A plan for what you can experience in one day in Malaga

If you have looked through the pages of museums, sights and excursions in Malaga, you realize that it would take several days to get through all the city's attractions. But if you only have one day available in Malaga and want to get the most important, but do not quite know what to choose, then we hope this site can be of help to you.

As we have mentioned on the page "Excursions", Segway is a fantastic way to experience the many sights around the city in just a few hours. If you are not completely familiar with Segway, there are also similar guided bike rides that we would recommend. In this way, in two to three hours you will be able to see and experience more than you would be able to by walking around the city on your own. One could, for example, then have had time to combine such a tour with a trip to the beach afterwards. If you still want to walk around on foot, there are also guided walks around Malaga that can be recommended. If, despite these offers, you want to go on your own, we have below made a proposal for a daily plan where you go on foot. 

9am - 9:30am

A few minutes walk from the hotels we find the Mercado Central de Atarazanas. We suggest you start the day in this unique market. Inside you will find a Pandora's box of local and traditional ingredients. The locals use the market as their grocery store, but the market is also very popular with tourists due to the unique atmosphere and all the visual impressions.

9:30am - 10:30am

The trip then continues with a walk down to the port and to the start of Malaga Park or Paseo de España as it is also called. The park is like a beautiful shady resting place in Málaga. The many palm trees and other exotic plants provide plenty of shade and atmosphere. There are also various sculptures and monuments to visit in the park. At the end of the park you will see the next attraction on the trip.

10:30am - 11:30am

At first glance, the Center Pompidou Malaga appears to be only a large glass-colored cube, but this is only a small part of the museum. The museum houses around 70 works from the 'Center de Pompidou' in Paris, which is supplemented by temporary exhibitions. To avoid long ticket queues that unfortunately occur during the summer season, we recommend that you book a ticket in advance. 

11:30am - 1pm

The tour then continues to the Alcazaba Fortress and the Castillo de Gibralfao Palace. Around the eleventh century, this fortress, with the Arabic name Alcazaba, was built in a strategic location in Málaga. The Alcazaba fortress was built mainly to protect the Castillo de Gibralfao palace located in the upper parts of the fortress. The Alcazaba is the best-preserved Moorish fortress palace in Spain. It received about 1 million visitors in 2016. The road up to the top of the fortress goes in a longer uphill. We have therefore put in some time to take it at a leisurely pace. At the top you will be able to see large parts of the city as well as unobstructed views of the harbor. 

1pm - 1:50pm

The way back down from the fortress palace will be significantly easier and faster. If you have the energy and time, we recommend an extra stop at the Teatro Romano which you will pass on the right side of the road on the way down. Teatro Romano is a Roman arena designed by Emperor Augustus in the year 100 (See the map above. Marked as a red camera). After a long walk and many impressions have submitted a proposal to take a break and a cup of coffee and possibly a light lunch at Plaza del Obispo ("Bishop's Square"). In this square you will find both the entrance to the Cathedral of Malaga and the Palacio Episcopal ("Bishop's Palace") which with its colorful facades is one of the most iconic and photographed buildings in Málaga. In the middle, Plaza del Obispo has a beautiful old fountain from 1785. At the top of the fountain is a pineapple from which the water flows. The square exudes a nostalgic and colonial atmosphere despite several renovations. There are several cafes with outdoor seating to choose from.

1:50pm - 2:50pm

After gathering some strength, the tour continues with a visit to Malaga Cathedral, or the Catedral de la Encarnación de Malaga as it is called in Spanish. The entrance is just around the corner from the bishop's square. It is possible to buy tickets to see the inside of the cathedral, but also to take a walk on the roof of the cathedral. From the roof you will experience a fantastic view of the city and its surroundings, so we recommend both tickets. The tickets not only provide entrance to the cathedral and the roof, but it also includes an English-language guide who will show you around the entire cathedral and on the roof. Tours start every full hour, so be there no later than 1:50pm to buy tickets for the 2pm tour. Rarely have we seen so much splendor inside a cathedral as in Málaga. The cathedral's huge nave is decorated with an incredible sense of detail. Everywhere you look there are signs of Renaissance architecture, but there are also Gothic and Baroque elements in the cathedral. A lot of attention is paid to various details in the choir and the Gothic altarpiece in the chapel of Santa Barbara, but the stained glass windows also attract a lot of attention.

2:50pm - 4pm

next point is for many perhaps the highlight for many tourists in Malaga, namely the Picasso Museum. The museum is a few minutes walk from Malaga Cathedral (follow the directions in the map above). The main reason why one of the most famous Picasso museums in the world is found in Malaga is the simple fact that Pablo Picasso was born in Malaga. The current museum is a stone's throw from Picasso's birthplace. The museum shows many good and beautiful works of art, but we must warn that it still contains few very famous works by Picasso. The works of art in the museum mainly cover the early and later period of Picasso. The most famous works are unfortunately found in Barcelona, ​​Paris and scattered among other art museums around the world. Despite this, there is usually a significant queue in front of the Picasso Museum in Malaga during the summer. Annually, the museum has approx. 600,000 visitors. We have experienced having to stand for almost an hour to get tickets. We reccomend to buy ticket in advance so you avoid the ticket queue. Along with the ticket, you will also receive an audio guide in English. On busy days, it can be experienced as extremely busy in the museum, and that almost all paintings have a group of tourists. Despite the crowds and the fact that there are no real famous works by Picasso, it is still a nice museum to walk around. Not least because the museum is located in a beautiful historic building.

4pm - 5pm

After several hours of museums and sights, it's time for a meal and maybe something to drink. The perfect place for this is located very close to the Picasso Museum, namely the wine and tapas bar El Pimpi. Opened in 1971, El Pimpi is housed in an old mansion in Málaga from the 18th century, and is one of the oldest bodega bars in Málaga where you can enjoy local food and wine and above all the culture and traditions of southern Spain. El Pimpi Bodega Bar is accessible via two entrances (Calle Granada, 62 and Calle Alcazabilla), and is a busy wine and tapas bar popular with both young and not so young in Málaga. It has recently got a sister establishment next door, called El Pimpi Marinero. We recommend that you try to get a table on the terrace (parasols are set out on hot days) where you will have a good view of the Alcazaba fortress. But if it gets too hot, they have air conditioning indoors. It is difficult to give any good advice for which tapas dishes to order since all are really good. 

5pm - 6:30pm

The tour now returns to where we started, Mercado Central de Atarazanas, via Plaza de la Constitución and Calle Larois. Plaza de la Constitución (Constitution Square) has always been the hub of Málaga's life. All important festivals and events in the city are held here. In 2003, the square - and Calle Larios, the city's main street that ends at the square - were turned into pedestrian streets, and it is a recommended place to take a walk through the historic quarter of Málaga. The largest shopping street in Málaga is without a doubt Calle Marqués de Larios. For some, it is better known as Calle Larios. During periods of very hot summer days, Calle Marqués de Larios is covered with white cloths. This way, you still have some shade while shopping. Well-known chains in Calle Larios are Desigual, Mango and Zara.

6:30pm - 8pm

After a long day, we suggest that you rest your feet and relax a bit at the hotel. Alternatively, if you have the energy to spare and want a great experience, we recommend taking the trip down to Malagueta Beach to experience all the wonderful colors of the sky when the sun goes down just over 7pm. 

8pm - 10pm 

The last attraction of the day is a flamenco show inside a tavern in the heart of Málaga's old town. Tickets must be purchased in advance. The ticket guarantees a seat at the often sold-out show in the old town. In addition, it includes a drink you can enjoy during the show. Meeting place is Plaza de la Constitución at 20.30. One must not be too late! Here you get the opportunity to enjoy professional dancers moving next to traditional Spanish guitar. The show itself lasts approx. 90min. 

10pm - 10:30pm

Then we have reached the end of the day in our "one day program" and it is time to return to the hotel. We hope it has been an eventful day, and that you have appreciated the experiences we have included. 

For more information about the individual museums and sights suggested above, you can read more on their own pages under the tab "Malaga Info".