Gibraltar cityGibraltar

The Rock has been used for a very long time. Neanderthal remains found in caves here are among the last known in Europe, and later peoples used it as a landmark for sailors passing the Strait. In 711 a Muslim army under Tariq ibn Ziyad crossed from Africa and landed here; the name Gibraltar comes from the Arabic Jabal Tariq, the mountain of Tariq.

The Moors held the Rock for most of the following seven centuries, with a short gap, and built a castle and fortifications, and the Moorish baths in the museum date from this period. Spain took Gibraltar in 1462 and held it until 1704, when an Anglo-Dutch force captured it during the War of the Spanish Succession. Spain formally ceded it to Britain in the Treaty of Utrecht in 1713.

The most famous event in Gibraltar's history is the Great Siege of 1779 to 1783, when Spain and France besieged the Rock for almost four years. The British garrison dug tunnels into the limestone to place guns high above the attackers, and the tunnels that remain today are among the top visitor sights. In the Second World War civilians were evacuated and the Rock was extended with more tunnels, hospitals and stores.

In the 20th century the frontier became a political flashpoint. Spain closed the border in 1969 and only fully reopened it in 1985. In 2002 residents rejected in a referendum a plan for shared sovereignty, and after the UK left the European Union in 2016 the territory's relationship with the EU and Spain has been under negotiation, which affects border checks. Because of this, entry and frontier arrangements can change, and it is worth checking current rules before you go.

For visitors, the practical link between this history and today is the walls. Much of what looks like an old town wall along the waterfront and around the north end belongs to the fortifications built and rebuilt across five centuries, and the Southport Gates at the south end of Main Street are among the oldest surviving entrances. Walking the length of Main Street is a short lesson in the layers of the story.

The Rock of Gibraltar is a limestone ridge about 426 metres high and about five kilometres long, with a steep east face and gentler slopes on the west where the town sits. The limestone is full of caves, some of which were inhabited by prehistoric people, and St Michael's Cave is now used as a show cave.

Most of the upper part is the Upper Rock Nature Reserve, which covers around a third of the territory and has paths, viewpoints, old fortifications and the Great Siege Tunnels. Vegetation is Mediterranean scrub, with wild olive and other native plants, and the reserve is a stopover for large numbers of migrating birds crossing the Strait between Europe and Africa, especially in spring and autumn.

The Barbary macaques, which are tailless monkeys, are the best known residents. They are the only wild monkeys in Europe, and they live in troops around the Upper Rock. They are wild animals, they are used to people and they will steal food and bags. Do not feed or touch them, keep food closed, and if one climbs on you, stay calm and do not try to pull it off.

The Strait itself is busy with ships, dolphins and whales, and boat trips from the marina look for common dolphins and others. The weather on the Rock is local: an easterly wind called the Levanter brings a cloud that sits on the summit and can close the cable car and hide the view while the town below stays sunny.

For visitors, the Upper Rock is a half-day or full day. Go early, wear shoes with grip, carry water, and check the wind before you set out.

A practical note on timing: the macaques are most active in the morning and near the top cable-car station, the Apes' Den and the Great Siege Tunnels, and they are less of a nuisance if you carry nothing in your hands. Leave plastic bags and open snacks in a closed rucksack, and keep sunglasses and phones in an inside pocket while you walk between viewpoints.

The town is built around one long street, Main Street, which runs from Casemates Square at the north end to the Southport Gates at the south. It is pedestrian for most of its length and lined with shops, pubs, cafés and old buildings. Almost every sight is within a ten- to twenty-minute walk of it.

Casemates Square, at the north end, was originally a military parade ground and barracks and is now the main evening square with restaurants and bars. From here Main Street runs south past John Mackintosh Square, where the Gibraltar Museum and civic buildings sit, past the Cathedral of St Mary the Crowned, and through the Southport Gates to the old cemetery and the road to the south.

The character of the town is British with Mediterranean touches: red pillar boxes, pubs and English shop names next to tapas, Spanish signs and the Spanish-English speech of Llanito. Fish and chips and Sunday roast share the same street as calentita and rosto.

The busiest days are cruise-ship days, when thousands of passengers arrive in the morning and Main Street and the cable car queues fill up by mid-morning. The best response is to do the popular things early or late, and to use the museum, a pub or a café at midday. The quiet times are early morning, after 17:00 and Sunday afternoons, when many shops are closed.

Ocean Village, on the western waterfront, is more modern: a marina with restaurants, a casino and apartments, close to the airport and the frontier. The Alameda Gardens, at the south-west, are the shady green end of town and start the walk or ride up the Rock.

Small details make the town feel local: red pillar boxes, English shopfront lettering next to Spanish, uniformed police in British-style helmets, and shopkeepers who switch language mid-sentence. If you want a quiet hour, go to the Alameda Gardens, or sit in the cathedral, or walk south of the museum where the shops thin out and the street settles into a residential quiet.

Gibraltar has about thirty-four thousand residents. The population is a mix that developed after 1704, when most of the Spanish inhabitants left and were replaced over time by settlers from Genoa, Malta, Portugal, Spain, Britain, the Jewish communities of North Africa and later Indian traders. That history is why the surnames and the food are so varied.

English is the official language and used in government, shops and schools. Daily speech is often Llanito, a lively mix of Andalusian Spanish and English, with words from Genoese and Hebrew. Locals switch between languages mid-sentence, and Spanish is widely understood.

Food combines British staples with Mediterranean dishes. Fish and chips and pub lunches are everywhere. Calentita, a baked pie of chickpea flour, is the national dish and the subject of an annual food festival in Casemates Square. Rosto is a pasta dish with a rich meat sauce, and pastelitos and pastel de bacalao are small savoury pies. Several communities have their own dishes, including Indian and Moroccan.

National Day on 10 September marks the 1967 referendum, when residents voted overwhelmingly to remain British, and the town is covered in red and white flags. The Christmas lights, the Calentita festival and the Gibraltar Music Festival are other fixed events.

Gibraltarians are proud, direct and friendly. Political questions about Spain or sovereignty are sensitive, and it is best to let locals raise them.

A few phrases help. Hello and thank you work in either English or Spanish, and locals appreciate a try at both. Prices are in pounds, though euros are often accepted at the shop's own rate. Sunday shopping is limited and some restaurants close after lunch, so check before you plan a Sunday dinner, and book ahead on National Day and around the festival weekends.

Family life is central: Sunday lunches, church festivals and Christmas are big occasions, and many restaurants fill with local families at weekends, which is a good sign of where to eat.

Three things decide whether a day in Gibraltar works: the frontier with Spain, the runway crossing and the wind. None of them is dangerous, but each can cost you an hour.

The land frontier is at the north end of the territory. Crossing on foot is normally quick when there are no queues and can take over an hour at peak times such as summer weekends and holiday returns. Gibraltar sets its own entry rules and is outside the Schengen area, so you need a valid passport, and you should check current rules for your nationality. Arrangements have been under negotiation since the UK left the EU, so check the latest news and government advice before you go.

The airport runway also crosses the main road, Winston Churchill Avenue, the way most people walk or drive from the frontier to town. Barriers close when an aircraft is about to land or take off, and there can be a wait of ten minutes or more. Do not try to cross while the barrier is closed. If you have a flight or a train from La Línea, allow extra time.

Wind is the third. The Levanter, an easterly wind, brings cloud that sits on the Rock and can close the cable car, and strong wind makes the Upper Rock unpleasant. Check the forecast and the operator's status page on the morning of your visit, and keep a backup plan such as the museum or the gardens.

Duty-free shopping brings a fourth rule: know the allowance for spirits, tobacco and other goods when crossing into Spain, keep receipts, and expect spot checks. If you are day-tripping into Spain, allow at least an hour each way for the frontier.

A simple plan reduces the risk from all of these. Book the first flight or the earliest cable-car slot, keep your passport in an accessible pocket, allow an extra hour on either side of a Spain day trip and hold one flexible morning in a three-day stay. If the wind shuts the cable car, the museum, the gardens and a long lunch are good replacements that cost nothing to reorganise.