Dalliance

Málaga
Andalucía has been steady moving up our travel hit list and when our favourite live band the Wedding Present announced a short tour of southern Spain it was all the persuasion we needed to take a short weekend break to Málaga.

Catedral de la Encarnación de Málaga

Most people arrive at Málaga airport and bypass the city completely which is doing this wonderful city a huge injustice. The city has been promoting itself in recent years and has re-evaluated it's Picasso home town connection. As such there are new museums and a redeveloped seafront which all add to the charm of Málaga and make it  perfect for a weekend break. The culture and all year sunshine makes the city a great place to visit out of season. We were visiting in late November, and it was lovely to be back in some semblance of warmth after the weather had turned colder at home in the UK.

The colourful Centre Pompidou Málaga at the refurbished port area

Our apartment was in the centre of Málaga, just off Plaza de la Constitución and had fabulous balcony views of the Catedral de la Encarnación de Málaga. The centre piece cathedral is called the one-armed lady as one tower remains unfinished, but it's an impressive focal point none the less.

Saturday night under the watch of the Catedral de la Encarnación de Málaga

The first thing that struck me about the city centre was that a huge majority of it was pedestrianised. This was extremely conducive to meandering the old lanes of the central historic area and exploring the multitude of shops, featuring all the usual high street names but plenty of bespoke options as well.  

Christmas and the Catedral de la Encarnación de Málaga

The weekend of our visit was the Christmas lights switch on so everywhere was busy, but I would recommend booking ahead for the more popular eateries such as El Pimpi. It was relatively easy to make reservations and there is a massive selection of restaurants to choose from. And despite it being late November the temperature was perfect for eating alfresco during the daytime. We had a great fun working our way through the tapas menu on a couple of occasions at lunchtime at the Picasso restaurant on Merced de la Plaza.

Teatro Romano de Málaga

Our first planned excursion was a visit to the popular Picasso Museum Málaga - Book online to beat the queues. It is a lovely building, fitting for the hometown of the artist, although it would benefit from more of the work from the artist to be on display. Maybe that will come in time? But the temporary exhibitions such as the echo of Picasso exhibition do a good job of filling that void.

In the centre of Málaga is the splendid Teatro Romano de Málaga, a Roman amphitheatre nestled under the shadow of the imposing fortress. It was only excavated in the last thirty years but now is the cultural heart of the city hosting concerts and there is also a museum on the site.

The Palmeral de Las Sorpresas, Malaga Port

We walked in the fresh sunshine through the seafront Málaga Park to the Port area which has undergone a transformation in recent years. The Palmeral de Las Sorpresas is an impressive promenade with a wave-influenced contemporary canopy, lined by palm trees which reciprocates the symmetry of the adjacent park. This leads to the unmissable colourful Rubik's cube structure of the Centre Pompidou Málaga. Between this colourful landmark and the formidable lighthouse, La Farola de Málaga there are a host of shops and portside restaurants. It is a buzzing place.

The Lighthouse of Malaga

Beyond the lighthouse is the long and sandy Magalueta beach, perfect for escaping the city for a few hours by the Alboran Sea which is the most western point of the Mediterranean.

The Málaga Museum is a short walk from the port and the building and courtyard are quite beautiful, apparently modelled on an Italian Palace, which explains why. We'd noticed there was a Martin Parr exhibition, and another Picasso exhibition so we checked them both out. The Parr photographs of Málaga was excellent. 

The Malaga Museum

The Moorish castle that overlooks the whole of Malaga is the Castillo de Gibralfaro. The gardens and Islamic architecture are beautiful, and the place is awash with dramatic miradors offering wonderful panoramas of Málaga city and the seafront. It is split into two enclosures, upper and lower. A top tip, don't feel pressured to explore both sections in one go, you can get a bit 'castled out'. We surveyed the lower castle enclosure in the morning before taking a break and jumping on a noon boat trip from the nearby port which explored the seafront of Málaga. It wasn't the most exciting boat excursion, but a healthy dose of ozone is always good for the body and soul.

The dramatic view from the Castillo de Gibralfaro

Post boat trip, despite having a whopping tapas lunch we were still up for the walk to second upper enclosure of the castle Castillo de Gibralfaro and the views were even more spectacular. When we made it back down the hundreds of steep steps, we rewarded ourselves with an ice cream.

The popular Picasso Museum Málaga

The gig was a short taxi journey on the outskirts of town at the Paris 51 venue and a great night was had by all. The Wedding Present never fail to disappoint and it's one of the reasons we continue to enjoy basing a short European trip around their tour dates, Despite being 'out of town' we got an Uber almost straight away but handy to know Málaga is one of the few Spanish cities that does Uber.

The Wedding Present live on stage at Paris 51 in Malaga

On Sunday our flight wasn't until late afternoon so we had a morning to explore a little more of the city. Surprisingly Málaga came to life quite early for a Sunday. We passed the central market even though it was closed and took at look at the Guadalmedina, the dry riverbed that runs through the city before getting supplies for our journey home and easily grabbing a taxi (that are plentiful on the periphery of the pedestrian zone) to the airport.

Christmas and the Catedral de la Encarnación de Málaga

Málaga was the perfect city break. A short flight, easily accessible, great food, good shopping, pedestrianised city centre, a beach, the sea, boat trips, a castle, a gig and a lighthouse. What more do you want from a weekend away? 

Happy Christmas from Málaga