Mediterranean coastal resort region, Andalusia, S Spain, extending from Punto Almerimar to the most S point in Spain at Tarifa; the name means coast of the sun.
It includes the towns of Málaga, Torremolinos, Benalmádena, Fuengirola, Mijas, Marbella, San Pedro de Alcántara, Vélez-Málaga, Nerja, Torrox, Puerto Banús and Estepona.
Settlement in the region dates back to the Bronze Age, and it has been alternatively ruled by many cultures such as the Phoenicians, Carthaginians, Romans, Vandals, Visigoths and Moors, before the Reconquista.
Traditionally composed of fishing villages, the area was discovered for international tourism in the 1950s and has since been a popular destination for foreign tourists not only for its beaches, but also its tourist culture.
In recent years the Costa Del Sol has become known to golf enthusiasts as the 'Costa Del Golf' due to the vast number of high quality golf courses in the area. Attracting golfers from all over Europe and indeed the world, the area has benefitted from an increase in tourism and is seeing an increasing number of new complexes being developed to house the growing number of keen golfers in the area.
The area is heavily urbanised, with a thick ribbon of densely-packed buildings running along most of the coast.
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