Gibraltar

The Rock of Gibraltar (426m, a 6.5km² British Overseas Territory at the southern tip of the Iberian Peninsula, the most strategically important piece of rock in European history) by cable car to the summit — the 360-degree panorama (Spain’s Costa del Sol to the north, the Rif Mountains of Morocco 14km to the south, the Atlantic to the west and the Mediterranean to the east) and the Barbary macaques (the only wild monkeys in Europe, approximately 300 animals in five groups on the Upper Rock).

💡 The Barbary macaques of Gibraltar (Macaca sylvanus, the only free-living non-human primates in Europe) arrived from North Africa at an unknown point in history — probably brought by Moorish settlers in the 8th century, though some evidence suggests they were present before the Moors. British legend holds that if the macaques ever leave Gibraltar, British rule will end; Winston Churchill ordered their numbers reinforced during WWII when they fell to just 7 animals.

St Michael’s Cave (a natural limestone cavern at 300m on the Rock, with stalactites and stalagmites in a chamber large enough to seat 600 people for the concerts regularly held there — the finest natural concert venue in Europe) and the Great Siege Tunnels (a network of tunnels carved by hand into the Rock by British soldiers during the Great Siege of 1779–1783, when Spain and France besieged Gibraltar for 3 years and 7 months — the longest siege in British military history).

💡 The Great Siege of Gibraltar (1779–1783) lasted 3 years, 7 months and 12 days — the longest siege in British history and one of the longest in European military history. The garrison of 5,000 under General George Eliott held off 40,000 Spanish and French troops. The tunnels bored into the Rock during the siege (originally to place cannons pointing along the north face) were the first man-made tunnels in Gibraltar; the system expanded to 55km during World War II.

Main Street (the main commercial street of Gibraltar Town — 700m of duty-free shops selling tobacco, alcohol, electronics and British goods, ending at Casemates Square, the former place of execution now the main social square) and the Moorish Castle (a Nasrid-dynasty tower and gate dating from the 14th century — the surviving remnant of the fortifications built by the Moors who held Gibraltar from 711 to 1462).

💡 Gibraltar was held by the Moors from 711 AD (the landing of Tariq ibn Ziyad — the name Gibraltar derives from Jabal al-Tariq, meaning “Mountain of Tariq”) to 1462 when it was taken by the Duke of Medina Sidonia. It was ceded to Britain by Spain in the Treaty of Utrecht (1713) after the War of the Spanish Succession, making it the first British territory acquired by treaty rather than conquest. Spain has sought its return ever since.

Boat tour from Gibraltar marina into the Strait of Gibraltar (one of the world’s great wildlife hotspots — common dolphins, bottlenose dolphins, striped dolphins and sperm whales are regularly encountered in the narrow passage where Atlantic and Mediterranean waters mix; the nutrient-rich upwelling supports one of the highest densities of cetaceans in European waters — common dolphin pods of 100–500 animals are regularly seen).

💡 The Strait of Gibraltar (14km at its narrowest, between Punta Marroquí in Spain and Punta Cires in Morocco) is the most important maritime passage in the world for cetaceans — three dolphin species, three whale species and orca pods all use the Strait for feeding and migration. The mixing of Atlantic and Mediterranean water creates a unique oceanographic environment that sustains an extraordinary concentration of marine life.

The border crossing into La Línea de la Concepción (Spain) — the only land border in Gibraltar, crossing the runway of Gibraltar Airport (aircraft have priority; the road is closed when planes land) — and Algeciras (30 min by bus, the main port for ferries to Morocco, with the finest fresh tuna (atun rojo) in Andalucía at the market restaurants near the port).

💡 Gibraltar Airport’s runway (1,777m) crosses Winston Churchill Avenue — the main road between Gibraltar and Spain — at a right angle, creating one of the world’s only airports where road traffic must stop for aircraft. The crossing is controlled by traffic lights; it operates approximately 50 times per day. The airport also functions as a military base; RAF Gibraltar operates from the northern end.

Europa Point (the southernmost tip of Gibraltar and one of the southernmost points of mainland European territory, with the Ibrahim-al-Ibrahim Mosque — the only mosque on British sovereign territory, funded by King Fahd of Saudi Arabia and opened in 1997 — the Trinity Lighthouse and on clear days the clear view of Morocco 14km across the Strait).

💡 The Ibrahim-al-Ibrahim Mosque at Europa Point (funded by Saudi Arabia’s King Fahd, opened in 1997, the largest mosque on the Iberian Peninsula in terms of its visible scale from the Strait) was controversial when built — a Saudi-funded Islamic building on British sovereign territory within sight of Spain. It serves Gibraltar’s Muslim community of approximately 4,000 (12% of the population, mostly of Moroccan descent).

30 min bus to Tarifa (the southernmost point of continental Europe — the Cape Trafalgar offshore, site of Nelson’s final battle in 1805, where the Spanish and French fleet was destroyed — and Tarifa itself: the wind and kite-surfing capital of Europe, a medieval walled town with the finest windsurfing beach in the world at Playa de los Lances). Fly from Gibraltar (GIB) or Malaga (AGP).

💡 The Battle of Trafalgar (21 October 1805, fought off Cape Trafalgar 45km northwest of Gibraltar) was the most decisive naval engagement since Actium — Nelson’s 27 ships defeated the combined Franco-Spanish fleet of 33 ships without losing a single vessel, ending Napoleon’s invasion plans for England and establishing British naval supremacy for the next 100 years. Nelson was killed at the moment of victory by a French sharpshooter.