Málaga is a laid back beach town. It was nice to end our trip in this town and spend the week not only exploring Málaga but also doing a couple day trips. Since we arrived in the morning, we checked into our hotel Barcelo Málaga. The hotel was conveniently located for what we wanted to do as part of a shopping centre and train station. There wasn’t direct train from Granada and had to take a bus to Málaga. I was expecting to take a cab from the bus station to the hotel when we arrived but we were pleasantly surprised to find that the bus station was right next to the train station. After freshening up, we left to spend the afternoon in the city of Málaga.
Malaga
The old historic center of Málaga reaches the harbour to the south and is surrounded by mountains to the north, the Montes de Málaga, lying in the southern base of the Axarquía hills, and two rivers, the Guadalmedina – the historic center is located on its left bank – and the Guadalhorce, which flows west of the city into the Mediterranean.
The walk from the hotel to the historic centre was about 15 minutes and it definitely got a little busier as we got closer. Our first stop was the Alcazaba, the lower fortress and royal residence to the Moorish Castle of Gibralfaro. Both were built during the 11th century and extended during the 13th and 14th centuries. We decided only to explore the Alcazaba. The Alcazaba stands on a hill within the city and overlooks the sea and city. It originally was built to defend the city from pirates but later was repurposed and rebuilt by the Hammudid dynasty.
Fortress
We then headed over to the cathedral and episcopal palace. Although we didn’t go inside either of the buildings, we admired the both from the outside. In the little square occupying the space between the cathedral and palace had a number of cafes which were quite busy. I learned later that both buildings were planned with Renaissance architectural ideals but there was a shortfall of building funds and they were finished in Baroque style.
Bishop’s Palace
Cathedral’s Front Entrance
As Málaga was the birth place of Picasso, we visited the Museo Picasso. It’s located in the Buenavista Palace and has 285 works donated by members of Picasso’s family. The building itself was neat with a central square with rooms centred around it on two floors. The entrance fee was minimal and we enjoyed our leisurely stroll through the building looking at Picasso’s art.
Part of the Cathedral’s Gardens
Malaga’s Pier
Interspersed with the day trips we had planned and the walks around Málaga, we explored the port and the beach area and some of the pedestrian shopping areas. The port was so pretty and it a quieter part of the city. We spent some time one afternoon just walking around this area before heading back to the hotel for a siesta. For dinner, we came back to the port area again and it started to liven up with a lot of people coming into a couple of the restaurants. We also spent an evening along the beach at the other end of the city. We stopped into one of the restaurants for some seafood. Both on the walk to the beach and back, a lot of families were out with children playing and young people enjoying the beach.
Pedestrian Shopping Area
The pedestrian shopping area was so neat to see. We stopped in the huge Nespresso store to look around before we stopped in a few other shops. There were a number of jewelry stores, clothing stores, and cafes. We spent some time walking through the little side streets exploring what was around this little area of Málaga.
