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Travel advice for Spain
From travel safety to visa requirements, discover the best tips for traveling to Spain
Book your individual trip, stress-free with local travel experts
written by Meera Dattani
updated 27.02.2023
The 1960s may have brought mass tourism to the surrounding region, but Málaga is no resort town. You’ll see more Malaguenos than tourists. Backed by the Montes de Málaga mountains, this Mediterranean port city leaves few boxes unticked – beaches, harbour, historic centre, hilltop castle, and food scene. Read our guide to the best things to do in Málaga, one of Spain's most underrated cities.
The information in this article is inspired by The Rough Guide to Spain, your essential guide for visiting Spain.
9 days / from2468 USD
Andalucía Explored
Discover the best of Andalucía's breathtaking palaces, churches, museums, vineyards, and more, as you travel through spectacular scenery dotted with pueblos blancos and bordered by rugged mountains and coast en route to Granada, Seville, Ronda and Jerez de la Frontera.
view tour ⤍4 days / from643 USD
A culinary experience in Seville
Explore the cuisine and surroundings of Seville in Andalucia. From Iberian ham over sherry wines to the production and secrets of olive oil, this tour is an ideal weekend getaway. Decide yourself if you prefer a rental car or a chauffeur-driven car to explore the beauty of Andalucia.
view tour ⤍10 days / from3791 USD
Spanish Honeymoon
Discover Andalusia, starting with the cultural city of Seville, then on to Córdoba and Granada, home of the stunning Alhambra Palace. Next you'll visit Granada and the Albayzin Arab quarter, then enjoy a stunning hot-air balloon ride, before ending your trip with a luxury boat trip from Marbella!
view tour ⤍5 days / from1480 USD
Made for Madrid
Take to the Spanish capital for art, culture and a taste of life in the city, Madrileño-style. Explore age-old churches and pretty plazas, stroll through the lovely Buen Retiro Park and visit captivating Toledo. Then, come sundown, discover the city's vibrant barrios and lively nightlife.
view tour ⤍4 days / from1399 USD
A Madrid getaway
Spend four days discovering the wonders of Spain's capital Madrid: from fascinating museums like El Prado and Reina Sofia over exploring unknown corners with your private guide to a day trip to the surroundings, this itinerary packs the best of Madrid.
view tour ⤍18 days / from4590 USD
Hidden Spain - From Barcelona to Basque Country
Do you want to explore highlights in Spain while staying in nature at the same time? Look no further. Start your Spanish adventure in Barcelona before heading off to the mountains - drive your rental car to Andorra and further on to Basque Country. Decide between driving yourself or guided tours.
view tour ⤍8 days / from2360 USD
Andalucía by Car
Enjoy this road trip through Spain’s exuberant Andalucía, which will take you through the charming cities of Malaga, Seville, Granada and various 'white villages', including Ronda, with its vertiginous views across the sweeping Andalucían countryside.
view tour ⤍5 days / from1717 USD
The Lands of Wine from Madrid
Spain is well known for its amazing wines and this itinerary allows you to explore two famous regions: Ribera del Duero and La Rioja. Four different wineries, from traditional to modern, and many restaurants on the way await your visit.
view tour ⤍9 days / from1490 USD
The Cities, Mountains and Beaches of Northern Spain
Southern Spain has been a busy tourist destination for many years. This self-drive trip avoids the touristy area along the southern Spanish coast, instead opting to take in the culture of the north and its natural beauty and the rugged beaches and coast.
view tour ⤍4 days / from902 USD
Simply Seville
Make the most of a city break in one of Spain's most atmospheric cities. The home of flamenco, Seville is a veritable feast for all the senses. Come here for the tantalising cuisine and fragrant orange trees, awe-inspiring Gothic cathedral, pretty plazas and many excellent museums and galleries.
view tour ⤍13 days / from6572 USD
Cultural Cities of Spain
From Barcelona down to Granada in the deep South, see the best of Spain on this multi-city tour that takes in Madrid, Córdoba and Seville, too. Get to grips with Gaudí, see historic Toledo, wander through the Prado, see the Alhambra, and more on this cultural extravaganza of Spain's finest cities.
view tour ⤍7 days / from2700 USD
The tale of two cities: Madrid and Barcelona
Explore the capital of Spain Madrid with a unique city tour before heading about an hour outside of the city, to visit Europe's longest zip-line in historic Toledo. Afterwards, board a train to explore the second-largest city of Spain, Barcelona.
view tour ⤍4 days / from1539 USD
A weekend getaway to Malaga
Malaga is a coastal city in Andalusia, right on the famous 'Costa del Sol'. This weekend getaway allows you to explore the city, as well as the well-known surrounding cities of Ronda and Marbella. Yellow sand beaches, fascinating museums and a delicious cuisine await to be discovered.
view tour ⤍4 days / from1582 USD
City break Valencia
Spain's third largest city offers a beautiful old city quarter, plentiful history and a vibrant culture to be discovered. Palaces, museums and a rich cuisine make Valencia an attractive weekend getaway destination, as does the nearby wine region of Requena.
view tour ⤍12 days / from4012 USD
Iconic Cities of Spain: Madrid, Seville, Valencia and Barcelona
Spend a wonderful 12 days exploring the best that Spain has to offer on a trip including city tours of historical Madrid, Granada, Seville, Valencia, and Barcelona. Enjoy palatial-style boutique accommodation throughout the holiday, and savour delicious cuisine and regional wine. Be inspired!
view tour ⤍29 days / from9245 USD
From the South to the North - a Spanish Immersion
The ultimate trip for Spain lovers - explore the country at a leisurely pace from the South to the North. Start in Seville and make your way to Madrid via Granada and Cordoba. From Madrid, continue to the North - the Camino de Santiago, Basque Country and mountains await.
view tour ⤍16 days / from2538 USD
Gems in Southern Spain
Discover the gems of Southern Spain at a leisurely pace. Start and end is in Seville. From there, you will venture out to visit Cordoba, Granada, Ronda, Nerja, Malaga and the Costa del Sol, and much more on the way. Transportation and accommodation options are diverse and yours to choose.
view tour ⤍10 days / from4590 USD
Spanish Discovery - Barcelona, Seville & Madrid
This unique trip is ideal for everyone wanting to get a real taste of Spain. Private guides or small group tours await to show you Barcelona, Figueres, Seville, Cordoba, Toledo, and Madrid. Stay in luxurious Boutique Hotels conveniently located so you can explore the cities on your own as well.
view tour ⤍7 days / from3062 USD
Iberian Blend - Porto and Galicia
Neighbour countries - Portugal and Spain, different and similar at the same time, will surprise you with hospitality and loveliness. This itinerary includes the route of the Northwest part of Iberian Peninsula and offers you to meet beautiful Porto and stunning Vigo in Galicia/Spain.
view tour ⤍15 days / from5913 USD
Camino de Santiago & Portugal Deluxe
Hike the 'Way of Saint James', more precisely - the Portuguese Route, a World Heritage Site. After 5 days of beautiful hikes, it's time to say goodbye to Spain and hop on a plane to Portugal. Lisbon and Porto await before exploring the wineries of Douro Valley. A truly exceptional trip.
view tour ⤍4 days / from2538 USD
A Luxury Journey through the Vineyards of La Rioja
Visit La Rioja, Spain's most renowned wine-producing region, and discover the secrets of Spanish wine making. By the time this unique trip is over, you'll have sampled a wide range of fine Spanish wines, and you're sure to be going home as an expert.
view tour ⤍18 days / from5962 USD
Self Drive in Northern Spain
This tour is perfect for the independent traveller, with a sense of adventure and a love for food. Start in Santiago and discover among others Galicia and Asturia, all the way to Basque Country. On the way, Michelin starred restaurants and beautiful vineyards await. Finish your trip in Barcelona.
view tour ⤍8 days / from2479 USD
Castilian Castles: A Luxury Spanish Road Trip
Welcome to the driving trip of a lifetime through the Castile region, a picturesque land full of regenerated medieval castles and farmed plains. Explore places like Rioja Alavesa, a privileged microclimate for vine cultivation, and the majestic locations of Albarracin and Alarcón, at your own pace.
view tour ⤍9 days / from5935 USD
Unique Spain - Cultural Getaway
A trip filled with history, amazing landscapes and cultural attractions. Starting with walking tours around the cities hearts, to exploring the gastronomy, the arts and the folklore. Your trip begins in Barcelona before proceeding to Madrid and finishing in Seville - Andalusia's capital.
view tour ⤍Málaga has about 27 museums in total, covering glass, wine, classic cars, football and even interactive music.
Málaga’s is the birthplace of Picasso. and Málaga’s prized son is honoured at the Casa Natal museum.
Other major museums include Carmen Thyssen, a sixteenth-century palace containing Málaga’s most comprehensive Spanish art collection and part-sister museum to Madrid’s Thyssen. Another favourite is CAC, Málaga’s centre of contemporary art. Just off-centre by the Guadalmina river, its changing programme, outdoor bar and sushi restaurant are extra reasons to visit.
Our tailor-made weekend getaway to Málaga allows you to explore the city, as well as the well-known surrounding cities of Ronda and Marbella. Beautiful beaches, fascinating museums and delicious cuisine await to be discovered.
To get some perspective, one of the things to do in Málaga is to head for the fourteenth-century Moorish citadels of Alcazaba and Gibralfaro. The winding path up Mount Gibralfaro leads to the castle ramparts where the city unfolds in front of you.
On a hot day, the bus (regular or hop-on-hop-off) is tempting and it’s worth arriving later in order to stop for sundowners at the Parador de Málaga Gibralfaro. This is a luxury hotel which welcomes non-residents to its terrace where views over the city and harbour are quite sublime.
Málaga is one of the places in Spain rich in Moorish heritage. Our guide to the best places to experience Moorish Spain will tell you where else to go in Spain to enjoy the architecture of those times.
Málaga’s magnificent Alcazaba – along with the Gibralfaro – is an exuberant contrast to the dour fortresses of Castile and it's one of the best things to do in Málaga. At the Alcazaba’s entrance stands a Teatro Romano, unearthed in 1951 during building works. The theatre, constructed in the second century BC, is now used as an auditorium for various outdoor entertainments.
Access to the theatre is via a Centro de Interpretación, whose exterior is decorated with extracts from the Lex Flavia Malacitana, the Roman city’s municipal law code.
Discover the best of Andalucía's breathtaking palaces, churches, museums, vineyards, and more, as you travel through spectacular scenery dotted with pueblos blancos and bordered by rugged mountains and coast on this tailor-made trip exploring Andalucía.
Plaza de La Merced is considered Málaga's main square and you will find lots of things to do in Málaga here such as the city's major events and festivals. Picasso was born in 1881 in the Plaza de la Merced. Here you'll find the Fundación Picasso, a centre for scholars researching the painter’s life and work.
An exhibition space displays lithographs, etchings and washes by Picasso – mainly with women as the subject matter – plus temporary exhibitions centred around the artist’s work. Also a reminder of Picasso is the sculpture by Francisco López Hernández installed on the Plaza in 2008, close to the Casa Natal de Picasso.
Just as impressive is Málaga’s Gothic/Renaissance-style cathedral. You’ll probably hear about it before you see it – it’s a miracle if 24 hours pass without someone pointing out its odd, one-tower design.
Known as La Manquita or "The One-Armed Lady", work was halted when a bishop diverted funds to the American War of Independence against the British. “They held a referendum on the adding the second tower,” one guide said, “but they voted no to keep it unique.”
Peel yourself away from the alluring old quarter and you’ll find yourself on the palm tree-lined Paseo del Parque with its botanical garden. Follow the surreally designed seafront promenade El Palmeras de las Sorpresas to the restaurants and shops of Muelle Uno (Pier One), part of the redeveloped harbour and cruise terminal.
Here, just past Málaga’s lighthouse, are the city beaches, from Malagueta and eastwards to the pretty neighbourhoods of Pedregalejo and El Palo. These two are among the best things to do in Málaga’ for lazy weekends. Explore cove beaches, promenades and endless line of bars, restaurants and chiringuitos (beach bars/restaurants), usually packed with locals.
Lying at the heart of an area that bustles with life, the nineteenth-century wroughtiron, Mudéjar-style Mercado Central (officially the Mercado Central de Atarazanas) incorporates a little-known architectural gem, largely unnoticed by the daily shoppers.
This, a remarkable fourteenth-century Moorish arch on its southern facade, was built for Yusuf I of Granada – the ruler also responsible for that other great gateway, the Puerta de la Justicia in the Alhambra – when Málaga was part of the Nasrid kingdom.
If you are an avid art enthusiast, visiting Pompidou Centre should be on your list of things to do in Málaga. Occupying the corner of Muelle Uno, the Centro Pompidou houses modern art works on loan from its Parisian big sister. As its central theme, the main exhibition takes the human body, whole, in bits or in metamorphosis, and includes works by artists such as Bacon, Magritte, Giacometti and Léger.
Highlights include portraits by Chagall, Kahlo and Picasso; Landau’s Barbed Hula; Attia’s rows of aluminium foil Ghosts; and sculptures by Brancusi, Miró and Schütte. Several temporary exhibitions take place every year, also of works on loan from Paris and with a strong French focus. The Centro Pompidou also showcases the performing arts with concerts, dance performances and films throughout the year.
Although sometimes still billed as one of the world’s most dangerous walkways, the current version of El Caminito del Rey is actually very safe and now ranks among the most popular attractions in the province. You do need a reasonable head for heights – the suspension bridge at the end can be a challenge – and allow at least a half-day for the 7.7km trail.
Book well in advance via the website, wear stout walking shoes and take plenty of water, especially in the summer months, when temperatures in the gorge can easily surpass 35ºC.
Enjoy this tailor-made road trip through Spain’s exuberant Andalucía. Our customisable trip will take you through the charming cities of Malaga, Seville, Granada and various 'white villages', including Ronda, with its vertiginous views across the sweeping Andalucían countryside.
The dances and music of flamenco, while probably not of Moorish origin, display the soul of Andalucía and can be an electrifying spectacle. Dancers in brilliantly coloured dresses drill their heels into the floorboards in a frenzy of emotion or, in cante jondo, turn the art form into a blues-style lament.
Genuine flamenco in Málaga is now easier to come by and the venues often approach the real thing. Many flamenco events happen in and around the town throughout the year – several are held at the Museo Picasso and during the Bienal de Flamenco. The Turismo Municipal is the best source of information on these.
The far eastern section of Málaga province is the Axarquía region, which sees comparatively few tourists. An area of rugged natural beauty, it was once the haunt of mountain bandits. From Riogordo, you have a choice of routes: east to Alfarnate or west, following a stiff climb, to Colmenar, another brilliant-white hill town and the Axarquía’s most westerly outpost.
A centre of honey production thanks to the rich variety of flowering plants and shrubs growing in the surrounding hills, the village takes its name from colmena, Spanish for “beehive”.
A wonderful route twists down from here via the Puerto del Léon down to Málaga, through the forests of cork oaks and pines forming the Parque Natural de los Montes de Málaga, and offering stunning views over Málaga and the Costa del Sol during its latter stages.
Discover even more of Spain's natural beauty sites and more with our guide to the best things to do in Spain.
The Nerja Caves are a series of limestone caverns discovered in 1959. The caves are famous for their stunning natural beauty, including towering stalactites and stalagmites, as well as intricate cave formations.
Visitors to the Nerja Caves can explore several chambers, including the Hall of the Nativity, where prehistoric paintings and artefacts have been discovered. The caves are a popular tourist destination and offer a fascinating glimpse into the natural history of the region.
Find more accommodation options to stay in Málaga. Also, travelling around Spain, check out our list of the best places to stay in Andalucía.
Ready for a trip to Málaga? Check out the snapshot The Rough Guide to Spain. If you travel further in Spain, read more about the best time to go, the best places to visit and best things to do in Spain.
If you prefer to plan and book your trip to Málaga without any effort and hassle, use the expertise of our local travel experts to make sure your trip will be just like you dream it to be.
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Top image © S-F/Shutterstock
written by Meera Dattani
updated 27.02.2023
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From travel safety to visa requirements, discover the best tips for traveling to Spain