Antequera means ‘ancient place’, and was give this title, Antikaria, by the Romans. You know it must be fairly historic if the Romans thought of it as old. Antequera hotels are easily found and a great bas to explore the prehistoric dolmens and the old town. There is also the surrounding area with the rockscapes of El Torcal and the flamingo lake of La Fuente de Piedra. There are also places to visit for golf such as Antequera golf hotel offering some nice courses with impressive views not to far from the cultural centre of Antequera.
Antequera History
The dolmens point to the important prehistoric settlement that Antequera was with its position with an easy route to the coast something that attracted the Romans. The Moorish influence is show by the citadel. The city grew in importants throughout the 16th and 17th centuries which is the period from which most of it’s historic sites date.
Sights
Central to Antequera is Plaza San Sebastian, and here is where you will find the tourist information. Starting from the top of the town, the Arco de los Gigantes is an arch build in 1585 which gives onto the Plaza de los Escribanos where you will find the best of many of the towns churches, La Colegiata de Santa Maria La Mayor. From the terrace at the side of the curch you can see the escated Roman Baths below.
The Moorish Fortress which has been completely rebuilt is the Torre Del Homenaje on the hilltop from which you can see the Pena de los Enamorados (Lovers Hills) from which legend has it a pair of Moorish lovers jumped in a Roman and Juliet style suicide pact.
If you are interest in the archaelogical heritage of Antequera then the Museo Municipal, near to the Plaza San Sebastian, is the place to visit.
Dolmens
The ‘must see’ attraction for any visit to Antequera is these monuments, one of which weighing a whole 180 tons and dragged over 1km from a quarry these are impressive sights to behold.
El Torcal
16km to the South of Antequera, these chunks of Limstone form an impressive sight of rugged and weather formations high up on the Torcal mountain.
Laguna de la Fuente de Piedra
A whole twenty kilometers northwest of Antequera, this is a large saltwater lake which is one of Europes key breeding grounds for the greater flamingo. Whilst the flamingos may be the main attraction, there are plenty of other waterbird speicies to see.
Accomodation in Antequera
As usual in Andalucía there is a range of good quality and well price accommodation on offer with lots of Hotels in Antequera. Places to look out for include Hotel Papabellotas, Hotel Plaza de San Sebastian, Pension Madrona and Cama El Gallo. There is camping near to both El Torcal and Laguna de la Fuente de Piedra. You may be looking also for a hotel antequera with golf on offer.
Transport
The closest airport to Antequera is Malaga. There are plenty of buses from Malaga which takes just under an hour. There are also daily buses to Granada and Sevilla, as well as connection to other Andalucian Cities. There is also a train station where you can get trains to Rhonda, Sevilla, Granada and Malaga (via Bobadilla).
You will find that Antequera Hotels are a great place to stop of and explore the crossroads of Andalucia.
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