Malaga City

When the opportunity arose to spend a weekend in Malaga I happily obliged. I had been to the Costa Del Sol before but had never been into the city and thought this would be a great chance to check it out. I have always been pleasantly surprised with the Spanish cities I’ve visited and I’m very pleased to say Malaga was no different. After a very smooth flight we arrived to glorious sunshine. The train station is located at the airport so it is very easy to hop on this into the city or indeed down the coast to the beach resorts. The train system is very efficient, great value and felt very clean and safe, an ideal way to get around.

We were staying in The Vincci Posada Del Patio, the only 5* hotel in Malaga and a very short walk from the station. I can’t say enough good things about this hotel; it was lovely and modern in a great location with lots of spaces to relax in, a trendy bar with live music and very reasonably priced drinks. There was a lovely restaurant, roof top pool and the bedrooms were very spacious and airy. We were allowed to check in immediately by the friendly staff and were upgraded to a superior room without even asking! The sumptuous breakfast included in our room rate would have been worth coming to Malaga alone for!

We spent a very pleasant afternoon wandering through the lovely streets in the old town and sampling some of the local specialities for lunch. There are an abundance of tapas bars, lots of really lovely buildings and plenty of shops. We found Malaga city to be great value and there are plenty of must see attractions like Alcazaba Fortress that was built in the 11th century and affords fantastic views of the city and the Roman theatre next door that dates from 1st Century BC! The lovely Malaga Cathedral is definitely worth a visit as is the Bull Ring and there are plenty of museums to enjoy, The Picasso Museum being the most popular. We took a stroll down to the lovely port area with a great selection of bars, restaurants and shops and a long sandy beach, it reminded me of Barcelona.

The following day we took the train down to Torremolinos where we had fun shopping for bargains in the numerous shops and walked the promenade the whole way to Benalmadena stopping for some refreshments and lunch along the way. I was pleasantly surprised at how nice Torremolinos was with a beautiful sandy beach; the resort is perfect for couples, families and retired people who spend many of the winter months taking advantage of the lovely mild climate and excellent value for money. We finished off our adventure with a couple of hours in nearby Fuengirola before taking the train back to the city.

I found Malaga was a great alternative to the beach resorts and a fantastic city break. It felt extremely safe and the atmosphere was electric in the evenings with many locals enjoying the weekend and the outdoor dining in the plentiful tapas bars and in the lovely squares. According to the locals we spoke to, while the weather is not guaranteed during the winter months, there is a good chance you will have pleasant sunny weather for your stay in their lovely city.