Things to Do in Gibraltar (2026)

Gibraltar · GI

Genoese Battery

Perched high on the slopes of the Rock of Gibraltar, the Genoese Battery offers one of the territory's most rewarding vantage points. While it began its life as a crucial piece of military defense, today it serves as a peaceful resting spot for hikers and history buffs alike, boasting sweeping views over the Bay of Gibraltar and the city below. The site consists of two distinct artillery positions: the Upper and Lower Genoese Batteries. Originally constructed by the Moors or Spanish, these fortifications were later expanded by the British in the 18th century. Together with nearby defenses like the Flat Bastion and South Bastion, they formed a formidable shield for Gibraltar's south front.

Gibraltar · GI

South Batteries

South Batteries is a forgotten gun position at the southern end of the Rock of Gibraltar, where the fortress's long military story can still be read in the weathered concrete of its emplacements. Far from the busy upper tourist sites, it sits at the quieter foot of the Rock, a relic of the years when Gibraltar's defences were trained on the sea lanes of the Strait. What makes this spot compelling to a visitor is its honesty: there is no ticket line or gift shop here, only the bones of a working battery. Four gun pits from its World War II life as a heavy anti-aircraft position survive in plain view, alongside older 19th-century walls, set out across two pairs of emplacements facing south and south-west. For anyone interested in Gibraltar's military heritage, South Batteries is a small but vivid chapter in the vast fortification network that wraps the Rock—a place to pause, look out toward the water, and picture the gun crews who once watched these same horizons.

Historical landmark

Gibraltar · GI

Europa Point Lighthouse

Perched on Gibraltar's southernmost tip, the Europa Point Lighthouse is the only lighthouse outside Great Britain run by Trinity House, the historic English lighthouse authority. First lit on 1 August 1841, its white tower banded with a single bold red stripe has guided ships through the Strait between the Atlantic and the Mediterranean for nearly two centuries, and it still works as a fully operational navigational aid today. After careful restoration, the tower has reopened as a heritage attraction run by the Gibraltar Heritage Trust, combining the building's engineering story with the maritime history of the Rock. Visitors can climb the spiral staircase to the Lantern Room and look across to Africa, the Bay of Gibraltar and the open Mediterranean — a panorama that makes this one of the most rewarding detours in Gibraltar.

Castle

Gibraltar · GI

Moorish Castle

The Moorish Castle dominates Gibraltar's skyline with its formidable Tower of Homage — a whitewashed fortress that has stood guard over the Rock for nearly 700 years. As the tallest Islamic-era tower in the Iberian Peninsula and the largest keep in the region, it represents one of the most significant military structures in western European history. Built by the Marinid dynasty in the early 14th century, this extraordinary fortress narrates the longest chapter of Gibraltar's recorded story — 727 years of Muslim occupation that began the Islamic conquest of Iberia. The castle complex once swept from the upper slopes of the Rock all the way to the sea, and surviving portions still trace that dramatic descent through gates, walls, and terraces.

Historical landmark

Gibraltar · GI

Prince Ferdinand's Battery

Prince Ferdinand's Battery is a former British artillery position high on the Rock of Gibraltar, now better known to visitors as the Apes' Den — the most popular spot to observe Gibraltar's famous Barbary macaques in their natural habitat. Set within the Upper Rock Nature Reserve at the base of the Charles V Wall, the site blends military history with a unique wildlife experience found nowhere else in Europe. Beyond the macaques, the battery retains traces of its martial past, including the remarkable Healy's Mortar — an 18th-century experimental weapon cut directly into the living rock. Panoramic views sweep across the Strait of Gibraltar, North Africa, and the Iberian coast, making this one of the most rewarding stops on the Upper Rock.

Finding your next place…

A little more
of Gibraltar.

Genoese Battery

South Batteries

Europa Point Lighthouse

Moorish Castle

Prince Ferdinand's Battery

Finding your next place…

A little more
of Gibraltar.

Genoese Battery

South Batteries

Europa Point Lighthouse

Moorish Castle

Prince Ferdinand's Battery