Visit Malaga

Why visit Malaga

Málaga is the capital of the Costa del Sol and one of the most rapidly transformed cultural destinations in southern Europe — the city of Pablo Picasso's birth (he was born here on 25 October 1881 and grew up in the city before his family moved north when he was nine) has, since the early 2010s, reinvented itself from a busy port and gateway-to-beach-resorts into a serious contemporary art destination. Over 35 museums now exist in the city centre alone, anchored by the brilliant Museo Picasso Málaga (in a 16th-century Andalusian palace, with 285 works donated by the artist's family), the Centre Pompidou Málaga (the only Pompidou branch outside Paris, in the colourful glass cube at the harbour), and the Carmen Thyssen Museum (a wonderful collection of 19th-century Spanish painting). Beyond the art, the dramatic Moorish Alcazaba fortress and the higher Castillo de Gibralfaro give panoramic views over the city and harbour; the Roman theatre at the foot of the Alcazaba was rediscovered in 1951. Don't miss the famous Mercado Central de Atarazanas (Moorish shipyard turned food market), a long evening of espetos (sardines grilled on bamboo skewers over wood fires) at one of the beachfront chiringuitos in El Palo or Pedregalejo, and a day trip up to the spectacular Caminito del Rey cliffside walk 60km north.