Culture
The city was founded by the Phoenicians, who settled in asmall village built close to the hill where the Alcazaba is located today. In the Roman times Malaga was granted the privilege of being a Rome confederation city.
The city knew one of its periods of greater progress under Arab rule. After being conquered in 1478 by the Catholic Monarchs, the city underwent a period of unstoppable decline.
In the late 18th and early 19th centuries two extended families –the Larios and the Heredia– introduced the bourgeoisie in Malaga, turning the city into the second industrial centre in the country.
Today Malaga is still growing. The great miracle of the city has been the development of the Costa del Sol, which has made it become the world tourism capital.
Sightseeing
To go sightseeing in Malaga offers the visitor the opportunity of knowing the thousand-year-old history of this city, sheltered between the sea and the mountains.
In just a few minutes, visitors can leave its Roman Theatre and go all over the Muslim fortress of the Alcazaba, admire the Renaissance majesty of its Cathedral and get immersed into the lively activity of the neighbouring streets, with their special nineteenth-century atmosphere.
Some monuments that should not be missed are, amongothers, the Alcazaba, the Roman Theatre, Gibralfaro Castle, the Cathedral, the Bullring and the Gardens of La Concepcion.
Museums
The city adds to the wealth of its monuments a large network of thematic museums, such as: Picasso’s Museum, Picasso’s Birthplace Museum, Centre of Contemporary Art, Cathedral’s Museum of Sacred Art, Religious Museum of the Cistercian Order, Bull Fighting Museum, Municipal Museumof the Sanctuary of Santa María de la Victoria and Interpretation Centre of Gibralfaro Castle.
Shopping
The town centre combines its ancient design from Islamic heritage –that can still be traced in some places such as Granada or Fresca streets– and the urban refurbishments of the 19th century. Larios street, that constitutes the core of the historical and the commercial centres, is the most outstanding example.
Leaving Larios street, all the adjacent ones are a great showcase where almost everything can be found: fashion, shoes, interior decoration, cafés, bookshops, restaurants...
Besides, Málaga counts on several great shopping complexes where the visitor can find food, furniture, fashion, DIY, sportswear, leisure centres, multi-screen cinemas, etc
The ‘Tapas’ Route
Due to its great variety, Malaga’s cuisine deserves to be placed among the richest and more nutritious ones bothin our country and in Europe. Our dishes, from the salads to the meats, without forgetting the star of our cuisine, the ‘pescaito’ (small fried fish), all belong to the so-called Mediterranean diet and make up Malaga’s gastronomic map.
The seaside cooking turns silver into gold when it turns the silvery colour of the raw fish into the golden one it shows when it has been fried, a miracle that can only be achieved by the expert hands of our professionals and housewives, who in their turn learned from their ancestors the unique way of frying fish that is used in our homeland.
The whole town centre is full of places where it is possible to taste tapas, fried fish and a bright array of dishes from Malaga and the Mediterranean sea, washed down with the good local wines.
The tourist and historic centre of the town is dotted with emblematic places such as El Pimpi, Antigua Casa del Guardia, Lo Güeno, La Alegría, Bodega Quitapenas, Orellana, Rincón Chinitas and plenty of taverns, bars and restaurants that offer thevery best of our traditional and present cooking.
Beaches
Málaga is the capital of the Costa del Sol and the coastal perimeter of the province extends over 150 km. With an average temperature of 18º C (64º F), it profits from more than 3000 sun hours a year. The seaside is made up of 16 sandy beaches bathed by the Mediterranean sea, with a total coastal length of 12800 m. All beaches are for public use and most of them are equipped with such services as ‘chiringuitos’ (small bars next to the sea serving the small fried fish called ‘pescaito frito’), showers, toilets, deck chairs, telephones, etc. We cannot forget that the main appeal of the Costa del Sol lies in its sunny weather and its beaches.
Malaga is located in the southern area of the Iberian Peninsula, on the seashore of the Mediterranean sea, the sea of culture and classical history.
