Malaga is known among many other things for being the birthplace of Picasso. A modern and cultural city with monuments to visit and a legacy of past civilizations. There is a wide range of activities for visitors, a city that has grown hand in hand with tourism over recent years.

It’s easy to spend hours and hours in the centre of Malaga and barely perceive the time passing, strolling the streets and discover a little of history after every corner.

History and origin of Malaga

The city of Malaga has a past dating back the prehistoric times but it takes its name 3000 years ago after the arrival of the Phoenicians who called it Malaka. This first civilization built the ancient port of Malaga and strategically placed a fortress where later would be the Alcazaba fortress, perfect for watching all the coast.

After the Phoenician it would come the Carthaginian colonization, there were two cultures in Malaga, one influenced by the Phoenician and Carthaginian on the coast and the Iberians in the interior villages.

Both the Carthaginians and the Phoenicians civilizations dominated trade in the Mediterranean and even after loosing Malaga to the Romans around the 218 before our common age, the Phoenician culture would still alive for centuries influencing to the city.

The Roman empire once settled took an important role on the cultural growth of Malaga, they left a great legacy that would influence the city for centuries to come. The Romans theater next to Alcazaba is a good sign of their presence and a recommended place to visit. Malaga was famous for the quality of the ‘garum’ produced, highly coveted in Rome.

After the fall of the Roman Empire and the Visigoths presence, the future of Malaga and Spain was uncertain and in a shade until the arrival of the Muslims. Malaga became a major city and a seaport in the Kingdom of Granada in Al-Andalus. Commerce in Malaga flourish again, it was a multicultural reign, rich and with lots of resources that almost every civilization had taken advantage of, it would eventually become the most advanced region worldwide.

This Islāmic period left many architectural and archaeological sites, a recommended visit in Malaga is definitely the Alcazaba and the Gibralfaro Castle, symbol of the city.

The pressure from the north from the Catholics ended with the conquest of Malaga by the Catholic Monarchs. From this period after the conquest is the Malaga Cathedral, a beautiful Renaissance monument.

With time and not without problems Malaga was growing in population. Today it is a city where many civilizations have settled along centuries, a cultural encounter where just walking the streets you can dream with its complex and rich history, an history that forged the city.

Catedral de Malaga

When to visit Malaga

What is the best month to visit Malaga? We could say that any month is good enough for visiting the city, although temperatures vary. If you feel that the temperature at the time of the day you want to walk is not ideal for you, just change the time for strolling the city centre

July and August are very hot months and very popular at the same time among tourists visiting Malaga. If you are not looking forward walking under the Sun and you prefer the beach, you can still visit the city centre at sunset…definitely a good choice and atmosphere that you will love.

May, June, September and October months characterize by the good weather and perfect temperatures either to discover the city or going to the beach.

The rest of the year the average temperature is mild with variations depending on the time of the day, if you visit Malaga in winter you might want to walk around the city at noon instead of early morning.

What to do when raining in Malaga?

If rainy season, don’t worry…rain is not common in Malaga. When raining in Malaga you can still enjoy a coffee, a tea or maybe a shopping day inside a mall.

Attractions in Malaga

When visiting Malaga you might be interested to visit any of the places below, some of them essential to take the best pictures for your holiday:

Tips for visiting the centre of Malaga and how to get

There are many places where you can go to eat the typical tapas at a good price.

There are benches at Larios street for resting when walking around or shopping (main street in Malaga city).

Transport

Malaga centre is accessible by train, bus and car:

By commuter train

The last train stop in Malaga will leave you just a few minutes far from the city centre. Take the right exit as it will leave you closer to your destination.

By bus

If you visit Malaga from anywhere on the Costa del Sol and have a bus stop near, you can take a bus to Malaga.

By car

Parking can be tricky but there are public parkings available at a price, they are located at Marina Square and Merced Square (Both next to Larios street, Cathedral and Alcazaba)

Map of Malaga

Malaga is the main tourist destination in Andalucia, a city that received every year an increasing number of visitors and adapted to all the tourist needs. The city is surrounded by mountains and has a microclimate because of this that provides mild temperatures throughout the year.

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