Welcome to Malaga!
University of Malaga team welcomes you to Malaga, the sixth biggest city in Spain, the gate to the Costa del Sol and Pablo Picasso’s birthplace — and that of Antonio Banderas’. Founded by the Phoenicians (do not miss the remains of the Phoenician city at the basement of the Museo Picasso Malaga), the city was also under Roman rule — becoming a municipality governed by Roman Law in the 1st century B.C. There are still important Roman remains, such as the Roman Theatre (unveiled in 1951) or the different factories of garum — a rather unappetising fish sauce but highly regarded at the time. From the 8th century the area passed into Arab hands, and remained under their rule until 1487, when Malaga was conquered by Isabella and Ferdinand, the Catholic Monarchs. Not only do the Alcazaba fortress and the Gibralfaro castle date back from the Islamic period, but also the layout of many of the streets in the centre of Malaga.
The three-century-long decadence of Malaga ended in the 19th century, when rich and powerful families contributed to such an economic expansion and industrialisation that Malaga became one of the wealthiest cities in Spain. Proof of this are the beautifully restored calle del Marqués de Larios (or, as people from Malaga call it, calle Larios), one of the most elegant main streets in the country, as well as La Concepción Historical-Botanical Gardens: the most important tropical and subtropical gardens in Spain and one of the best tropical paradises in all Europe.
We hope that during your stay in Malaga you can find the time to walk around its streets, experience its cafés — Casa Aranda or Café Central, for example — and visit its monuments, churches and museums. We will be happy to help you with anything you may need, so please do not hesitate to ask for help so as to have a complete Malaga experience.
Content
Monuments
| Alcazaba & Roman Theatre |
Address: Calle Alcazabilla, 2. 29012 Malaga
Admission fees: 3.50 €, incl. Castillo de Gibralfaro 5.50 € (free entrance Sundays from 2 pm)
Opening hours: 9 am-8 pm | At the lower, western end of the Gibralfaro hill, the Alcazaba was the palace-fortress of Malaga’s Muslim governors, dating from 1057. The brick path winds uphill, interspersed with arches and stone walls and is refreshingly cool in summer. Roman artefacts and fleeting views of the harbour and city enliven the walk, while honeysuckle, roses and jasmine perfume the air. A lift from calle Guillén Sotelo brings you out in the heart of the Alcazaba. Below the Alcazaba there is a Roman theatre discovered and excavated in 1951. |
| Casa Natal de Pablo Ruiz Picasso |
Address: Plaza de la Merced, 15. 29012. Málaga
Admission fees: 3 € (Picasso’s birthplace or temporary exhib.), 4 € (combined ticket), 2.50 € (EUROPHRAS 2019 discount)
Opening hours: 9 am-8 pm | The Casa Natal de Picasso (Picasso’s birthplace) is a centre for exhibitions and academic research on contemporary art, with a few compelling items of personal memorabilia and a well-stocked shop. |
| Catedral de Santa María de la Encarnación |
Address: Calle Molina Lario, 9. 29015. Málaga (entrance at calle Císter)
Admission fees: 6 € (free entrance Sundays)
Opening hours: Mon-Fri: 10 am-9 pm; Sat: 10 am-6.30 pm; Sun: 2 pm-6:30 pm | Preserved rather magnificently, Malaga’s cathedral was begun in the 16th century on the former site of the main mosque and never properly completed. Consequently the building exhibits a mishmash of architectural styles absorbed during more than two centuries of construction. For example, the northern door, portada de la iglesia del Sagrario, is Gothic; the interior, with a soaring 40 m dome, is Gothic/Renaissance; while the facade is 18th-century Baroque. The cathedral is known as La Manquita (the One-Armed), since its southern tower was never completed. |
| Castillo de Gibralfaro |
Address: Camino de Gibralfaro,1. 29016. Málaga
Admission fees: General: 2.20 € (3.55 € incl. Alcazaba) (free entrance Sundays from 2 pm)
Opening hours: Tuesday to Sunday, 9 am to 8 pm | Above the Alcazaba and overlooking the city centre rises the older Castillo de Gibralfaro. The castle is named after a lighthouse supposedly located at the peak of the mountain (Jabal-Faruk, ‘Lighthouse Mountain’). After being occupied by Phoenicians and Romans, Yusuf I made it a fortress in 1340.
Nothing much remains of the interior of the castle, but the walkway around the ramparts affords exhilarating views and there is a tiny museum with a military focus. There is also a small café with outdoor seating. |
| Jardín Botánico-Histórico “La Concepción” |
Address: Camino del Jardín Botánico, 3. 29014. Málaga
Admission fees: 5.20 €
Opening hours: Tuesday to Sunday, 9.30 am to 7.30 pm | The jewel of Malaga, the La Concepción Gardens was created in 1855 by the marquises of Casa Loring. The garden was enlarged from 1911 on by its succeeding owners, the Echevarría-Echevarrieta family. In 1943 these gardens were declared a historic-artistic garden ensemble and, later, a cultural heritage site. The garden, which belongs to Malaga Town Hall since Spring 1990, is nowadays under the management of the Botanical Trust “Ciudad de Málaga.”
It features towering trees (including hundreds of palms), 5,000 tropical plants, waterfalls, lakes and spectacular seasonal blooms and botanical collections, with the purpose of showing a sample of the planet’s great plant diversity. |
Museums
| Museo Picasso Malaga |
Address: Palacio de Buenavista. Calle san Agustín, 8. 29015. Málaga
Admission fees: New collection 8 € and Temporary exhibition: 6.50 €. Free entrance Sundays the last two opening hours
Opening hours: 10 am-7 pm | Museo Picasso Málaga (MPM) was created in response to Pablo Picasso’s own desire for his work to be present in the city where he was born in 1881.
The museum is managed by the Fundación Museo Picasso Málaga. Legado Paul, Christine y Bernard Ruiz-Picasso, which retains full control of the building (Palacio de Buenavista) and the museum’s collection.
The MPM collection consists of 233 works that cover Picasso’s groundbreaking innovations and the myriad of styles and techniques the artist mastered.
The artistic and cultural proposals by the MPM are complemented with temporary exhibitions and both educational and cultural events, as well as with a library and a bookshop specialised in modern and contemporary art. |
| Museo Carmen Thyssen Málaga |
Address: Calle Compañía, 10. 29008. Malaga
Admission fees: combined ticket (permanent collection and temporary exhibitions) 9 €. Free entrance Sundays from 5 pm
Opening hours: Tuesday to Sunday, 10 am to 8 pm | This newly opened museum is located within a collection of historical buildings, being the most important one the Palacio de Villalón, previously known as Palacio Mosquera, which dates back to the mid-16th century.
The Carmen Thyssen-Bornemisza Collection offers a rich set of extraordinary coherence, opening with a series of pieces by old masters, most notably Zurbarán’s Santa Marina, and continuing with a series of works that allow for a comprehensive overview of the history of the main genres in 19th-century Spanish painting, with special attention to Andalusian paintings. |
| Centro de Arte Contemporáneo de Málaga (CAC) |
Address: Calle Alemania. 29001. Malaga
Admission fees: free entrance
Opening hours: Tuesday to Sunday, 10 am to 8 pm | The Centro de Arte Contemporáneo’s mission is to offer a glimpse of visual arts from the last third of the 20th century to the present day. The museum is located in a skilfully converted 1930s market located in the centre of the city, on the banks of the Guadalmedin river.
The museum offers not only a permanent collection, but also a complete programme of temporary exhibitions and educational workshops. |
| Centre Pompidou Málaga |
Address: pasaje doctor Carrillo Casaux, s/n. Muelle Uno, 29001. Malaga
Admission fees: (permanent collection and temporary exhibitions) 9 €. (EUROPHRAS 2019 discount) 6€. Free entrance Sundays from 4 pm
Opening hours: Wednesday to Monday, 11 am to 10 pm | The Centre Pompidou Malaga is the first one that this Parisian art institution places outside of France. It offers a permanent exhibition of several dozens of works of the impressive collection of the Centre Pompidou in Paris, inviting the public to explore the art of the 20th and 21st centuries. Some of the names in the first presentation of the collections, which exceeds 90 works of art, are enough to give an idea of the importance of the project: Francis Bacon, Georg Baselitz, Constantin Brâncuși, Alexander Calder, Marc Chagall, Giorgio de Chirico, Max Ernst, Alberto Giacometti, Jean Hélion, Frida Kahlo, Fernand Léger, René Magritte, Joan Miró, Francis Picabia, PabloPicasso, Antoni Tàpies, Jean Tinguely and KeesVan Dongen. |
| Collection of the St Petersburg State Russian Museum |
Address: Avenida Sor Teresa Prat, 15, 29003. Málaga
Admission fees: (permanent collection and temporary exhibitions), 8 €. (EUROPHRAS 2019 discount), 5.50€. Free entrance Sundays from 4 pm
Opening hours: Tuesday to Sunday, 9:30 am-8 pm | The Collection of the St Petersburg State Russian Museum has 2,300 square meters and 777 linear meters to exhibit works of art in a building that has been purposely adapted to this new use: the old tobacco factory of the city, known as the Tabacalera, which was erected in the 1920s according to the regionalist architectural trend which was in vogue at the time.
The permanent exhibition of the Collection of the St Petersburg State Russian Museum is divided into nine thematic areas: the old Russian art, the 18th century, Romanticism in Russia, Realism, Realism with Russian topics, the “World of Art” movement and Neo-primitivism, the Avant-garde, Socialist Realism and art in the Thaw Era that was experienced after the death of Stalin. |
| Museo de Málaga |
Address: Plaza Aduana s/n, 29015. Malaga
Admission fees: free entrance (citizens of the European Union), € 1.50 (other nationalities)
Opening hours: Tuesdays to Saturdays, from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Sundays, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. | The Museo de Málaga, created in 1973, is a museum formed by the union of the Museo Provincial de Bellas Artes (Provincial Museum of Fine Arts) and the Museo Arqueológico Provincial (Provincial Archeological Museum), which is why it is divided into two sections, corresponding to the former museums. The museum preserves more than 15 000 pieces composed of archeological objects and masterpieces.
You cannot miss its amazing restaurant “La Terraza de la Aduana”! |
Places to eat
PLUTARCO (UNIVERSITY RESIDENTIAL AREA)
Tapas
| 100montaditos | Large variety of small sandwiches. Offers on Wednesdays and Sundays. Av. de Plutarco, 18, 29010 Málaga |
| Autocervecería Gondor | Self-service brewery with beer taps on the tables. Av. de Plutarco, 18, 29010 Málaga |
| Lambik | Av. de Plutarco, 57, 29010 Málaga |
| Raff | Av. Parménides, 11, 29010 Málaga |
| El hormiguero | Av. de Plutarco, 24, 29010 Málaga |
| Don Chollo | Specialities in tapas and sandwiches. Av. de Plutarco, 27, 29010 Málaga |
| El refugio | Plenty of tapas with drinks and home-cooked portions. Calle Jano, 8, 29010 Málaga |
Restaurants, Pizzas and Hamburgers
| Hamburguesería El Dandy (Vegetarian and Vegan Options) | Specialized in exotic meats. Calle Margarita Xirgu, 3, 29010 Málaga |
| Restaurante Avocado (Vegetarian and Vegan Options) | Hamburgers and salads. Calle Eolo, 7, 29010 Málaga |
| Hamburguesería Dallas | Hamburgers, pizzas, camperos , shawarmas and salads. Av. de Plutarco 28, 29010 Málaga |
| Rompe Teatinos (Vegan and Celiac Options) | Calle Andrómeda, 14, 29010 Málaga |
| La Burmet (Vegan Options) | Specialized in gourmet hamburgers. Calle de Antígona, 11, 29010 Málaga |
| El Paponazo, “La Papa del Oeste” (Vegetarian and Vegan Options) | Specialized in roasted potatoes. Calle de Antígona, 8, 29010 Málaga |
| Tuk tuk noodles (Vegetarian Options) | Av. de Plutarco, 22, 29010 Málaga |
| PadthaiWok (Vegetarian and Vegan Options) | Noodles, rice and Thai soups. Calle Andrómeda, 13, 29010 Málaga |
| Bar El Marisqueo | Fish specialities. Calle de Andrómeda, 9, 29010 Málaga |
| Restaurante el Cenachero | Fish specialities. Av. de Plutarco, 20, 29010 Málaga |
| Pizzería Pomodoro | Italian food. Calle Hermes, 7, 29010 Málaga |
| Pizzería Marco | Italian restaurant. Av. de Plutarco, 18, 29010 Málaga |
| El Picoteo de La Campana | Traditional food, fried fish and grilled meats. Av. Parménides, 9, 29010 Málaga |
| La pizza teatinos | Italian restaurant. Calle Eolo, 21, 29010 Málaga |
| El Dorado | Pizzas and camperos. Calle Eolo, 21, 29010 Málaga |
| La Calle Burger Teatinos | Gourmet hamburgers. Av. de Gregorio Prieto, 27, 29010 Málaga |
| Soho Café & Lounge | Gourmet hamburgers. Av. Plutarco 13, 29010 Málaga |
MÁLAGA OLD TOWN
Tapas
| Las Merchanas | Tavern with tapas and varied portions. Calle Mosquera, 5, 29008, Málaga |
| Pepa y pepe | Tapas bar. Calle Luis de Velázquez, 3, 29008 Málaga |
| Casa Lola | Tapas bar. Calle Granada, 46, 29015 Málaga; Calle Strachan, 11, 29015 Málaga |
| El tapeo de Cervantes (Vegetarian and Vegan Options) | Local tapas. Mediterranean, European and Spanish cuisine. Calle Cárcer, 8, 29012 Málaga |
| La tranca (Vegetarian and Vegan Options) | Local tapas. Mediterranean cuisine. Calle Carretería, 93, 29008 Málaga |
| Vinería Cervantes | Spanish cuisine with a large variety of wines. Calle Cárcer, 10. 29012 Málaga |
Hamburgers and Others
| Bodega Bar El Pimpi | Local tapas and wine tavern with a flamenco atmosphere, tiles, a barrel room and an Andalusian patio. Calle Granada, 62, 29015 Málaga |
| Noviembre Healthy Food | Sandwiches, hamburgers, pasta and gluten-free, vegetarian and vegan options. Calle Álamos, 18, 29008 Málaga |
| TGB | Gourmet hamburgers. Calle Moreno Monroy, 1; Muelle Uno; Calle Alcazabilla, 15, 29015 Málaga |
| La burguesita | American burger restaurant. Calle Moreno Monroy, 5, 29015 Málaga |
| Picnic Soho | American food and gourmet hamburgers. Calle Barroso, 10, 29001 Málaga |
| Spaguetteria Circus | Pasta, meats and other Italian dishes. Paseo Reding, 41, 29016 Málaga |
Pizzas
| Romolo y Remo | Italian food. Calle Salitre, 4, 29002 Málaga |
| Da Saveria | Italian restaurant. Calle Ancha del Carmen, 30, 29002 Málaga |
| La Romántica | Italian cuisine. Calle Cárcer, 5; Calle Arenal, 1. |
| El Rancho Criollo | Pasta, pizzas and meats; Argentinian grill. Calle Maestranza, 12, 29016, Málaga |
Further information
N. B.: The information displayed has been prepared for EUROPHRAS 2019 based on the contents of the websites listed above.
