Malaga has long been a well-tourised city -- even the city's coat of arms bears the words "most hospitable." Visitors would come to Malaga's spring-like weather and wide beaches anyway, but the friendliness of the locals doesn't hurt.

Malaga is the second largest city in Andalucia (after Sevilla ), with a population of half a million. Malaga has been transformed over the last 20 years, heavy investment in infrastructure, the airport , foreigners settling in the are or simply buying holiday homes and other major commercial investments have turned Malaga into one of the most cosmopolitan cities in Spain.

At first glance the city may seem uninviting and many people get no further than the train or bus stations, yet Malaga, specially the old part in the centre offer many attractions to visitors. The elegant central zone has a number of interesting churches and museums, not to mention the birthplace of Picasso and the new Picasso Museum , housing an important collection of works by Malaga's most famous son. Around the old fishing villages of El Palo and Pedregalejo , now absorbed into the suburbs, are a series of small beaches and a paseo lined with some of the best fish and seafood cafés in the province. And overlooking the town and port are the formidable Moorish citadels of the Alcazaba and Gibralfaro - excellent introductions to the architecture before pressing on to the main sites at Cordoba and Granada .

The City

Malaga is the second largest city in Southern Spain, after Sevilla, and the Capital of the Costa Del Sol. With a population of around 650.000 inhabitants it is recognised as having the best climate for any city of its size in Europe.

Of the many hundreds of thousands of visitors to the province of Malaga each year many of whom will not venture into the City of Malaga itself, which is a great shame as the city has been transformed over the past few years specially the historic quarter. It is also the grand father to the popular surrounding holiday resorts of Benalmadena, Torremolinos, Fuengirola and the chic resort of Marbella

The cultural heritage of Malaga can now take centre stage and is home to the Picasso Museum which is housed in the beautiful old Palacio de la Bellavista. Picasso is probably Malaga's most famous son and the impressive Picasso museum is testament to that fact. Around 150 pieces of Picassos are exhibited on two floors and include paintings, drawings, sculptures and lithographs.

The house where Pablo Ruiz Picasso was born is located on the Plaza de la Merced, 3 minutes walk from the museum. There you can see things relating to the life and work from all the different periods of his exceptional life and is an interesting stop over even if art is not your thing.

Proudly watching over this cosmopolitan capital is the Castillo de Gibralfaro and the Alcazaba ( Moorish fortress ). The castle dates back to the 14th century and has pretty fountains and fine manicured gardens whilst the origins of the Alcazaba date to the 11th century, both have impressive views over Malaga, the port area and the Mediterranean sea. The historic Malaga Cathedral is affectionately known as “La Manguita“ the one armed lady, as only one of the two planned towers where ever finished.

The old part of Malaga is the most interesting area and is located two minutes walk from the new port all around the Cathedral. The narrow streets which wind off in all directions from Larios Street ooze Andalucian charm, the area is perfect for afternoon walks, specially in the in spring and summer months where you will come across some of the best restaurants and Tapas bars in the area which sit alongside historic buildings such as the Picasso Museum and charming old Andalucian plazas.

The local authorities have now installed red tourist information booths all over the main areas of central Malaga which has proved to be a great success as with there help it has become easy to move around and enjoy the city even more.

To cope with the increasing number of foreign tourists visiting the Costa del Sol each year major improvement works have been carried out at Malaga airport. To accommodate the increased number of flights to malaga the new terminal was opened earlier this year ( 2010 ) to much acclaim for its design , effectiveness and fine shopping areas with the terminal. The terminal is truly an impressive structure of steel and glass which gives it a much brighter and fresher feel than the old terminal 2. The new connecting railway was inaugurated in September whilst the new runway, which is under construction should be open by the end of 2011.

At the same level as the departures area bridges connect the airport to the airport car parks and the new impressive railway station with its new link to central Malaga is located just over the metal bridge and is easily accessed from the main airport terminals.

All the major budget air carriers operate in and out of Malaga airport including Ryanair, Vueling, EasyJet, FlyBe, Air Berlin and Jet2Com.

From Malaga - Costa del Sol

Malaga has no shortage of places to eat and drink and has a justified reputation for its seafood and tapas bars. Malaga's greatest claim to fame is undoubtedly its fried fish , acknowledged as the best in Spain. You'll find many fish restaurants grouped around the Alameda, although for some of the very best you need to head out to the suburbs of Pedregalejo and El Palo, served by bus #11 (from the Paseo del Parque). On the seafront paseo at Pedregalejo , almost any of the cafés and restaurants will serve you up terrific fish. Further on, after the paseo disappears, you find yourself amid fishing shacks and smaller, sometimes quite ramshackle, cafés. This is El Palo , an earthier sort of area for the most part, with a beach and fishing huts, and in summer or at weekends an even better place to eat.

For a great culinary experience try a tapa crawl in the old part of Malaga, basically follow other like minded people around the back streets and you will come across some of the best tapas bars in the whole region serving local delicacies such as black foot ham, sautéed wild mushrooms, pees and serrano ham, countless seafood dishes including local sweet prawns and clams fished around in the Malaga bay .

You'll find most of Málaga's nightlife northeast of the cathedral along and around calles Granada and Beatas and the streets circling Plaza de Uncibay , as well as in Malagueta , south of the bullring. At weekends and holidays dozens of youthful disco-bars fill the crowded streets in these areas with a cacophony of sound, and over the summer - it's dead out of season - the scene spreads out along the seafront to the suburb of Pedregalejo . Here, the streets just behind the beach host most of the action, and dozens of discos and smaller bars lie along and off the main street, Juan Sebastián Elcano. Málaga's daily paper, El Sur , is good for local entertainment listings - there's a weekly Sur in English free edition which you can find all along the coast in various outlets every Friday.

Photographs of Malaga
Google Map of Malaga