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Malaga |
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• 600.000 inhabitants, from Nerja 55 km (40 minutes)
Malaga is the capital of the Costa del Sol and also of the province of Malaga. It’s becoming more and more of a tourist’s destination by itself, for example for a short city trip or maybe a language course. It’s a place that isn’t known for its rich history, but still – especially in the Eastern part of town – you’ll find some beautiful buildings and parks, and the Picasso Museo is worth a visit in the old part of Malaga. The city has an important harbour for transport of goods but there are also a lot of cruise ships docking. Because of the university and language schools a lot of young people come to Malaga. Particularly on weekends and in the holiday period. There is a good night life here and the various city festivals are famous in the whole of Spain. The beach lies in the Eastern part of town and is mainly visited by Malaga's own inhabitants.
A nice suggestion is to visit the garden of the Alcazaba, the old fortress on the east site of the centre. It has a green garden and there is streaming water everywhere. On top of the mountain Castillo de Gibralfaro, stands a ruin of an old Moorish castle. Depending on your physical condition from the Alcazaba you can walk up the hill along a pathway that offers lovely views.
Painter Picasso was born in Malaga (although he already moved away at an early age) and this is something the city is really proud of. On the corner of the Plaza de la Merced square you’ll find the house where Picasso was born, which is now a museum dedicated to the famous painter. In 2016 Malaga will be the cultural capital of Europe. www.museopicassomalaga.org - Do you hate looking for a parking place (and due to the daily 'siesta' you have at least 4 traffic jams a day…), then you can rather park your car in the parking garage directly under Plaza de la Merced (close to the fortress, just after the tunnel). This garage is close to the centre and doesn’t cost too much.
- Along the highway – which runs on the north side of Malaga – you can find several big shopping malls. Perfect whenever you want to park close by and easily. Don’t’ forget your map, because these traffic cross point aren’t always designed logically and it is very easy to get lost even if you can see your destination from the highway. These shopping malls don’t do siesta and in these hours (between 2 and 5) it’s mostly quiet.
- Like in a lot of big cities Malaga also has the red touristic ‘Hop-on Hop-off’ busses. Our experience: nothing special and the audio head phones you can hardly hear. The bus can be useful to avoid climbing up the hill for the Castillo de Gibralfaro, but of course for this you could also take a normal bus or a cab.
- From the East side of town you can drive up the mountain quiet high which offers you spectacular view over the town. On top there are a few restaurants that provide you with a nice drop and tapas before you wend your way back down again.
- Next to the highway lies the botanical garden ‘Finca de la Concepcion’. Since 1850 all kinds of exotic plants and trees are gathered here which thrive well in the subtropical climate of Andalusia (0034 – 952 952 148, closed Mondays).
- Nice creative restaurant by Dutch owners with good prices close to Plaza de la Merced: Vino Mio.
- If you don’t feel like eating a big meal, you can eat pita bread or delicious salads in Comoloco in a side street of the centre (Calle Denis Belgrado 17) close by the restaurant of Antonio Banderas (La Posada de Antonio). Also a nice suggestion: modern salads and high cuisine tapas in ‘Lechuga’ on Plaza de la Merced.
- Next to the town hall of Malaga lies a rose garden with at least 70 different rose species (more than 10.000 piece, sorted by race and color). These Pedro Luis Alonso gardens are build in 1948 and form the biggest rose collection of southern Europe. They are a botanical study object and the gardens are recently upgraded. You'll find them close to the Alcazaba on the Alameda.
- For a nice and sportive cycling tour through the city of Malaga see: www.malagabiketours.eu
Malaga has a permanent market (inside) from Monday till Saturday and on Sunday it has a flea market.
Feria Malaga: mid of August
Taxi Malaga tel. 952 327 950
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