Discovering Malaga, getting to know spanish culture & food & people

What is it like to live in Malaga? Would you recommend it? What is the city like?

I would definitely recomend living in Malaga. I have visited a lot of different cities of Spain since I have always loved that country. My first exchange to Spain was in high school, on every school break I was always travelling to Spain - and while I visited so many different cities there, my favourite one is definitely Malaga. Malaga has everything you could wish for - it has mountains, the incredible long beach, the old city, amazing food. What is more the location of Malaga would be good for sure for every traveller. From Malaga you can travel to other cities that are located close to it - for example Granada, Marbella, Nerja or Sevilla. Andalucia has so much to offer and everyone who visits it for a second at least, will for sure love it.

What is the student lifestyle like in Malaga?

Visiting the centre of the city, checking out all tapas bars, trying different food, eating seafood, travelling to other cities that are located close to Malaga, going on a beach - all of that and more. That's the student life in Malaga.

How much does it cost to live in Malaga?

For my room I have paid 330 euro per month. I was living in a house with five other people really close to the city centre - it was like 10 minutes by walk. I guess it was kinda a lot, especially when you think about the scholarship we are getting from our University - which in my case was 400 euro per month. Some of my friends have rented the flat in lower prices - 200/250 euro per month but the quality of the house/room wasn't as good as mine. So it depends on what you are expecting. The prices depend also on: where do you want to live AND with who you want to live. Since I lived close to the centre, the price of the room was higher (the closer you live to city centre - the more you pay obviously). If you though are travelling with a group of people from your home university/country it might be easier for you to find a flat! You can rent the whole flat, instead of renting separate rooms, which might be cheaper for you and your friends in the end. In addition obviously at the beginning I have paid deposit which was 300euro (which I did not get back - I got only 1/3 of it because the owner didn't treat me and my flatmates as he should. That's another story though).

Is it difficult to find accommodation in Malaga? Is there any advice you can give?

It was really hard for me to find a flat/room in Malaga. At the beginning I thought I have a lot of time so I wasn't searching for it and when I started a lot of things were already occupied. It is better to try to find it in advance, start couple of months in advance and you won't have any problem finding it! What I can recomend also - do not close something off just because you think you won't find the flat on that website. Try checking out the page even if you do not like it since beginning. I personally have found my perfect room on a Facebook website even though I had all my hope lost and I was sure I won't find anything there.

In addition, try learing spanish a little bit when you are starting to search for a perfect flat. Or if you do not speak that language, try finding someone who can help you out - maybe your friend speaks spanish? It would be also useful in comunnication with the owner of your future flat - to have someone who is speaking spanish. Especially during signing agreement of renting a room (my document was in spanish obviously) - it is good to have someone who will check it out with you.

What is the food like? What are your favourite dishes?

There are plenty of amazing restaurants or tapas bars that are worth checking out! Try something different every time you go out, don't settle for just one restaurant just because you know the food is great there. I personally loved the most the typical spanish dish called paella and tapas - shrimps with garlic. Tapas bars have a lot of different type of seafood that is worth trying. If you do not like seafood - it might be hard for you, you can try it out anyway and maybe you will change your mind. I'd suggest giving a try!

Malaga has a lot of different tapas bars - while ordering a beer you have always delicious olives with it. If you go to Granada though for a trip (which I advise) - to each drink you have a free one tapa!

What places would you recommend visiting in Malaga?

You have to for sure see all monuments Malaga has to offer like typical tourist - go to as many museums as you can. It is also good to go (couple of times! ) to El Castillo de Gibralfaro since the view from there is just incredible. You have to also take a walk on the beach (go through the whole beach) to the El Palo zone. There is also a place that I advise visit for sure - the mountain is called 'San Anton'. You need to have though some student-guide for that trip since it is not possible for you alone to find this place, I believe. The view from that place is just out of this world. You see the beach, the mountains and the whole city. I was lucky to find someone who has been in this place before and could be my guide on a trip there. Normal tourists for sure don't go to this place, only erasmus students :) In addition try checking out different cities/places that are located close to Malaga. Maybe you can rent a car with couple of friends and go on some road trip? If not, there are plenty of buses that can take you wherever you want! Cities that are close to Malaga and are worth seeing: Sevilla (my personally favourite place I have seen thanks to living in Malaga), Granada, Nerja, Marbella, Fuengirola - a little bit far away: Cadiz, Madrid. While living in Malaga you also have to check out Caminito Del Rey - it is the path through the mountains. You need to buy ticket for that but I can promise you, it is worth it. The view from this place is also amazing.

The path near the beach and city centre.

The view from Castillo de Gibralfaro.

Is it good to eat out in Malaga? Can you tell us your favourite spots?

It depends obviously how much do you want to spend for eating out. One of my favourite places was the restaurant called El Gastronauta. It is said that they have the best paella in the city. I went there couple of times and the paella is truly incredible and I do recommend checking out this place on your own. In addition they have very well made tapas - the shrimps with garlic are the best there for sure. The disadvantage of this place is that it is really small and well known - which means if you want to go there, you should book a table in advance - the best would be to call couple of hours before or a day before. This place, since it is famous and has really well food, isn't one of the cheapest - if you are searching to eat something cheap the best place is 100 montaditos. It is the restaurant where you can order fries, small sandwiches and a beer or sangria for a really low prices.

What advice would you give future students heading to Malaga?

Don't go there just for half of the year (one semestr) because I can promise you it won't be enough! Go for the whole year, you won't regret it. Malaga has so much to offer - as well as Spain itself. If you go see Malaga, you will want to see more - see other cities. And they all are also incredible.

Next advice I am going to give is to try to learn a bit spanish - it is beautiful language and it will for sure help you with solving some things on University or in communication in a restaurant. If you can't speak that language - it is okay, you will be able to communicate in english - but maybe try starting studying it once you live already there? Spanish people don't speak perfectly spanish from what I have seen and even if they do their accents might be a little tricky for you and you might have problems with understanding them.

When it comes to searching a flat - start searching in advance and if you do not speak spanish - find someone from your friends who does and can help you out!

All of the pictures I have added are mine.