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However you arrive into Gibraltar, by air, foot, car or sea, you will very soon experience its intricate layers of history all around you.

Gibraltar in 48 hours

Zoe
2005-12-15 21:20:49

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was built on the original site of the chief mosque but was demolished during the Great Siege. It was later rebuilt as a Cathedral. Some of the early structures can still be seen.

Gibraltar’s museum situated on the original site of a Moorish bathhouse is a short walk from Main Street.

13.00
After a morning of walking around the city, head towards Irish Town, a sub-district of Main Street and named over two hundred years ago when Gibraltar was split into differing quarters. Enjoy lunch with a historical flavour, at The House of Sacarello’s, Gibraltar’s oldest coffee house restaurant.

Founded in 1888 by Bartholomew Sacarello, a Genoese immigrant and grandfather of the current owners, Sacarello's roasts its own coffee beans and supplies most of Gibraltar's cafés and hotels with its delicious blended coffees. A wide variety of snacks, sandwiches, salads and fresh homemade cakes are on offer in the cosy coffee shop.

14.30

Main Street is recognised today as Gibraltar’s main commercial and shopping district. After a morning of skirting around its intricate lanes and streets you may now be tempted to stop and look at some of the VAT free bargains to be had. Gibraltar offers exceptional value added shopping. Popular purchases include, cosmetics, perfumery, tobacco, spirits, electronic goods and jewellery. It’s the perfect pre-Christmas weekend shoppers’ destination with everything in close proximity.

16.00

Once you’ve walked your feet off in Main Street, there’s one more stroll worth taking, up towards the Rock Hotel. If you’re too tired or laden down with shopping bags jump into a taxi. Passing the Trafalgar Cemetery the taxi ride will take 5 minutes or at a slow walk 20 minutes.

The Rock Hotel built in 1932 by the Marquis of Bute is the epitome of colonial Britain. Its Wisteria Terrace with its views across the Bay is the perfect spot to take a full English tea with cucumber sandwiches, scones and teacakes. As you look out across the Bay you may catch a glimpse of the Alameda gardens, Gibraltar’s Botanical gardens designed in 1815 and linked to the Royal Botanical Gardens at Kew.

20.00

Dinner this evening is on the east side of the Rock at Catalan Bay, evolved from a Genoese fishing village whose original inhabitants famously had red hair. La Mamela is an unassuming specialist fish restaurant with superb fish and a vibrant atmosphere you would expect from a favourite locals haunt.

Just further along Catalan Bay is the Caleta Hotel whose in-house Italian restaurant offers musical entertainment at certain times of the year and a welcoming lobby bar for your last nightcap in Gibraltar.

As you retire for your last night, you’ll be wishing you had one day more, there’s still much to explore.

We hope you come back and visit us again soon.