Ronda: bridge, Arab baths and tapas.

Ronda fills up at midday with day trips coming up from the coast. This plan stays ahead: the bridge and La Ciudad first thing, the Arab Baths before they close at three, an early lunch and the afternoon for the bullring and the viewpoints, when the groups have gone.

The Day, Hour by Hour

8:30 · Departure. From Málaga it is about 100 km along the A-357 and A-367, in an hour and a half. From Seville, via Utrera, Morón and the A-374, a little under two hours; from Cádiz, about two. Enter the Mercadillo and park in the underground car park on Plaza del Socorro, open 24 hours.

10:00 · Puente Nuevo. Cross it on foot and go into the chamber of the central arch, which was a prison and is now an interpretation centre. Buy the municipal pass here: €12 (€9 reduced, free for under-14s) for five monuments.

10:45 · Palacio de Mondragón. On the other side of the bridge, in La Ciudad. Courtyards and a garden above the gorge, with the same pass.

11:30 · Arab Baths. Go down the Cuesta de Santo Domingo to the 13th- and 14th-century hammam, next to the Arab Bridge. On Sundays it is open from 10:00 to 15:00: that is why it goes in the morning.

12:30 · Casa del Rey Moro. On the same slope. The Forestier gardens and the Mina, a Nasrid stairway dug into the rock down to the Guadalevín. Bought at the ticket office. It is the most tiring part: afterwards you have to climb back up.

14:00 · Lunch at Tragatá. Tapas and sharing dishes from the chef of Bardal, on Calle Nueva. Open every day, with fixed sittings: book the 14:00 one on its website.

16:15 · Bullring. The ring, the stables and the museum of the Real Maestranza. €10, or €12 with an audio guide. In winter it closes at 18:00.

17:15 · Alameda del Tajo. The park next to the bullring ends in a balcony over the vega. Continue along Paseo de Blas Infante to the Parador and go back to the car.

18:00 · Return.

Where and What to Eat

Tragatá is the safe choice on a Sunday: it is open at midday and in the evening every day, and ask for the salad with tuna belly and the pork-belly roll. Restaurante Pedro Romero, opposite the bullring, serves traditional Ronda cooking; confirm by phone that it is open that Sunday. Bardal, the two-star one, closes on Sundays.

With Children and Dogs

Under-14s get in free with the pass. They love the bridge and the Alameda; the Mina is better from age 8 or 9 and without a pushchair. If they are up for adventure, swap the bullring for the Cueva de la Pileta, 20 minutes away: Sunday session at 16:00, from age 5, booking by phone. With a dog, the stroll along the Alameda and the bridge is fine on a lead; Tragatá admits pets according to the Michelin Guide.