Burriana

Burriana beach, or Playa Burriana, is a large, sandy beach situated at the eastern end of town and is Nerja’s premier bathing location.

Playa Burriana is a regular recipient of the prestigious ‘Blue Flag’ of excellence, awarded by the European Union, and the ‘Q for Quality’ flag issued by the Spanish authorities.

It is a modern area, almost a separate village or resort in many ways, with just about every conceivable facility available to the thousands of visitors, both Spanish and foreign, who flock here every year.

Access to the beach is either via a long, steep hill leading down from Avenida de Pescia or from a steep, winding hill down from the Parador de Nerja. Either way, the route is steep and a car or taxi is a good option. Walking down the hill is no problem, it’s the return journey, particularly at the end of the day.

The beach itself is about 800 metres long and, on average, about 40 metres wide. The sea has a moderate swell and does get fairly deep relatively quickly.

On the beach you will find pedalos for rental, areas of sunbeds for hire, beach showers, play areas for children and beach volleyball nets.

At the back of the beach is the promenade, stretching from one end to the other, lined on the one side by palm trees and on the other by the Spanish restaurants and Merenderos.

Amongst the restaurants are Merendero Moreno, Merendero Montemar, Merendero Playa, José Cruz, La Barca, Ayo’s and Merendero Rincon de Pico. These are all large establishments with indoor and outdoor areas and most with barbecue facilities.

Restaurante Ayo, run by ‘Ayo’ himself, is famous for the huge paellas cooked on an open fire. For about €6 you get a good plate of paella and can even go back for seconds.

Whilst there is much debate as to whether this is actually the ‘best’ paella in town, the overall atmosphere is certainly one of the best. Ayo’s also has regular Flamenco shows during the summer.

The promenade is the Paseo Maritimo Antonio Mercero, named after the producer of the famous TV series of the 1980′s ‘Verano Azul’ – ‘Blue Summer’ -, which was set in Nerja, and is widely credited as having put the town well and truly ‘on the map’. A commemorative sculpture, a director’s chair, is located about midway along the promenade.

Behind this row of restaurants is the main road through the area with, on the other side, predominantly foreign owned establishments, although not exclusively. There are souvenir shops, places selling beach paraphernalia, a fair sized supermarket open seven days a week and numerous bars and restaurants.

Amongst the bars and restaurants are: Cosmopolitan, Eva Gaudi, Cameleon, Dancers Cafe, Bounce, Paradise Cocktail Bar, Baker’s Bar, Rocky II, La Traiña, Nerja de Nerja, La Galeria, Cafe del Mar, OLAS, Wai Wok and Chino City….to name but a few. Many of these establishments have widescreen TV’s and show all the English football matches.