Málaga is a modern yet historical city, the capital of its Province and is located in the center of Andalucia’s Costa del Sol, in Spain. It is the second-most largest city in Andalusia and the sixth-largest in Spain.  It lies 100 kilometres east of the Strait of Gibraltar and about 130 km north of Africa. Apart from its castle, Cathedral and several museums Malaga offers a large quantity of fantastic beaches where you can enjoy the sun and the great weather.

The painter and sculptor Pablo Picasso, the Hebrew poet and Jewish philosopher Solomon Ibn Gabirol and the actor Antonio Banderas were all born in Málaga.

History of Málaga

Málaga’s history spans about 2,800 years being founded in about 770 BC by the Phoenicians and was called Malaka. From the 6th century BC the city was under the hegemony of Ancient Carthage, from 218 BC Rome followed by the Visigoths, Moors and finally the Spanish Catholic Monarchs Ferdinand and Isabella. The archaeological remains from its Phoenician, Roman, Arabic and Christian past have left their mark on the city’s architecture and culture, making Malaga an absolute must on any Andalusia itinerary.

Visiting Málaga for the first time and wondering what are the top places to see in the city? In this complete guide, I share the best things to do in Málaga on the first visit. Top help you plan your trip, I have also included an interactive map and practical tips for visiting!

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This complete guide to Málaga not only tells you about the very best sights and tourist attractions for first-time visitors to the city but also provide insights into a few of our personal favorite things to do.

This is a practical guide to visiting the best places to see in Málaga and is filled with tips and info that should answer all your questions!

Catedral de Málaga

The Catedral de Málaga or Málaga Cathedral was built in the 16th century on the site of the former mosque. Of the mosque, only the Patio de los Naranjos survives, a small courtyard of orange trees. The Cathedral of Málaga was designed in the Renaissance style by Diego de Siloe. It is located in the […]

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Location: Catedral de la Encarnación de Málaga Calle Molina Lario, 9 29015 Málaga Spain | Hours: 10am-6pm Sat, 2-6pm Sun year-round, 10am-8pm Mon-Fri Apr-Jun & Oct, to 9pm Jun-Sep, to 6.30pm Nov-Mar | Price: Cathedral & Ars Málaga €6, incl roof €10 | Website | Distance: 0.10km

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Visiting Catedral de Málaga

Calle Larios

Calle Marqués de Larios, also known simply as Calle Larios, is a pedestrian and shopping street in Málaga, Spain. It is located in the historic center of the city and is the most expensive street to live on in Málaga. It is a hub of prestigious businesses, shops and hotels. The street hosts many of the […]

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Location: Calle Marqués de Larios 29005 Málaga | Hours: 24 Hours | Price: Free | Distance: 0.20km

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Visiting Calle Larios

Picasso Museum Málaga

The Museo Picasso Málaga is a museum in Málaga, Andalusia, Spain, dedicated to the artist Pablo Ruiz Picasso and gives a great overview of the artist and his work. The museum was inaugurated  by the King and Queen of Spain in 2003 and is housed in the Palacio de Buenavista. It is located in the […]

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Location: Picasso Museum Málaga Palacio de Buenavista Calle San Agustín, 8 29015 Málaga Spain | Hours: 10am-8pm Jul & Aug, to 7pm Mar-Jun, Sep & Oct, to 6pm Nov-Feb | Price: €9, incl temporary exhibition €12, free last 2hr before closing Sun | Website | Distance: 0.20km

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Visiting Picasso Museum Málaga

Church of San Agustin

The Church of San Agustin is located Calle San Agustín next to the Palacio de Buenavista, in the Historic Center of the city of Malaga, Spain. The building has three parts: church, school and monks’ residence. The church’s beautiful courtyard is next to the Museo Picasso Málaga, on one of the streets that best preserves […]

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Visiting Church of San Agustin

Athenaeum of Malaga

The Ateneo de Málaga or Athenaeum of Malaga is an artistic-literary association founded in 1966 in the city of Málaga, Spain. An athenaeum  is an institution for the promotion of literary or scientific learning. a library or reading room. Since 2002 it has been based in the old School of San Telmo de la Calle […]

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| Website | Distance: 0.20km

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Visiting Athenaeum of Malaga

Carmen Thyssen Museum

The Museo Carmen Thyssen or Carmen Thyssen Museum is an art museum in the Spanish city Málaga. It holds the most comprehensive collection of 19th-century Andalusian painting in Spain. The permanent collection consists of 230 works that brilliantly summaries 19th-century Spanish art. Most famous Spanish painters are in this collection such as  Zurbaran, Sorolla, Zuloaga, […]

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Location: Carmen Thyssen Museum Calle Compañía, 10 29008 Málaga Spain | Hours: 10am-8pm Tue-Sun | Price: €10, afternoons 2.30-4pm €6 | Website | Distance: 0.30km

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Visiting Carmen Thyssen Museum

Teatro Romano, Malaga

The Teatro Romano de Málaga or the Roman theater in Malaga are the archaeological remains of the Malacca’s ancient theater which stems from the 1st century AD. and the Empire of Augustus. It is located at the foot of the famous Alcazaba fortress. Alongside it sits the remains is a modern interpretation center which recreate […]

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Location: Teatro Romano de Málaga Calle Alcazabilla, s/n 29015 Málaga Spain | Hours: Summer: From 09.30 to 13.30 and from 17.00 to 20.00.Winter: From 09.30 to 13.30 and from 16.00 to 19.00. | Price: Free | Website | Distance: 0.30km

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Visiting Teatro Romano, Malaga

Iglesia de Santiago

The Iglesia de Santiago  or St. James Church was established in 1490 and is Málaga’s oldest church.  It was extended in 1545, taking over part of the adjoining mosque. Of the original mosque only the central door of the building and its adjoining square tower remain. The square tower was first built separated from the […]

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Location: Parroquia Santiago Apóstol Málaga Calle Granada, 78 29015 Málaga Spain | Hours: 9.00 – 13.30 and 18.00 – 20.00 | Website | Distance: 0.30km

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Visiting Iglesia de Santiago

Museo de Málaga

The Museo de Málaga is a museum located  in Málaga, Andalusia, Spain. It was formed in 1973, when the Museo Provincial de Bellas Artes or Provincial Museum of Fine Arts and the Museo Arqueológico Provincial or Provincial Archeological Museum were combined. The museum is spread out over two floors in Málaga’s neoclassical Palacio de Aduana. […]

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Location: Malaga Museum Plaza de la Aduana 29015 Málaga Spain | Hours: Tuesday-Saturday, 9am-8pm. Sunday from 9am to 3pm. Closed: Monday. | Price: Free for EU citizens, 1.50 euro for others | Website | Distance: 0.30km

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Visiting Museo de Málaga

Alcazaba, Malaga

The Alcazaba is an early 11th century palatial fortification located in Málaga, Spain. This fortress palace, whose name in Arabic means citadel, is one of the city’s historical monuments and is much visited because of its history and beauty. The History of the Alcazaba in Malaga The Alcazaba was built as a military fortress by […]

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Location: Alcazaba Calle Alcazabilla, 2 29012 Málaga Spain | Hours: Summer: 9am to 8pm. Winter: 9am to 6pm. | Price: Overall: 3,50 € Visit Alcazaba-Gibralfaro: 5,50 € Free tour every Sunday at 2 pm. | Website | Distance: 0.40km

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Visiting Alcazaba, Malaga

Mercado de Atarazanas

The Mercado Central de Atarazanas is a municipal market in the Spanish city of Malaga. It is housed in a striking 19th-century wrought iron and glass building which used to be a naval workshop for Málaga’s old port.  Although it’s an important shopping centers in the city where the people of Malaga come to buy […]

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Location: Mercado Central de Atarazanas Calle Atarazanas, 10 29005 Málaga Spain | Hours: Monday to Saturday from 8 am. to 3 pm. | Price: Free | Distance: 0.40km

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Visiting Mercado de Atarazanas

Plaza de la Merced

Plaza de la Merced is a public square in the central Málaga, Spain. It is located in the barrio La Merced in the top end of Calle Granada which is the minor continuation of major Calle Llarios at Plaza de la Constitution. The square is a popular meeting place in the evening and open air […]

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| Hours: 24 Hours | Distance: 0.40km

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Visiting Plaza de la Merced

Museo Casa Natal

The Museo Casa Natal in was the birthplace of Pablo Picasso in 1881 and is now a Picasso museum. It is Located in Málaga in Spain. Picasso lived there until 1884 and the building has been an official heritage site since 1983. It now houses works and personal belongings of the artist and his family. […]

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Location: Museo Casa Natal de Picasso Plaza de la Merced, 15 29012 Málaga Spain | Hours: 9:30 a.m. to 8:00 p.m | Price: Museo Casa Natal (Plaza de la Merced, 15): € 3 Temporary exhibition (Exhibition hall in Plaza de la Merced, 13): € 3 Combined ticket: Museum Casa Natal and temporary exhibition: € 4.FREE ENTRANCE: Sundays from 4:00 p.m. | Website | Distance: 0.50km

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Visiting Museo Casa Natal

Teatro Cervantes

The Cervantes Theater is located in the Spanish city of Malaga. It is Malaga’s oldest theater and dates from 1870 and has 1,200 seats. The  art-deco theater is the main venue for the Malaga Festival. El Teatro Cervantes is situated right in the center of the city, near Plaza de la Merced. The theatre has […]

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Location: Teatro Cervantes Calle Ramos Marín, 1 29012 Málaga Spain | Website | Distance: 0.50km

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Visiting Teatro Cervantes

Port of Málaga

The port of Málaga is an international seaport and fishing port located in the city of Málaga in southern Spain. It is the oldest continuously-operated port in Spain, founded by Phoenicians and is situated in a natural bay, which is protected by the shape of coastline. Two of the quays at the east end of […]

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Location: Paseo del Muelle Uno, 1, 29016 Málaga, Spain | Hours: 24 Hours | Price: Free | Distance: 0.60km

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Visiting Port of Málaga

Museo del Vidrio y Cristal

The Museo del Vidrio y Cristal or Glass and Crystal Museum is located in a palatial three story 18th century building in Málaga. This private collection was restored by aristocratic owner and historian Gonzalo Fernández-Prieto. The building has been in the same family of Belgian aristocrats for generations and the tour guide is often a […]

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Location: Plazuela Santísimo Cristo de la Sangre 2 | Hours: 11am-7pm Tue-Sun | Price: €6 | Website | Distance: 0.60km

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Visiting Museo del Vidrio y Cristal

Museo del Patrimonio Municipal

The Museo del Patrimonio Municipal or Municipal Heritage Museum is all about Malaga’s art and culture. The museum is often known as known as MUPAM. This museum takes you on a journey through time using artwork of various periods. Usually, it also hosts very good, temporary exhibitions about different aspects of life in Malaga. The […]

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Location: Museo del Patrimonio Municipal Paseo Reding, 1 29016 Málaga Spain | Hours: Tuesday to Sunday from 10 am. to 2 pm. and from 5 pm. to 8 pm. Summer (from June 1): Tuesday to Sunday, from 10 am. to 2 pm. and 6 pm. to 9 pm. On Mondays is closed. | Price: Free for EU citizens, 1.50 euro for others | Website | Distance: 0.70km

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Visiting Museo del Patrimonio Municipal

Malagueta Bullring

La Malagueta is a bullring at Málaga, Andalucía, Spain. The bulling, shaped like a hexadecagon, was built in the neo-Mudéjar style and opened on 11 June 1876. The bullring still hosts bullfights and it also houses a museum dedicated to famous matador Antonio Oróñez. La Malagueta hosts events during the Spanish-style bullfighting season which is […]

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Location: Paseo de Reding, 8 29016 Málaga | Hours: The bullring is open between April and September, from 10:00 - 13:00 and 18:00 - 20:00, and during the August Feria from 10:00 - 20:00. Closed at weekends. | Price: Admission: free. Entrance fee museum: € 1.80 | Distance: 0.80km

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Visiting Malagueta Bullring

Castillo de Gibralfaro

The Castillo de Gibralfaro or Gibralfaro Castle is a 8th century Moorish palace, located on Gibralfaro hill, overlooking Málaga city, in Andalucia, Spain. Like the Alcazaba this hilltop fortress looms above the city. Its main purpose was to defend the Alcazaba and the city of Malaga. Nothing much is original in the castle’s interior, but […]

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Location: Castillo Gibralfaro Camino Gibralfaro, 11 29016 Málaga Spain | Hours: 9am-8pm Apr-Sep, to 6pm Oct-Mar | Price: €3.50, incl Alcazaba €5.50 | Website | Distance: 0.90km

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Visiting Castillo de Gibralfaro

Aqueduct of San Telmo

The San Telmo aqueduct is a 18th century aqueduct, located in the Ciudad Jardín district of Malaga, Andalusia in Spain. The project was sponsored by Bishop Molina Lario in order to bring water to Malaga. It was one of the largest hydraulic works of the eighteenth century in Spain and carried water from the river […]

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Location: Acueducto San Telmo Ciudad Jardín Calle Llobregat, 14 29014 Málaga Spain | Hours: 24 Hours | Price: Free | Distance: 3.00km

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Visiting Aqueduct of San Telmo

Jardin Botanico Malaga

The Jardín Botánico Histórico La Concepción is an English landscape garden originally planted in the 1850s,  they are located 5km north of Málaga, in Spain. History of the Jardin Botanico Malaga In 1855, when Jorge Loring and Amalia Heredia, two members of Malaga’s rising bourgeois class, got married, they planned the creation of the gardens. […]

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Location: Histórico La Concepción Botanical Garden Camino del Jardín Botánico, 3 29014 Málaga Spain | Hours: 9.30am-7.30pm Tue-Sun Apr-Sep, to 4.30pm Tue-Sun Oct-Mar | Price: €5.20 | Website | Distance: 4.50km

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Visiting Jardin Botanico Malaga

El Caminito del Rey

The  Caminito del Rey or The King’s Little Path is a walkway, along the steep walls of a narrow gorge in El Chorro, near Ardales in the province of Málaga, Spain. The Caminito del Rey runs impossibly along the Desfiladero de los Gaitanes, which is an impressive three kilometres limestone canyon created by the Guadalhorce […]

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Location: Caminito del Rey El Caminito del Rey 29550 Málaga Spain | Hours: 9.30am-5pm Tue-Sun Apr-Oct, to 3pm Nov-Mar | Price: Self-guided/guided visit €10/18 | Website | Distance: 41.40km

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Visiting El Caminito del Rey

Río Chillar

The Chíllar River is a river located in the east of the Province of Málaga, Spain and enters Mediterranean Sea just west of the town of Nerja. Walking up the Chíllar River is a popular excursion from nearby towns as it provides a scenic walkway in the crystal clear water, with nice waterfalls, which is […]

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Location: Rio Chillar 29780 Nerja Málaga Spain | Hours: 24 Hours | Price: Free | Distance: 48.60km

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Visiting Río Chillar

Caves of Nerja

The Cueva de Nerja or Caves of Nerja are a series of caves located in Maro which is a village three kilometres north of Nerja in the Province of Málaga, Spain. The Nerja caves consists of two four-kilometre long, 35-kilometre wide caves. They were discovered on the 12th of January 1959 by a group of young […]

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Location: Fundación Cueva de Nerja Carr. de Bajada a Playa de Maro 29787 Málaga Spain | Hours: 10am-4.30pm Sep-Jun, to 7pm Jul & Aug | Price: adult/child €14/12 | Website | Distance: 51.40km

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Visiting Caves of Nerja