Málaga City Guide

Cathedral, Fortress, Picasso & Sea

From the one-armed Renaissance cathedral to the Museo Picasso in Picasso's birthplace, to the 2,000-year-old Roman theatre and up into the Moorish Alcazaba and the Castillo de Gibralfaro with the best panorama. Across Plaza de la Merced and elegant Calle Larios to the Atarazanas market hall, to the harbour with its colourful Pompidou cube, and to finish onto the city beach of La Malagueta.

1. Cathedral (La Manquita) – The walk begins at Málaga Cathedral, a mighty Renaissance and Baroque building. As the money ran out for the planned second tower, it was left unfinished, and the Malagueños fondly call their cathedral La Manquita, the little one-armed lady. Inside, the massive vault and the finely carved choir stalls impress; from the rooftop the view reaches over the old town's roofs.
2. Museo Picasso Málaga – Pablo Picasso was born in Málaga in 1881, and the Museo Picasso in a Renaissance palace honours him with a collection spanning all his creative phases: early studies, Cubist works, ceramics and prints, many donated by the family. Anyone visiting the birthplace of the century's great artist cannot miss this museum.
3. Roman Theatre – At the foot of the fortress lies the Roman theatre, some 2,000 years old and only rediscovered in 1951. From the semicircular stone tiers the Romans already watched the stage, and directly behind rises the Moorish Alcazaba - two eras at a glance. Entry is free, and a small visitor centre explains the history.
4. Alcazaba – The Alcazaba is Málaga's 11th-century Moorish fortress, one of the best preserved in Spain. Through interlocking gates, ramparts and courtyards you climb up, past trickling fountains, orange trees and beds in the style of the Nasrid palaces. From the upper terraces a magnificent view opens over the city, the Roman theatre and the harbour.
5. Castillo de Gibralfaro – High above the Alcazaba, the Castillo de Gibralfaro crowns the hill, once linked to it by a fortified corridor. The climb is steep, but in the heat bus 35 takes you up in comfort. At the top, the walk along the ramparts rewards with the city's best panorama: over the roofs, the cathedral, the La Malagueta bullring and the wide blue harbour to the Mediterranean.
6. Plaza de la Merced – Back in town lies Plaza de la Merced, a lively, plane-tree-lined square with cafés and an obelisk in the middle. On one corner stands the birthplace of Pablo Picasso, today a small foundation and memorial. The square is a favourite meeting point, for coffee by day and the start of a tapas round in the evening.
7. Calle Larios – Calle Marqués de Larios, or Calle Larios for short, is Málaga's elegant main shopping street: a broad pedestrian axis paved in pale marble, lined with uniform late-19th-century façades and the shops of the big brands. At Christmas an elaborate light display turns it into the city's most visited street.
8. Mercado de Atarazanas – The Mercado de Atarazanas is Málaga's grand market hall, set behind a monumental Moorish horseshoe portal - once the gate of the old shipyard, when the sea still reached this far. Inside, a huge colourful stained-glass window with city motifs glows above stalls of fish, Iberian ham, fruit and olives. At the little bars you get the freshest tapa in town.
9. Muelle Uno & Centre Pompidou – The redeveloped harbour with the Muelle Uno promenade has become a chic waterside stroll: palm trees, boutiques, restaurants and sailing yachts. Its landmark is El Cubo, the colourful glass cube of the Centre Pompidou Málaga, the Paris museum's first outpost outside France, with modern art beneath the glowing cube structure.
10. Playa de la Malagueta – To finish, the Playa de la Malagueta, the city beach right next to the harbour: dark sand, palm trees, the big Malagueta lettering in the sand and a row of chiringuitos where the famous espetos sizzle over an open fire. Here you can let the day wind down with your feet in the sand, a cold drink and a view of the Mediterranean.