Matured by the high spending of tourists, the city, which is still recovering from the regional recession despite having a high number of tourists coming in by road, rail, planes and cruise ships daily has a lot to offer. The new tourists are keeping the restaurants and bars running but retailers are still finding it difficult to see good sales. Unlike most Spanish cities, Malaga does not wind down in the winter months as the weather remains sunny with cool winds coming in from the long beautiful coastline.
Local designer boutiques, gastrobars and cool cafés can be found alongside the traditional taverns in the winding lanes in the heart of the old city, while the new developed waterfront and marina has been developed with a long line of bars, restaurants and shops. Although there is plenty to see and do, Malaga is really a place to relax and just enjoy the laidback Mediterranean life that many English and Germans retires have been doing in the past 20 years. Malaga is well known for its superb wines and of course fine dining. Food is easy and caters to all taste and religious needs. Most of the locals speak good English and they are super friendly as they live of the tourist spending power.
Apart from the wine and food, there are dozens of interesting places to visit. Malaga’s cathedral at the plaza de la cathedral is one of the most prominent buildings of the city. The construction of the limestone building started in 1528 by Pedro Lopez and Diego Siloe. Built on the place of a Malaga mosque, construction had been interrupted various times and finally stopped in 1783 due to lack of money. The cathedral of Malaga is amongst the cathedrals of Seville, Granada and Jaen.
The old part of town lies west of the cathedral. With a street map which you can get for free from the airport tourists counter or your hotel you will easily find your way around. Visit the central market if you can as the market hall with its impressive marble entrance door, displays some of what the city has to offer. You will find all kinds of seafood, beautiful flowers and local produce. Outside the market hall, you will find many bars and restaurants.
One of the most famous sons Malaga is the artist, Pablo Picasso. He actually only spent the first 14 years of his life in the city before his family moved to Barcelona. The city has built a museum in the heart of the city dedicated to Picasso, where many of the artist’s works were donated by his daughter-in-law. The house where he lived during his years in Malaga is also a popular tourist attraction, now a museum and headquarters of the Picasso Foundation. It is situated facing Plaza de la Merced, a relaxing place to go and have an afternoon coffee before going to the nearby Cervantes Theatre or Cathedral. You still find his birth house at the Plaza de la Merced 15. The building is home to the Foundation Picasso. The larger and more famous Picasso museum can be found at the Palacio de Buenavista at Calle San Augustin.
One of the nicest areas is the Harbour Particularly with a lovely park alongside; it allows you to relax from the busy city. The paseo dl Parque pathway leads you from the plaza de marina to the bullfighting arena. It lies just on the feet of the impressive castle de Alcazaba, which reins over the city, make sure you visit this castle. The road that leads to the top is long and winding, if you feel like walking it will certainly help keep you fit, otherwise there are buses that run from the town centre or you can take one of Malaga’s abundance of taxis. Once at the summit you will have a superb vista of the City including the bullring, the Port and the beaches surrounding the city.
There are plenty of flights from London, Amsterdam and Paris to Malaga. It is about 2 plus hours from all these major cities. From the airport, taxis are plentiful and the public bus or train service is great where it is just 15-20 minutes from the city. There is a useful hop-on-hop-off Malaga Tour bus which stops at all points of interest, including the El Corte Inglés shopping centre. The service runs every 30 minutes and costs EURO 17 for an all day ticket. Malaga caters for couples more than families. So is it time for your visit to Malaga?
