City of Malaga, capital of the Costa del Sol, at sunset.

Málaga

If you think the Costa del Sol is soulless, you clearly haven’t been to Málaga. Loaded with history and brimming with a youthful vigour that proudly acknowledges its multi-layered past, the city that gave the world Picasso has transformed itself in spectacular fashion, with half a dozen new art galleries, a radically rethought port area and a nascent art district called Soho. Not that Málaga was ever lacking in energy: the Spanish-to-the-core bar scene could put bags under the eyes of an insomniac madrileño, while the food culture encompasses both Michelin stars and tastefully tatty fish shacks.

Attractions

Must-see attractions

Museo Picasso Málaga

Málaga

This unmissable museum in the city of Picasso’s birth provides a solid overview of the great master and his work, although, surprisingly, it only came to…
Catedral de Málaga

Málaga

Málaga’s elaborate cathedral was started in the 16th century on the site of the former mosque. Of the mosque, only the Patio de los Naranjos survives, a…
Alcazaba

Málaga

No time to visit Granada’s Alhambra? Then Málaga’s Alcazaba can provide a taster. The entrance is beside the Roman theatre, from where a meandering path…
Castillo de Gibralfaro

Málaga

One remnant of Málaga’s Islamic past is the craggy ramparts of the Castillo de Gibralfaro, spectacularly located high on the hill overlooking the city…
Jardín Botánico Histórico La Concepción

Málaga

These exotic gardens were conceived in the mid-19th century by the Loring-Heredia clan, a noble family of railway builders and bankers who bequeathed the…
Mercado Atarazanas

Málaga

North of the city's main artery, the Alameda Principal, you’ll find this striking 19th-century iron-clad building incorporating the original Moorish gate…
Museo Carmen Thyssen

Málaga

Located in an aesthetically renovated 16th-century palace in the heart of the city’s former Moorish quarter, this extensive collection concentrates on…
Paseo de España

Málaga

Looking like a mini-jungle when viewed from the Gibralfaro hill, this palm-lined extension of the Alameda was created in the 1890s on land reclaimed from…