Ronda´s most celebrated festival is the annual Feria Goyesca de Pedro Romero, which takes place during the first week of September every year. Whatever you think of bullfighting there is no doubt that it still holds a special place in the hearts of Ronda residents.

The Feria de Pedro Romero history
Ronda´s most important fair has its origins at the city quarter of San Francisco. For more than a hundred years, the fair took place on September 8th, 9th and 10th, and was organised by the neighbours of the Almocabar Gate, the Laurel’s Castle and the Convent of San Francisco.  On August, 25th, 1881, the fair moved to the market quarter, where the May fair also took place.
Before the late 1800´s, the May Fair was still the most important celebration in Ronda, but the September fair grew in stature and importance over the following years. When the fair became known as the Feria de Pedro Romero, it also became the most important annual event to be held in Ronda.

Bullfight Ronda
The Feria de Pedro Romero takes place during the first week of September, and the main attraction of this fiesta is the bullfight, which takes place on the first Saturday of the month in the Real Maestranza Bullring. Tickets are hard to come by, and are often drawn out on a lottery-style basis a week or two before the events.

Situated only one hour´s drive from Marbella and Puerto Banus, Ronda is one of the must-see towns in Andalucia, with its magnificent gorge with stunning views over the local countryside.  Ronda is split by the old bridge, and offers visitors a real insight into the days gone by in rural Andalucia.
Hotel Molino del Puente Ronda

If you are planning to stay for a few days, book into the nearby Hotel Molino del Puente, which is ten minutes past Ronda on the Seville Road, and offers visitors a rural setting and a rustic family run hotel with excellent food and facilities.  If you want to stay in Ronda itself, try the Ronda Parador which boasts superb views over the gorge, and offers visitors wonderful food and a perfect Andalucian ambience.

Other things to see and do in Ronda, if bullfighting is not your thing, is a tour of the wonderful tapas bars including the unbeatable La Venencia which is situated on a side street off the main church square.  If you normally stay in Marbella or Puerto Banus, you will find the prices for food and drink in Ronda incredibly cheap.  We shared tortilla española, boquerones and octopus salad with fresh bread and four beers at Venencia for just €8.  Try doing that in Marbella!

Museo de Los Bandaleros Ronda
The Bandit Museum is also well worth a visit and shows visitors how the highwaymen made a living robbing aristocrats in the Ronda hills until the last century.  Known as Museo Los Bandaleros, this is one of Ronda´s most popular attractions. The Ronda Museum , the Museo de los Bandoleros, shows the history and lives of the infamous bandits  who once terrorised the area.  Pictures, personal documents and paintings are displayed to give visitors an insight into the folk heroes and highwaymen who ran the Ronda region. Romantic figures to some, but murderous bandits to others.   Whatever your views on the Ronda bandits may be, you will find the facts at the Museo de los Bandaleros in Ronda.  And if you are still in town later in the evening, try the superb Tragabuches Restaurant, named after the bandit – close to the Parador.

Back to the feria. Before the bullfight there is a procession of horse drawn carriages through the streets of Ronda with everyone dressed in 18th century Goyesque costumes. The matadors themselves also wear this traditional attire.

Goyesque Costumes
The tradition of dressing in these 18th century costumes dates from the times of the celebrated Spanish painter Francisco de Goya.  Local bullfighting hero Antonio Ordóñez arranged the first Goyesque festival in 1954 in honour of the 200th anniversary of Pedro Romero, who is generally considered the founder of modern bullfighting. Goya painted a famous portrait of Pedro Romero which is currently on display at the Kimbell Art Foundation in Texas. You can also buy old black and white photos of Antonio Ordóñez for sale in gift shops in Ronda, where he is standing at the bullring with his old friend, Ernest Hemingway.

The tradition of dressing in Goyesque bullfighting costumes is arranged nowadays by Francisco Rivera Ordoñez, the grandson of Antonio Ordoñez.  The Ronda festival attracts visitors from all over the world, so if you are looking to stay in or around the town, book accommodation as early as possible.

For confirmation of dates of the bullfights and matadors, check out http://www.turismoderonda.es/fiestas/eng/feria.htm and for tickets try calling the ticket office in Ronda on (+34) 952 876967.