Melilla Things to Do

Rob and I aren't really beach people, but we thought we'd wander along to find a little beachfront bar where we could sit and watch the world go by. Sadly we found just one tent on the beach which wasn't exactly full of character, but served our purpose and was the only thing available on the beach side of the road! The businesses on the other side of the road didn't seem to relate to the beach in any way, which seems a bit of a waste of real estate and a potential faux pas on the part of the town planners! The beach is in two parts. The first one you come to has a beach volleyball court and a stand for spectators. The second beach is bigger, featuring a "kiddy gym" and is separated from the first by the remains of the River de Oro which it appears they may be trying to pump dry. The river burst it's banks and flooded parts of the town including the border fence last year, and this resulted in the fence security being compromised, so I can understand that they would want to minimise the chances of this happening again. The beach is currently undergoing a huge regeneration at the moment, but what they are actually doing there is not entirely clear to me.

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The old town is pretty much the first thing you will see as you leave the port...the walls tower over the harbour and its impossible to miss! If you cross the road, depending on what time of the day you arrive, there are some chairs and tables on the pavement...a small tapas bar operates from a tiny door in the fortress wall, and it's a great place to relax and watch the world go by. To the left of the chairs and tables, there are some steps taking you up to the various levels of the old town which is partly residential and partly museums and places of interest. The museum opening times are usually mornings and early afternoons...things start to close around 1.30-2pm. We actually preferred to walk around the old town and explore the tiny little streets rather than visit museums on such a nice day. The old town itself is made up of 4 fortified "precincts" and dates from the 15th century (the first precinct) up to the more recently constructed 4th precinct from the 18th/19th century.

This building is the biggest and tallest in Melilla. When I got off the ferry, I saw the twin spires and thought that it was Earnesto Nieto's city hall building. How odd, I thought as it didn't look like his style but it did have the 2 spires. I have posted a picture of Nieto's building elsewhere on this Melilla VT page.
When I took a picure of the harbor and this building, I was stopped by the police. They were satisfied that I was interested in the building and not a criminal.

the spanish civil war was oficially in july 18th in 1936, but here and the canary islands, was declare one day before.It is difficult to see this monuments in the rest of Spain, due to the socialist city mayor, who remove it

Is one of the most watched and patroled borders in the whole world!!!
3 lines of fences and spins, cameras, night vision, heat detector and advisor, the Guardia Civil try to avoid illegal inmigrants from Central Africa and morocco, but there is people from all the continents coming here to cross the line to the european union. For example from Iraq, Pakistan and Sierra Leone!!. Only in 15kilometers of border. Now many inmigrants are living in a moroccan left houses and they eat even the monkeys and rabbits of the mountains.

A interesting visit in the places which refuge the population of the town when there was siege, you can see a bakery, little chapel and even a hospital.. There are 3 levels and will be open more galleries in the future.

A christian building with a modernist style, Melilla is the second city in number of modernist building after Barcelona. In Melilla you can see about 900 building and houses with this beautiful style, and most of then are in perfects conditions, due to the sweet climate

Melilla has more than 150 modernist buildings. Is the second modernist city in Spain (Barcelone is the first one), and the fourth in Europe.

Enrique Nieto was the architect who made the construction of the new Melilla. Most important buildings are La Reconquista, Palacio Municipal and Casa Tortosa.