Mijas Pueblo sits 430 metres up in the hills directly above Fuengirola, white and bright, with mountain views in one direction and the Costa del Sol coastline in the other. It takes about 15 minutes by car from Fuengirola or 20 minutes by the bus that runs from the town centre. The village is touristy but genuinely pretty — narrow whitewashed streets, flower-filled balconies, craft shops, and a small bullring cut into the rock face.
The views from the clifftop mirador are excellent: the full sweep of the coast from Marbella to Málaga laid out below. The village church, the Ermita de la Virgen de la Peña, is built into a natural cave in the cliff. Beyond the tourist centre there are quieter streets and a small local quarter. Mijas is one of the better day trips from the coast — close enough for a half-day, different enough in character and temperature (noticeably cooler than the beach) to feel like a proper change of scene.