On this post I will highlight the places we visited and the best things to see and best things to do in Gibraltar, Day 1.
I’ve always wanted to visit Gibraltar but never had the opportunity before. So, when planning our trip to the south of Spain, I decided to include a visit to Gibraltar as well. So keep reading to discover the best of Gibraltar and read my post Gibraltar Day 2 too.
If you are planning a trip to the south of Spain you can include Gibraltar as well. If you and prefer to have everything organised by a tour, you should check the tours Tourradar offers to many places in Spain including Gibraltar.
Tourradar has tours that suits every length of time and budgets and if you use my links to book your trip and enter code RoseG50 you will get a discount on your booking.
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We flew from the UK to Gibraltar and spent two days there before starting our trip in Spain.
After reading comments from other travellers, I followed their advice and booked a hotel in Spain. It seemed to be very easy to cross from one side to the other and the difference in price was substantial. As we were going to stay only two nights, this made sense, but I would not advise it if you were staying longer.
We booked Ohtels Campo de Gibraltar in La Linea de la Concepción, the town in Spain that borders with Gibraltar. The airport is just next to the border, so it was quite easy to cross to the other side. The walk to the hotel is only about a 15 minutes’ walk.
The hotel was OK but quite large, one of those that accommodates a lot of excursions, and it was quite full. In contrast, they gave us a nice room facing the Rock of Gibraltar, with sea views.
We were very happy with our room, but the hotel was very busy and there was only one lift working to serve all the guests. It took ages to arrive and once it did, it would stop at every floor before taking you up or down.
We arrived there at lunch time, and they allowed us to do an early check-in, so after leaving our suitcases in the room, we went out to explore Gibraltar.
Below is a map of the places we went to on the first day:
After crossing the border again, we took bus no. 10 (you can buy a day pass directly with the driver, to use the bus as many times as you need) to the centre of town. We got off in Casemates Square and looked for a place for lunch.
We chose Café Solo on the square and we had a nice lunch there. After lunch we started exploring a bit, but before going into that, let me tell a few facts about Gibraltar.
A LITTLE BIT ABOUT GIBRALTAR
Gibraltar is a British Overseas Territory at the south of the Iberian Peninsula. It is a small territory mainly covered by the Rock of Gibraltar, that dominates the landscape. The city sprawls at the bottom of the rock where about 33,000 Gibraltarians live. It is a little piece of the UK in the sun.
While visiting we learned some facts from our guide and some from Wikipedia (check it out for more detailed facts).
Gibraltar was captured by the Anglo-Dutch forces in 1704 and it was given to Great Britain in perpetuity under the Treaty of Utrecht in 1713.
Spain tried to claim it back on many occasions, but proposals were rejected by Gibraltarians preferring to maintain their sovereignty.
The small territory thrives on tourism, online gambling, financial services, and bunkering. Since Brexit, it was also removed from the European union, even though 96% of Gibraltarians voted to remain.
However, there are negotiations going on for it to participate in the Schengen Agreement to facilitate the movement between Gibraltar and Spain.
According to our guide, Stephen, life in Gibraltar is far better than in the mother land and many other countries. This fact attracts many ex-pats to start a new life there, being himself one of them.
Life is better, starting with the Mediterranean climate that is cooler and dryer in the summer with rain occurring mainly in winter, making the best time to visit Gibraltar at summer time.
Unemployment rate is very low and most of the labour force are Spanish nationals that cross the border every day to work there.
There is a very favourable corporation tax of 10% to companies that want to establish themselves in the city. This attracted many online gaming operators and chain stores from the UK and Europe. Special tax treatment to international business attracted many financial institutions to also establish themselves there.
This territory is also attractive for shopping as goods and services are free from VAT but may incur some local taxes.
Health Care and treatment is free to all Gibraltarians and British Citizens. Dental treatment and prescribed medicines are free for Gibraltarians students, pensioners and the disabled. Medical treatment is very good and there are no long waiting lists to see a specialist. Sometimes covering even visits to a consultant in Spain or the UK.
Education follows the English Model and there are state schools, private schools, colleges, and a university. Gibraltarian students receive grants from the government to pay for university tuition fees to study there or in the UK.
Due to the small area of the territory and the high demand for houses, real state is very expensive. Rents are higher than in the UK and many people prefer to live in Spain where the rents are more affordable.
However, this will not make you a resident, so not sure how it affects the rights of British ex-pats in Gibraltar or their status in Spain after Brexit. This is something to investigate further if you are thinking about re-locating to Gibraltar.
VISITING GIBRALTAR
Getting back to our trip to Gibraltar, after lunch we looked around the square, which is full of restaurants and cafés, then headed to the Main Street where all the shops are.
We followed the street and passed in front of Cathedral of St Mary the Crowned (where a wedding was taking place) and Gibraltar’s Convent (Governor’s Office).
We continued until the Cable Car Station and afterwards made our way back to Casemates Square via the same street. It was a Saturday afternoon, and the shops were busy; the streets were bustling with activity.
However, we thought it was better to take the bus back to the border and back to our hotel, for some rest. We were a bit tired with the early flight and everything, so preferred to get some rest. If you have the energy and time left on your day, try this tour that seems to be top!
At night we returned to Gibraltar as we had a reservation for dinner at 8 pm at Aquaterra Restaurant (another restaurant on Casemates Square).
At this time the square was very empty, and all the people seemed to have disappeared. We sat on a table outside and besides us there was only another couple, with no customers inside the restaurant.
Other restaurants were also empty, and we were wondering why that was the case on a Saturday evening. We asked the waiter about it, and he explained that Saturdays and Sundays were never busy and the busiest day of the week for them was Friday.
The reason was that many people returned to Spain or went to Spain to spend the weekend on Spanish beaches. Also, on that weekend, they did not have any cruises moored at the port to boost the numbers of visitors.
We were very surprised but started to understand the lifestyles of the Gibraltarians and when is the best days of the week to visit Gibraltar: the weekend.
Dinner was very good, food and wine very much appreciated. We took a taxi to the border as we didn’t feel like taking the bus after finishing a full bottle of red wine. Another crossing to Spain and soon we were back to the hotel.
Next day we would meet Steve, our guide, at the top of the Rock and on next post I will tell all about the best way to see the Rock of Gibraltar.
Here is a video from The Travelling Surveyor Instagram account showing various images from Gibraltar.
I hope this post helps you to plan your own itinerary and will help you to see what is possible to fit in one day in Gibraltar.
HOW TO MAKE THE MOST OF YOUR TRIP
Below you will find a list of what to visit, where to stay and where to eat in Gibraltar, Day 1. I classified each place as follows:
BOLD – Visited, tried and recommended
NOT BOLD – Not visited or tried, but planning to visit or try and heard very good reviews
RED – Visited and tried but do not recommend, avoid or be cautious
*** – Excellent
** – Good
* – OK
£££ – Expensive
££ – Fair and affordable
£ – Cheap
WHAT TO SEE
1 – Casemates Square – ***
2 – Main Street – ***
3 – Cathedral St Mary the Crowned – ***
4 – Gibraltar Botanic Gardens – ***
5 – Governor’s Office and the Gibraltar National Museum
WHERE TO STAY
1 – The Eliott Hotel – 4* – £££
2 – Rock Hotel – 4* – £££
3 – E1 Suites and Spa Aparthotel – 4* – £££
4 – Boat Haus – Mediterranean Experience – La Linea de la Concepción – ££
5 – Ohtels Campo de Gibraltar– 4* – La Linea de la Concepción – ££
If you prefer to look for your own accommodation search and book via the below widget:
WHERE TO EAT
1 – Cafe Solo – *** – ££
2 – Aquaterra – *** – ££
3 – Biancas Bar and Restaurant – £££
4 – La Tapilla Sixtina – ££
5 – Gauchos – £££
If you tried any of my recommendations above, please send me a message and tell me about your experience good or bad, so I can update the list accordingly. Thanks!
If you enjoyed reading this post you might also like to read:
On this trip to Spain:
1 – Experiencing Gibraltar -Day 1
2 – Experiencing Gibraltar – Day 2
3 – Cádiz, The Jewel of Andalusia, Spain – How to spend Day 1
4 – Cádiz, The Jewel of Andalusia, Spain – How to spend Day 2
5 – How to Explore Jerez de la Frontera and Seville – Day 1
6 – Seville – Day 2
7 – Córdoba
8 – Granada – Day 1
9 – Granada – Day 2
10 – Setenil de las Bodegas and Ronda
11 – Marbella
12 – Gibraltar – Day 3
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