One day in MálagaPicasso, old stones and secrets
Start early with “The best of Málaga: from Picasso to the lighthouse”: the Picasso Museum opens the morning, the cathedral and the Alcazaba follow, and the Paseo del Parque takes you down in the shade to the Pompidou cube and La Farola. Walk back along Muelle Uno to Atarazanas Market for a lunch of pescaíto frito. In the afternoon, “Málaga in layers” starts at the Roman Theatre and heads down through Plaza de la Constitución and Calle Larios; if you went inside the Alcazaba earlier, the outside will do now. At dusk, “Hidden Málaga” runs from the English Cemetery to La Manquita; for dinner, head up to El Pimpi, below the Alcazaba, and order an ice-cold ajoblanco.
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Morning
The best of Málaga: from Picasso to the lighthouse
- Museo Picasso MálagaPicasso offered works to his home city in 1953; it took half a century for the museum to become a reality.
- Málaga CathedralA Renaissance giant built over the great mosque, with some of the tallest naves in Spain.
- The AlcazabaCourtyards with fountains, Andalusi arches and the best view of the port, ten minutes from the cathedral.
- Paseo del Parque and City HallWhere palm trees and giant fig trees grow today, there was sea until the late 19th century.
- El Cubo of the Centre PompidouA coloured glass cube on the quay announces the first Pompidou outpost outside France.
- La Farola lighthouseOne of the few lighthouses in Spain with a feminine name has watched over the port since 1817.
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Lunch
Try Pescaíto frito at Mercado Central de Atarazanas. Calle Atarazanas, 10
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Afternoon
Málaga in layers: from Malaka to Calle Larios
- Roman TheatreIt lay buried under a government building until 1951, and today its seats face the street once again.
- The AlcazabaThe fortress that held out through the long siege of 1487 and watched the Catholic Monarchs enter Málaga.
- Customs House Palace (Palacio de la Aduana)It was designed to tax trade with the Americas and ended up as a tobacco factory, a civil government office and a museum.
- Plaza de la ConstituciónIts name has changed with every regime, but since the 15th century this is where Málaga comes together.
- Calle LariosA street cut in one go through the Moorish maze, paid for by a family of industrialists who wanted a modern Málaga.
- Atarazanas MarketThe gateway of a Nasrid shipyard, which once opened onto the sea, is now the entrance to the city's central market.
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Early evening
Hidden Málaga: traps, prisoners and a missing tower
- English CemeteryBefore it existed, Protestants who died in Málaga were buried at night on the beach.
- Plaza de la Merced and the Torrijos obeliskBeneath the obelisk lie 49 men who fell into a trap baited with fake letters.
- Church of Santiago and Jesús El RicoEvery Holy Wednesday a Christ figure leaves this church with the privilege of setting a prisoner free.
- La Manquita: the missing towerThe cathedral never got its second tower, and Málaga has been arguing ever since about where the money went.
- Church of the Holy Martyrs (Santos Mártires)Two young people stoned by the river in the year 303 became, twelve centuries later, the patron saints of Málaga.
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Dinner
Try Ajoblanco at Bodega Bar El Pimpi. Calle Granada, 62