A limestone rock at the edge of Europe

Gibraltar is a British Overseas Territory of less than seven square kilometres near the southern tip of the Iberian Peninsula, and most of it is rock: a ridge of Jurassic limestone that rises to 426 metres and drops almost sheer on its eastern side. The town is squeezed along the western shore, facing the bay and the Spanish port of Algeciras. From the southern point, on a clear day, Morocco is in plain view across the Strait.

Three centuries of British rule have left red post boxes, pubs and pounds, but the place is its own mixture. Street names are English, conversation in the cafés slips between English and Spanish in the local Llanito, and the cooking draws on Genoa, Andalusia, Malta and Morocco. Try calentita, a baked slice of chickpea flour that Gibraltarians count as their national dish.

Arriving is part of the visit. The runway lies across the neck of land that joins Gibraltar to Spain, and the walk from the terminal into town crosses it. Everything else is close at hand: Main Street and Casemates Square, the Alameda botanic gardens, the fishing-village houses of Catalan Bay and the paths of the Upper Rock all lie within a few kilometres of one another.