Plaza del Mar is in a privileged place in the centre of town: giving onto the Paseo Marítimo near the Fontanilla Beach, one of the best in town and fully equipped with all modern conveniences. The glazed façade of Plaza del Mar overlooks all this and gives the visitor and impressive view of the Mediterranean. Terraces, gardened islands, well lit fountains, shaded walkways, benches, pedestrian streets all go to make up the public areas of Plaza del Mar.

Marbella is one of the most important cities for tourism on the Costa del Sol and for most of the year attracts a large part of international tourism due mainly to its benign climate, the facilities it offers, the high quality of its hotels and restaurants and its highly sort after Golf Clubs (15 within the city limits). The city has seen continuous expansion and growth over the last few decades, and has adapted to a style of tourism based on the demands of its European middle to high-economic level visitors and temporary residents.

Marbella is protected by the mountains of the Sierra Blanca, which provides it with a micro climate with an average yearly temperature of 18ºC.
It occasionally rains between the months of November and March (it being negligible for the rest of the year), the wind normally blows from the east and the sun shines for more than 320 days a year. The city limits occupy 114.3 square kilometres and take up 26 kilometres of coast.

Within the city limits of Marbella there are several important population centres: Marbella, San Pedro de Alcántara, Puerto Banús, Nueva Andalucia and Las Chapas. The rest of its inhabitants being spread over many different residential areas.

The nearest towns to Marbella are Estepona, Benahavís, Istán, Ojén and Mijas.

According to the census for 2006, the official number of inhabitants is 125,519, of which more than 15 % are foreigners.