Sure, all that lying around on the beach, taking a lazy outlook on life, is all you ever dreamed of doing. But after a couple of weeks of mystic contemplation under the sun, you feel like a visit to a museum or maybe participating in a festival might be in order. Why not do everything? Málaga offers immediate access to some great beaches, short driving distances to all of the coast’s beach towns and an incredible selection of museums, cultural life and gastronomic options. For good reason, it was recently selected by the European Commission as one of the ten cities in Europe with a high standard of living.
Even though Málaga only has a population slightly over half a million inhabitants, it can still boast having 36 museums. Unmissable would be the Museo Picasso, where you can find 233 masterpieces of the most famous malagueño in history. You can follow this up with a visit to the house were Pablo was born and grew up in the Fundación Picasso. To end this artistic day, go to the Centre Pompidou Málaga, the only branch that the Parisian art centre has opened internationally and where you can browse dozens of works borrowed from the permanent collection of its French counterpart. If museums are not your thing and your Spanish is up to par, then consider a visit to one of Malaga’s seven theatres or six cinema complexes, or, better still, wait until the spring to visit Malaga’s festival of Spanish cinema. And if you have an acquired taste for suffering, why not become a fan of Málaga CF and watch the local team struggle against Real Madrid, Barcelona or other members of the Spanish La Liga?
Málaga has a total of 16 beaches dotted around the city coast, offering over 14 kilometres of high quality sand life full of amenities and chiringuitos. Beaches such as La Malagueta, San Andrés, La Misericordia, San Julián or El Palo have the highest standards and the added attraction of being located in a big urban town.
In Málaga you can visit the Castillo de Gibralfaro, a fourteenth century castle, which has become one of the city’s best known landmarks. It was built to defend the Alcazaba, which lies at its feet, an impressive palace keep from 11th century Muslim Spain. In the same area, you will find a real Roman theatre in the Teatro Romano de Málaga. Even though it was only recently restored, in the summer you can feel like a Spanish-Roman citizen of ancient times again if you attend one of the many classic drama or dance representations.
