Malaga

General information about Malaga

So many people visit this part of Spain and never go to Malaga itself, this is such a shame as it is a vibrant city with a beautiful old town, a number of excellent galleries, beaches close by and some great food.

Arriving at Malaga airport there is a train which runs along the coast, catch it in the direction of Malaga and it goes to Centro Alameda the last stop and a five minute walk from the centre . The alternative to save the walk to the station is the Airport Bus  which again goes from outside the terminal to the Alameda via the Bus and Train Station.

Getting around the old part and the nearby beach is easy on foot, if you are going further afield you can buy single tickets on the buses or buy a re-chargeable card from the EMT office at 15 Alameda Principal. They also have a good bus map.

Hotels in Malaga

Room Mate Larios, Calle Marques de Larios 2, is part of the Room Mate group www.room-matehotels.com this is a classic art deco hotel with a modern touch now that Room Mate own it. It has a roof top bar in the summer reputedly the haunt of Antonio Banderas when he visits his home town. The rooms are very well appointed with free Wi-Fi and the staff are friendly and helpful. Great location for the bars and restaurants in the old town.

Room Mate Lola, Calle Casa de Campos again part of the Room Mate Group is a slightly younger styled hotel than the Larios and is on the sea side of the Alameda only 5 minutes walk from the main avenue, there is a bit of a red light district around there but totally un-threatening even going home late on a Saturday night and this area is becoming a rather trendy part of the city.

Alternatively check out short let apartments available on various sites, these have become more and more popular in the city and can be better value if you are there for more than just a couple of days.

Restaurants & Tapas Bars

There are great tapas bars in the Centre both old fashioned and new modern ones, in a lot of the tapas bars there is a menu and you have to order from that rather than them being on display as in some other parts of Spain.

C/Marques de Larios & the Alameda

Mercado Atarazanas, Malaga’s main market saw the addition of places to eat a few years ago while still retaining it’s function as a market for meat, fish, vegetables and fruit. Two of the best known are El Yerno and Cafe Bar Atarazanas both hugely popular and offering freshly cooked seafood and fish but there are some new additions including Happy Fish which was excellent on our most recent visit. Inside is mainly standing, the bars mentioned above have tables outside which are understandably very popular. They are all excellent value and are a must on any visit to the city.

Calle Comisario off the Alameda Principal (North Side) is a narrow alley full of fried fish/seafood bars, the best seems to be Casa Vincente, there is nothing fancy about these places but the locals flock to them and the alley is packed with tables and chairs. There now seem to be less places perhaps with the addition of places at the Market.

Bodega Antigua Casa Guardia, Alameda Principal 18, is the oldest bar in Malaga and it looks like it, Picasso reputedly drank there and the bar has never changed. There are huge barrels of various Malaga wines which you can sample along with the locals.

Lo Gueno, C/Marin Garcia 9 was a regular haunt on our first visits but as it expanded from the one narrow bar to being everywhere in the old part we thought the service had become poor. On a recent visit we popped into the original small bar part and were delighted to be remembered by one of the old school waiters. We were also delighted to find the old favourite casserole dishes “cazuelitas” were as good as ever. Firmly back on our list for Malaga.

Cepa de Cadiz, Calle Tomas Heredia 25, this is a new addition to Malaga in the increasingly trendy Soho area and is owned by the same people who own the excellent Cepa De Gallega in Cadiz. We visited on our most recent stay and enjoyed the wines and tapas on offer.

North of the Plaza Constitucion

Uvedoble, C/Alcazabilla 1, is a modern place with outstanding tapas, it is very popular and expanded its size recently moving round the corner from the original site. So good to return  and every time find the quality of the food still so good..Again on this visit we enjoyed great cooking & exceptional value but booking is recommended.

La Queseria, C/Sanchez Pastor 6, is highly recommended, very friendly staff a wide range of cheeses and meats and a good choice of wines.

La Cosmopolita, C/Jose Dennis Belgrano 3, restaurant and bar with again a new modern style of tapas and full meals, friendly staff and definitely another one to try. On our last visit seemed even more popular than previously and so lovely to be remembered by staff.

Bodegas El Pimpi, C/Granada 62, a great maze of a bar buzzing at weekends, worth a visit if only to wander through the building and sit on the outdoor terrace. We enjoyed the small bar at the entrance called El Rincon de los Pintores with decorated wine barrels on our most recent visit.

La Medusa, C/Santa Maria 25, is a new addition to Malaga’s bar scene, a very upmarket champagne and oyster bar but also with a wide range of wines. Staff not the most friendly but a good buzzy atmosphere in the bar.

Casa Lola, Plaza de Uncibay 3-5, is one of a small local chain, we visited some time ago and were impressed with the wines, this time we ate and also tried their vermut, Very good quality, good service and reasonably priced, definitely one for future visits.

La Dolores, Plaza de Uncibay 2, Old school looking with sherry and vermut from the barrel, also wines and tapas. Lovely service and incredible value.

Shokudo, C/Beatas 29, when a change is required for me ramen is my option and this was excellent, there seem to be quite a few similar restaurants as this in the city and this got the best reviews by a long way.

Plaza Merced

Plaza de la Merced also has a number of newer type bars including Lechuga with modern excellent tapas, which is very popular, there are numerous places in the area and a couple worth mentioning are below.

Batik, C/Alcazabilla 12 is the restaurant attached to the Premium Hostel which also has a roof top bar. We went for lunch on our most recent visit and thought the food, wine and service were all excellent and the setting is lovely.

El Tapeo de Cervantes, C/Carcer about five minutes walk from Plaza de la Merced is a owned by a charming Argentinian guy, the tapas are all made to order and are good and reasonably price. He now has a couple of other places all nearby and all seem very popular.

La Taperia de Sybaris, C/Alamos 16 is a lovely looking tapas bar, which we had found on a previous visit therefore we returned this time to try a couple of tapas. The food is good and there is a good wine selection, it is slightly more expensive than some places around but I feel the quality attracts the local clientele.

La Tranca, C/Carreteria 92, is a great bar but very popular with a mixed local clientele, it is quirky, has friendly service, good wines, Spanish pop music known by most of the customers and does brilliant empanadas (savoury small South American pastry) with a variety of fillings along with other excellent tapas. Ezekiel behind the bar sings along excellently and top notch Vermut makes this a difficult bar to leave. This has moved across the road from it’s original space to bigger premises.

Colmado 93, C/Carreteria 93 has taken over the space vacated by La Tranca and seems to share some of the same staff but with a different menu.

Calle Carreteria has a number of bars that are definitely away from the tourist zone and worth exploring and only five minutes walk from the Plaza Merced. Just off there is the Plaza de los Martires home to a magnificent church and also some quirky bars, restaurants and shops. This area has benefited from the arrival of the Carmen Thyssen museum nearby. Look out for sweet shops and ice cream parlour Casa Mira and Lar Merchanas a bar that will give you a feel for Holy Week in Malaga.

Near Plaza Enrique Garcia-Herrera and the Costume Museum there are some lovely bars and restaurants, although we know the city well we had not explored this area before and enjoyed trying some new places. D’Gustar “El Rinconcito” in C/Calderon de la Barca, was a great find and we enjoyed the tapas and the wine selection.

El Almacen Del Indiano, C/Cisneros 7, was a find on a previous visit and this time we popped in on a couple of occasions. It is a grocers and wine shop but with table & seats where you can order various cold meats and cheeses and glasses of wine and beer. Definitely a must for future visits.

Near the Bullring

El Refectorium, C/Cervantes 8 is an very smart upmarket but traditional bar and restaurant worth visiting after a walk along the town beach. Top notch tapas available at the bar and the service is excellent.

Beach

La Chancia, Paseo Maritimo, Pedregalejo, this is the middle beach area before you reach El Palo, packed with beach side bars and restaurants. La Chancia is a hotel as well as a bar restaurant and we enjoyed drinks and food on the terrace.

El Cabra, one of the many beach front restaurants is an old school place, and the quality of food is very good, the whole grilled fish are sold be weight so can be pricey however most people, all locals, were eating a selection of starters and fried fish dishes all priced on the menu.

El Tintero, take the bus 11 to El Palo the far end of Malaga’s beach area. There is no menu, waiters carry round trays with different types of seafood and fish, there are two sizes of plates small and large and all small are one price all the large ones a second price, they also do dishes like lobster to order. You have to attract the attention of the waiter carrying the tray of what you want. Recent reports commented on a possible change of owner, high prices and not as popular.

Drink

Malaga is famous for it’s fortified wines which come in numerous styles and many can be tried in Bodega Antigua Casa Guardia mentioned above where they have an amazing 21 types to try. These may not be to everyone’s taste but try and sample at least one.

Gin & Tonic has always seemed popular in Andalucia as an after lunch, that is very late afternoon, drink however the G&T craze now seems to have broken out all over the country. Now as in other parts of Spain Vermut seems to be back in favour if in fact it ever went out of favour.

 

Culture

The Roman Theatre, Alcazaba, an old Moorish castle, and the Gibralfaro castle are all close to each other and well worth visiting.

Picasso Museum, is an excellent museum, now ten years old, in a refurbished building in the city of his birth, the entrance can be tricky to find but is in C/ San Augustin. Picasso’s birthplace in the Plaza de la Merced can also be visited.

The new Thyssen Museum in C/Compana is also worth a visit as the conversion of the building is wonderful however the collection can be a bit of a let down, look out for special exhibitions.

There is also a new Contemporary Art Museum towards the port in C/Alemania.

The Market in the street north of the Alameda Principal has been totally re-furbished and is now well worth exploring to look at the great selection of meat, fish and vegetables.

Seven day forecast for Malaga

Malaga
4.93 m/s 84 %
light rain
15.5°C
4.73 m/s 70 %
moderate rain
13.2°C
7.73 m/s 90 %
heavy intensity rain
12.6°C
11.04 m/s 78 %
heavy intensity rain
12.8°C
2.73 m/s 55 %
light rain
18.4°C

Last Visited 2024 & Last Updated 2024