Malaga in two days

Malaga in two days

Date of the trip

I went to Malaga from 18th to 20th June 2018 to meet my brother.

Reasons for going on the trip

I was an Erasmus student in Granada for 6 months and my brother wanted to visit me. The flights from Brussels were cheaper to Malaga than to Granada. I thought it was a good opportunity to explore this Andalusian city which I had yet to visit. I wanted to lounge around on the beach and to experience the holiday atmosphere in this city.

Malaga, with more than 3000 years of history, is one of the cultural destinations with the most international exhibitions (it contains works of art by artists such as Pablo Picasso).

Malaga is a city of art and museums and is home to Phoenician, Roman and finally Arabic culture.

In short, Malaga is a synonym of culture, the beach and sun.

The journey from Granada (the bus station) to Malaga Airport

Being an Erasmus student in Granada, I took the bus to Malaga airport for less than ten euros. The bus leaves from the bus station (on a street called avenida de Juan Pablo II), about an hour's walk from the centre of Granada. There are also bus routes between the town centre and the bus station. The journey from Granada to Malaga airport took around two hours. The bus, which was very comfortable, stopped right in front of the arrivals.

The journey from Brussels to Malaga

My brother arrived directly with Ryanair to Malaga from Brussels. He bought his flight for only thirty something euros.

The journey from Malaga airport to Malaga city centre

Right by the airport exit, we took a bus which took us to the city centre. The journey cost us about six euros.

The bus stopped quite near our hostel.

Where to stay in Malaga

Malaga is a popular holiday destination which offers all types of accommodation.

We stayed in a hostel right in the heart of the city. The hostel's called Larios Cool Hostel.

The hostel, hidden in the middle of the main city streets, is located on the fourth floor of a building in a street (called Calle Marin García 9) full of bars and restaurants, along the main street. The hostel is small but it has everything you need: two ten-bed dorms, showers, toilets, a kitchen and a reception.

We arrived late to the hostel (it was out of hours), but someone stayed there to welcome us (we told them that we were going to be late in advance via email).

We booked the hostel online, on the website booking.com, around two weeks in advance.

We paid around ten euros a night (the average price for a hostel in Malaga).

Our first day in Malaga

The parks

We got up early to avoid the exhausting heat (but that failed because it was already really hot that morning),

We walked towards the centre and strolled along the "paseo del parque" (near the beach) and around the parks called "jardines de Puerta Oscura" and "jardines Pedro Luis Alfonso".

The climb up to the castle

We climbed the walls of the Alcazaba (where the Arab Kings lived) all the way to the entrance to the Gibralfaro Castle, passing by the miradors (lookout points) which have an amazing view of the whole city.

We came back down another way (to be more "adventurous") and to get to the beach.

The beach

Malaga is known for its beaches.

We went to the "Malagueta beach".

There weren't many people there, probably because it was in the morning on a weekday. It was ideal for us to sunbathe and to have a swim in the sea in the peace and quiet.

The beach wasn't very clean but it wasn't too dirty either.

The water was absolutely freezing

A hike in the mountains

After having lunch, we went towards the mountains to climb up to their summits.

We followed a signposted path (among others) which took us to a viewpoint where you could see the port, the Alcazaba and the Gibralfaro Castle. On the way up we were able to admire the view of a different part of the city. The path went across some nice and peaceful spots so we were able to recharge our batteries.

Our break at the top of the mountain gave us the opportunity to get a breath of fresh air.

Malaga Port

We went along the beach to go back to the centre. We went past the "glorieta" and came across the port.

The port is an extremely touristic place in the city. There they have an unimaginable number of "typical tourist" restaurants.

We stopped in the toilets to take advantage of the special chairs which, for a little more than a euro give you a really amazing massage. I would recommend going there if you want to relax for a moment.

We had a special drink called a Bubble tea. If you want to try something new: try it, it's amazing.

The tourist office (plaza de la Marina)

We then we to the tourist office to find out if there were other free activities to do.

They gave us a leaflet and told us to do more or less the things we had already done that morning.

They recommended us to go on the big Ferris Wheel which costs ten euros, saying it was definitely worth the price.

They also showed us the blue path which you can find all around the city and it takes you to the most important places in Malaga. We managed to follow it all in less time than they had said. We went past the cathedral, the churches and the museums which you had to pay for to get in.

We sat down on the steps in the "Teatro Romano". It's a ruin of the old roman theatre.

A magnificent range of museums (which charge you to go in)

We wanted to go to the Pompidou museum but it was closed.

We also thought long and hard about whether to go inside the Picasso museum but the entrance fee was ridiculously expensive.

We preferred to see his statue in a square in the centre (for free).

Pablo Picasso was born in 1881 at "fifteen, Plaza de la Merced" (in Malaga). He later became the most important painter of the twentieth century.

Free Museums

Most of the museums in Malaga you normally have to pay for are free on Sundays. Unluckily for us, it was only the beginning of the week. However, some museums are always free to enter.

1. The "Museo del Patrimonio Municipal. Mupam" had a temporary exhibition (on printings and engravings) when we were there, and also a permanent exhibition on the history and heritage of Malaga.
2. The "Centro de Arte Contemporaneo. CAC Malaga" which we went to on the second day.

Our second day in Malaga

Mercado de Atarazanas

We walked along the isles in the huge covered market called "Atarazanas".

This place is very big and it has everything. You can see the stained-glass windows when you look up from the hundreds of market stalls.

The museum of contemporary art "CAC Malaga"

We went to see the museum of contemporary art (for free). Well, it's full of contemporary art so as you can imagine, we liked some pieces, but not others.

The promenades and refreshments

We walked along the streets and through the parks.

We saw the "museo taurino Antonio Ordonez" (an ancient bullring) from the outside because we had seen it from the viewpoint the day before.

Along the dried up streams

We wanted to walk all the way along the stream but it was too dry.

The other side of the bridge

We went across the whole city to go to the train station.

The city isn't that beautiful, since in every corner you can see tall buildings.

Near the train station there are two big shopping centres.

The journey from Malaga bus station to Granada bus station

We took the bus back to Granada after two days of exploring Malaga. Our tickets cost between ten and twenty euros. We booked them in advance on the website busbud.

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