The Pedro Romero Festival, bullfights and a flamenco festival, are important events, as are Holy Week, the Festivals of the Reconquest and the Pilgrimage to Nuestra Señora de la Cabeza.The white villages of Moorish origin in the Serranía de Ronda combine popular architecture with stunning natural landscapes. Other towns, however, are famous for their Phoenician (Jimena de Líbar) or Roman (Acinipo) ruins. The Moorish essence, among olive groves and vineyards, is the distinctive mark of Algatocín or Atajate.

Named after one of Spain’s greatest ever bullfighters, the Pedro Romero Restaurant is located just across from Ronda’s magnificent 18 th-century bullring – an attraction certainly worth visiting. The restaurant looks to capture the style of the bullring with posters and iconography from the activity. Certainly, a unique atmosphere can be found here and the food itself is emblematic of southern Spain, featuring rustic classics like slow-cooked bull’s tail and pork cheeks with mushrooms.

The main celebration that takes place in this town in the province of Malaga is the Ronda Fair (Feria de Ronda), also known as the Pedro Romero Fair (Feria de Pedro Romero). It is held between the end of August and beginning of September and is one of the main festivals in the Malaga province. This fair is dedicated to Pedro Romero, a famous bullfighter from the town and the main event of this fair, the Goyesca Bullfight (Corrida Goyesca), is fought in his honour.

And it would be a sin to leave Ronda without trying the local oxtail – the Pedro Romero restaurant (8) (Virgen de la Paz, 18) is the place to go. Close to the Casino de Ronda, where father of Andalusian nationalism Blas Infante held his first assembly, you can sample top calzones in the Michelangelo pizzeria (Lorenzo Borrego, 5). For a coffee, we recommend Las Campanas candy store (9) (Plaza del Socorro, 3), where you can try tasty local treats.

The Traditional ‘Corrida Goyesca’ of Ronda is celebrated at the beginning of September, at the Pedro Romero Fair. With the aesthetics of the time of the Spanish artists Francisco de Goya, a bullfight is organized that has become a great event of the Spanish season, as well as a social event that Rivera Ordóñez family continues to organize. It is very difficult to get tickets due to its usual ‘Sold out’.

Other eminent restaurants providing the finest Andalusian cuisine are the Mesón Carmen la de Ronda and Casa María, which also offer charming service and a family atmosphere. Or there is the Parador Nacional de Ronda (state-owned hotel), which has an Andalusian and Mediterranean restaurant, or El Manzel de Ronda which specialises in the traditional cuisine of the province of Málaga.

Ronda is not big, and most restaurants are concentrated on the main street. Pedro Romero is one of the better ones, with good decoration and unique features. Stewed oxtail and freshly cut ham are the specialties, and the price is a bit expensive.

It was Pedro Romero who invented bull fighting on foot and did so for the first time in 1785, wearing “trajes de luz” adapted from paintings by Goya.