Malaga is the largest city on Spain’s Costa del Sol and stands on the country’s south coast facing the Mediterranean Sea - but doesn’t have the beaches that many of its neighbours do. It has a busy seaport and airport and if you hire a car in Malaga you’ll discover it’s a thriving historic city too. This is the sixth largest in Spain and stands 330 miles south of the capital Madrid. The city itself occupies a narrow coastal strip between the sea and the mountains behind. Malaga has preserved its own identity despite often serving as a transport hub for visitors arriving on the Costa del Sol.
It’s only 80 miles from the African coast so Malaga has a sunny climate and the lack of a beach has actually saved the city from too much tourist development. If you have a hire car you’ll find many of the central historical areas are completely intact. Explore the Old Quarter on the west side of the Guadalmedina River to see the classic old houses with first floor balconies. Don’t miss Picasso’s birthplace or the Roman amphitheatre. The Alcazaba is a fine Moorish palace and fortress while the Pompidou Centre is a contemporary art gallery in the shape of a cube. It’s a little bit of modern Paris on the south coast of Spain.
