Whitewashed lanes with wrought iron balconies and bougainvillea lead to a small plaza planted with orange trees.
What Old Town looks like
Narrow lanes run between whitewashed two and three storey buildings, most of them barely wide enough for a single car. Black wrought iron balconies carry pots of geraniums and bougainvillea, and hanging lanterns line the walls above the doorways.
sits at the centre of the old town, with the town hall's balconied facade along one side and a small chapel in the corner. The Casa del Corregidor faces the square from across the fountain, its arched doorway mixing Mudejar and Gothic stonework. Orange trees stand around the fountain, and outdoor tables from the surrounding restaurants spread across the paving.
The parish church on has a bell tower dated 1618 by its own inscribed plaque, with a tiled mural set into the white facade above a brick arched doorway. Its main portal, further round the building, was finished in the second half of the eighteenth century.
A stretch of the old Nasrid town wall survives along one lane near Calle Hospital de Bazan, rough stone blocks rising above the pavement with modern balconies built against the top. climbs north from the plaza between more of the same whitewashed fronts, wide enough for a single lane of cars to park along one side.
Shot in Old Town
The Telemundo series La Reina del Sur filmed scenes at Plaza de la Iglesia for its first season. Several years later the second season of Snatch used a run of the old town's streets and squares for its own shoot.
La Reina del Sur and Snatch
Both productions used real squares and streets across the old town rather than one set, the Marbella Film Office coordinating each shoot.
La Reina del Sur, 2011
Plaza de la Iglesia
La Reina del Sur filmed scenes at this plaza for its first season. The Telemundo series is co-produced with Antena 3 Television and RTI Producciones, and the Marbella Film Office coordinated the shoot across several of the city's locations. Street View
Snatch, 2018
The second season of the British American crime series Snatch filmed on this street along with Plaza Puente de Ronda, Plaza de la Iglesia and Plaza Leganitos elsewhere in the old town. The Malaga production company Fresco Film worked with the Marbella Film Office on the shoot, which also cast the Spanish actor Tristan Ulloa. Street View
What Old Town can double for
Mijas Pueblo in Mijas, Malaga, Andalusia
Mijas Pueblo sits up the coast with the same whitewashed facades, narrow lanes and wrought iron balconies filled with geraniums, built at a similar scale to the old town's own streets. A static lane or doorway shot could pass for either town. Mijas climbs a steep hillside with wide views of the coast that a flatter old town street cannot match. Its donkey taxi stands and souvenir shops would need to stay out of frame. Try searching whitewashed lanes with balconies now.
Frigiliana in Frigiliana, Malaga, Andalusia
Frigiliana's old quarter has the same whitewashed walls, cobbled lanes and potted geraniums on iron balconies as the old town, laid out on streets just as narrow. The village climbs a hillside rather than sitting on flat ground, so wide shots read differently. Its lanes are often stepped rather than paved flat, and ceramic plaques naming each street are a distinctive local detail that would need swapping for Marbella's own street signs. Try searching cobbled lanes with geraniums now.
Kasbah of Tangier in Tangier, Morocco
The Kasbah's whitewashed walls and narrow stepped lanes share the same material and scale as the old town's own streets, with blue painted door and window frames taking the place of black iron grilles. A tight doorway or lane shot could plausibly cross the strait either way. Domed rooftops, minarets and the wider medina's souk stalls would need staying out of any shot that tried to hold the illusion. Try searching whitewashed kasbah lane doorway now.
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