunity to  explore the shops on the the main shopping street, Carrera Espinel and the main touristy street, calle Armiñan. And, of course, when they’re done, you can always head back to the coast and find one of the many water parks to placate them!

Suggested Reading Materials

These are the two guidebooks I use to plan my trips at the moment. Of course, I’ll probably write my own eventually but for now I’m going the traditional route. They work extremely well as a pair since the Lonely Planet introduces the area well and the Wild Guide offers great off-track ideas for the region.

Lonely Planet Andalucia 10 ...Shop on Amazon Wild Guide Andalucia: Hidde...Shop on Amazon