Discovering Frigiliana; Southern Spain’s Most Instagrammable Town

In my previous post I blogged about 5 places around the world that have my heart. One of the places featured in this post was Almuñécar, which is where I was last week. I re-visited Almuñécar for my first official holiday of the year, so instead of my usual trips, there was no pressure to tweet, Instagram or photograph everything I was getting up to. To be honest, it was liberating and I probably felt the most relaxed I have all year.

We spent our days relaxing by the pool, going for walks along the beach and taking little excursions to nearby towns in our hire car. One of the places we visited was the white-washed hillside town of Frigiliana, which was a 20 minute drive from our villa in Almuñécar. The idea to visit Frigiliana was actually a recommendation from my Mum who knows the area well and advised me it was ‘totally Instagrammable’ (she’s so down with the lingo it’s scary). So off we went to discover Frigiliana, armed with my camera and hungry for photo opportunities. Here’s a little round up of my day in Southern Spain’s most Instagrammable town.

We visited Frigiliana on a Thursday, which just so happened to be Market Day. Scott and I started our day by wandering through the market stalls and picking up a few souvenirs, including some hand-painted Spanish ceramics for our new kitchen. As far as market stalls go, I was really impressed. There was lots of stylish handmade products including leather bags and belts, wicker bags and a gorgeous selection of fedora hats.

After some shopping in the market we stopped off for a strawberry-cheesecake flavoured gelato before making the climb up into the Barribarto, Frigiliana’s historic centre.

The cobbled narrow streets of Barribarto are all white-washed and are incredibly photogenic, especially against a bright blue sky. With wooden doorways, coloured shutters and Moorish tiling, I was in an Instagrammer’s dream! We took a stroll through the streets which were lined with tiny independent shops, cafes, restaurants and apartments – the type you can imagine have been there for years and years.

I was in heaven snooping around the homeware shops. There were so many beautiful trinkets and decorative pieces that would have made perfect souvenirs. As we were travelling with hand luggage I had to restrain!

As well as the homeware and souvenir shops, there were so many charming restaurants and wine-bars within the old streets (ideal spots to just sit and watch the world go by). I can imagine they really come alive at night and wandering the streets at dusk would be incredibly romantic.

I absolutely fell in love with Frigiliana during the brief time that we were there and I can’t wait to return during my next trip to Almuñécar. Whilst the focus in Southern Spain is very much on the beaches and coastal resorts, Frigiliana will definitely reward those who choose to venture further inland. If you’re thinking of a trip to Southern Spain any time soon, be sure to add Frigiliana to your bucket list. It has to be one of Malaga’s best kept secrets.

Want to read more about this region of Spain? Check out my posts

What do you think to Frigiliana? Have you visited yourself or does it remind you of somewhere similar? If you’ve enjoyed this post then please leave a comment in the box below! Jess x 

Jessica Ruth Gibson is the Founder and Editor of Travelista and an award-winning travel content creator of 10 years. She lives in York, UK with her son and has travelled to over 50 countries; her favourites being Italy, Canada and Vietnam.

13 Comments

  • I was staying in La Herradura earlier this year as we have family living there. And this was on my list of places to visit. Alas, the time flew by and we didn’t have a car to get us to Frigiliana as quickly as we would’ve liked. I’m dying to go back and visit more of the area. We loved Herradura and our stroll to Almuñécar. Wonderful part of the world!

  • I can see why it wins that award! Great pics, love your dress too 🙂

  • Ahh this place looks beautiful! I love all the white houses and little shops and houses. Also that red dress is stunning, you look lovely! I’m in love with your blog.
    https://meerasxblog.blogspot.co.uk/

    • Thanks so much for your lovely comment Meera! Glad you enjoyed this post and hope you continue to follow along x

  • Well this place looks STUNNING! I do sometimes travel to places that I know will make for good photos, I have to admit!

    • Thanks Milly! It truly is a beautiful place. Worth it for the photo opportunities alone! 😀 x

  • Haha I love that your mum is down with the ‘gram properly cute!
    That place looks amazing and I’m loving your dress. I get what you mean with wanting to buy everything when you’ve only got hand luggage #thestruggleisreal

    http://www.jettravels.co.uk

    X
    Jet

    • Hey Jet! Thanks for the comment. She is so down with the lingo it’s scary. In a way I like handluggage as when you only have limited choice of clothes you don’t spend as much time trying to decide what to wear! Happy travels xxx

  • I’ve never heard of Frigiliana but it’s definitely on my bucket list now (the market looks amazing!) as does the white washed houses – totally agree with your mum it’s V instagrammable! P.s that red dress looks AMAZING on you! <3

    Hayley xo
    http://www.frockmeimfamous.com

    • Hey girl! Thanks for the comment. The market was one of the best I have seen. I think you’d need to double check the market days though as this was a highlight. Lotsa love xx

  • I hadn’t heard of this place before – definitely saving it to my list of places I would like to visit! Love the looks of the homeware goodies too x

    Jenny | LuxeStyle

    • Thanks Jenny! I think you’d love it here. I could have spent a few more hours roaming around the streets and snooping round the shops. I can’t wait to go back already! x x

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