Malaga, the complete destination

The city welcomes visitors from all over the world, with premium hotels, fine dining, exceptional museums and designer shopping, all on the sunny Mediterranean coastline

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Malaga

Saturday, 16 December 2023, 07:16

Malaga city has grown as a tourist destination over the last few decades, since it became a favourite for city breaks, rather than just day trips from the Costa.

Picasso was the first pull, as art lovers discovered his birth house and then, exactly 20 years ago this autumn, the Malaga Picasso Museum opened its doors.

This sparked the arrival of more museums and galleries, such as the “pop-up” branch of the Pompidou, the Carmen Thyssen and the Russian Collection, among others.

Malaga has been on the global art stage this year especially, as part of Picasso Celebration 1973-2023, a programme of around 50 exhibitions at renowned galleries in America and Europe to mark the 50th anniversary of the death of the painter. The show The Echo of Picasso, with work by a host of other world-renowned artists, from Francis Bacon to Louise Bourgeois exhibited alongside that of the Malaga-born painter.

This explosion of culture over the last 20 years has seen a significant evolution in facilities available in the city and especially in their quality.

The vibrant city is more than prepared to welcome the premium traveller, with a growing number of four and five-star hotels already open and more ambitious luxury projects in the pipeline.

Malaga Airport boasts seasonal connections beyond Europe, bringing in visitors from the US (New York) and the Middle East (Abu Dhabi and Doha, among others), and those touring the Mediterranean in style can now sail straight into the city harbour with its the new mega-yacht marina.

Thanks to the city hall’s extensive promotional work, prestigious cruise companies are looking to include Malaga on their itineraries.

And while these visitors are here, they can enjoy, not just the culture, but also the incredible culinary experiences on offer in the city, with everything from traditional tapas bars and beachside fish ‘chiringuitos’ to Michelin-starred restaurants.

Shopping is also now an alternative holiday activity as more and more top brand boutiques open in the city centre to complement the McArthurGlen designer outlet village on the outskirts of the city.

The increase in hotel accommodation and facilities has made the city the ideal place to host congresses and professional events.

Malaga city goes to the World Travel Market in London with the confidence that it is already a favourite destination among the British. Between January and September this year, nearly 100,000 British visitors arrived in the city, accounting for more than 260,000 overnight stays in hotel accommodation. This means an increase of 21.3% on the same period of 2022.

The city of Malaga is, therefore, a complete destination, offering art, culture and quality cuisine, as well as spectacular monuments, all on the beautiful Mediterranean coastline.

The attractive lifestyle in Malaga can prove irresistible, as more visitors decide to stay for longer, to join the range of Spanish language courses on offer or use the city as the ideal base for a stint of remote working in the sun.

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