- Puerto Banús
Puerto José Banús, more commonly known as Puerto Banús is a
marina inMarbella ,Spain on theCosta del Sol . It was built in 1970 byJosé Banús , a local property developer, as a luxury marina and shopping complex for the jet-set and the super rich.Opening
The lavish opening of the complex in May 1970 was attended by, amongst others, the
Aga Khan ,film director Roman Polanski ,Playboy founderHugh Hefner , Dr. Christian Barnard (pioneer of the heart transplant), and Prince Rainier and Princess Grace ofMonaco . A youthfulJulio Iglesias was contracted to sing for the guests for the enormous sum of 125,000 pesetas. An army of 300 waiters fromSeville served 50 pounds ofbeluga caviar to the 1,700 guests.The complex
The focal point of Puerto Banus is the
marina . It has berths for 915 boats, including those of theKing of Saudi Arabia and several of the world's wealthiest individuals. Behind the harbour lie streets filled with bars, boutiques and nightclubs. Behind the main square is a vastEl Corte Inglés department store.The
marina has slips for boats and ships from 8 to 50 meters. Its surface area is 15 hectares, and its depth ranges from 3 to 6 meters within the marina, with 7.5 meters at its entrance. There is beach on each side of the marina. Many of theyacht s moored within can enjoy an unobstructed view of La Concha mountain, one of the coast's landmarks.José Banús himself was a developer with real estate holdings all along the coast. He was an intimate of
Francisco Franco 's and was called "el constructor del régimen" ("the regime's builder").Present day
Although the superstars have moved to more private destinations, visitors to "The Port" (as it is known by locals) tend to be extremely wealthy tourists from northern
Europe (especiallyUK ) and Arabs (especially fromKuwait andSaudi Arabia ) as well as holiday-making Spaniards.A three-ton statue of a rhinoceros by
Salvador Dalí was placed in Puerto Banús in 2004. Officially known as "Rinoceronte vestido con puntillas", Dalí created the sculpture in 1956 following the filming of his surrealist movie "La aventura prodigiosa de la encajera y el rinoceronte" in 1954.External links
* [http://www.puertobanusguide.com Puerto Banus site]
* [http://www.puertojosebanus.es Puerto Banús Web site]
* [http://www.puertobanus.to Puerto Banus Guide]
* [http://www.info-on-puerto-banus.com Information site]
* [http://www.englishhousemarbella.com Curso de ingles en Puerto Banus]
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