This municipality in the province of Malaga is situated in the Guadalhorce valley, about 30 km. away from Marbella, and its economy has always been based mainly on the extraction of marble, dolomite and sand from its quarries, although over these last few years the tourism has also played an important role in this town.

Coín’s history

There is archaeological evidence of human presence in the area since the prehistoric period, as well as Greek, Phoenician, Iberian and Roman traces; this last one represented by tools and ceramics found all over the municipality.

Coin was dominated by the Arabs from the first half of the 10th century, originally known as Hish Dakwan and was famous for the quality of its water, abundant vegetation and for its climate.

Coin, until the conquest on behalf of the Christian armies in 1485, was an important city of the Granada kingdom, with approximately 3000 inhabitants. After the conquest, the territory of Coin was distributed amongst 450 families that came down from the north of the peninsula to repopulate the area.

During the middle ages there is written proof of the possible passing through of such illustrious personalities of back then such as Christopher Columbus and Cervantes, this last one as a commissioner for the tax collection for the crown.

Due to its importance in the trade, King Carlos the 3rd, in 1765, granted the privilege of celebrating in Coin an annual fair on the 11th, 12th, 13 and 14th of August, a tradition that still remains today and that has been held every single year since then.

In 1773, Coin already had around 1800 inhabitants, 700 vegetable farms and around 34 windmills, a number that gradually increased until the 20th century, when it had a population of about 20.000 inhabitants.

Tourist attractions in Coín

Coin’s long history will provide the visitor with a large amount of tourist attractions and monuments that are certainly worth a visit, many of them religious due to church’s domination back then, and amongst them we must highlight:

Santa Maria de la Encarnacion church and convent

The construction of this religious building dates back to 1505 and was built upon a Muslim mosque. In the early 18th century they also built a place dedicated to the nuns.

San Andres church and the Charity Hospital

Built in 1520, we must highlight its cloister and the facade created during the second half of the 18th century.

San Juan Bautista church

For its construction, in 1489, it was assigned part of a Muslim castle and was finalised in the mid 16th century.

Fuensanta chapel

For its construction, in 1489, it was assigned part of a Muslim castle and was finalised in the mid-16th century.

San Fernando cemetery

This cemetery was inaugurated on the 30th of May of 1888.

Cave paintings

A 9th century suburban monastery.

Natural areas in Coín

In the Coín area we’ll be able to enjoy places like ‘Barranco Blanco’ (white gully) or the pine forest of ‘Los llanos del Nacimiento’.

Las Vistillas

In this museum situated in the southern mountainside of the valley, we’ll be able to discover the history of Coín during the 20th century.

Transport in Coín and how to get there

There are different ways of transport to get to get to Coín, one of them is the bus service:

M-220 Fuengirola-Marbella
M-221 Fuengirola-Coín
M-232 Coín-Málaga (Passing through Alhaurin el Grande and Cartama)

There are also other bus services from Coín to Guaro, Marbella, Mijas, Monda, Ojen, Ronda and Tolox.

Between 1913 and 1965 Coín was connected to Malaga by train, although this service no longer exists today.

If we decide to go by car, the route to Coín from Malaga airport passes through Alhaurin de la Torre and Cartama, from where it continues straight on to the municipality of Coín. If you need to hire a car in Malaga with GPS you can check out our prices.

On the map below you can see the recommended route from Malaga to Coín:

Tourist information about Coin:

Town council: Plaza Bermúdez de la Rubia s/n, 29100 Coín (Málaga)
Phone: +34 952 45 32 11
Official website: Ayuntamiento de Coin