Málaga, catching some rays on Costa del Sol
The first thing that might pop in your head when you you hear “Costa del Sol holiday” is a fuzzy, lazy time club-crawling and beach-hopping from one party spot to another, in places like Marbella, Fuengirola or Torremolinos. The second thing can be - how about having a good time in Málaga for a couple of days?
Málaga (accent on first syllable, ¿vale?) is an ancient city, founded almost 3000 years ago during the peak of Phoenician civilization and expansion. Conquered and ruled by Romans, Visigoths, Byzanthium and the Moors, it dons its millenary history unostentatiously, like a former king who still wears his old purple mantle naturally, wherever he goes.
One of the oldest remains is the most obvious one, the great citadel on top of the hill, the Alcazaba (al kasbah), a 1000-years old Arabic fortress built on Monte Gibralfaro. A hike there will fill a good part of your morning, offering great panoramic views over the whole city, the port, the historic center around the cathedral, all the way to the newer neighbourhoods stretching on the slopes of Montes de Málaga.
Plaza de Toros, the bullfighting ring
Layers after layers of greenery: Pedro Luis Alonso gardens and the city hall, then Málaga park, then the Palm grove/ Palmeral next to the port
The 200-years old Farola de Málaga lighthouse and The Cube / Centre Pompidou
That’s Plaza de la Merced, Picasso was born and raised there. If you zoom and enhance, you can actually see him sitting on his bench in the square:
Zooming and enhancing unfortunately not available for Antonio Banderas (also a famous malagueño, also from this neighbourhood)
Montes de Málaga are not really high (about 1000m), but you can see snow there in some winters. Taller in the background are the peaks of Sierra de las Nieves.
At sunset we hopped on a roof top to see the old citadel from above. We got a nice view of the hill Gibralfaro, Málaga park, the marina and the lighthouse, La Farola de Málaga.
Probably no tourist can visit a Spanish town without being compelled to check out the local cathedral, which is almost always an architectural show-stopper.
Málaga cathedral, with its Gothic and Renaissance flamboyance, is indeed impressive, despite the fact that it’s missing a tower, which brought on the nickname of “La Manquita“, the one-armed.
More images in the gallery.
The Port of Málaga is a must-see. Start at the lighthouse, make frequent stops at gelaterias and enjoy the modern architecture of the Palmeral / the palm grove, then dive into the shady botanical gardens across the street and listen to the happy warble of the green monk parakeets.
The Palmeral
The modern art museum Centre Pompidou, also known as The Cube, and Zorro, also known as “impudent mutt, bring back the ball NOW“.
Mercado de las Atarazanas, a former Moorish shipyard turned into a market.
Last but not least, after you have explored all the hidden corners and twisted your neck in the narrow streets looking at houses, let’s not forget why you came here in the first place - catching some rays on the Costa del Sol, which boasts around 300 days of sunshine/year. Malagueta is the central beach in Málaga, which continues up and down on the coast with similar soft and wide sand stretches, and plenty of chiringuitos, which are the best kind of beach/tapas bars, read all about them in What to eat in Málaga, and where.
Check out the slideshow below for many more photos from Málaga.
Or just hit the photo gallery and see them larger.
