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…
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…
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…
Museo Ruso de Málaga
Málaga
Housed in a former tobacco factory, this offshoot of St Petersburg's Russian State Museum is dedicated to Russian art from the 16th to 20th centuries. It…
MAUS
Málaga
The antithesis of Málaga's prestigious world-class art museums is refreshingly down-to-earth MAUS, a grassroots movement born out of an influx of street…
Museo Automovilístico Málaga
Málaga
Fashion and old cars might seem like weird bedfellows, but they’re an inspired combo when viewed through the prism of this slightly out-of-the-box museum…