Balcón de Europa

The Balcón is a wide terrace built on the site of a 9th-century fortress and later gun battery, jutting out over the water in the center of Nerja with the Sierra de Almijara behind and the coast curving west toward Málaga. It is free, open at all hours and most atmospheric at dusk, when the cafes and ice-cream shops along the promenade fill up. Steps lead down to the small Calahonda cove and along the cliff path to Burriana beach, 15 minutes east.