Málaga for Art Lovers: The Best Museums and Galleries

For years, Málaga was the airport you flew into on the way to the beach. Not any more. Picasso's home town now has more than thirty museums, a revived port and a thriving food scene – enough for a full city break in its own right. These are the highlights for anyone who loves art.

1. Museo Picasso Málaga

Housed in the Buenavista Palace in the old town, the museum shows works from every stage of Picasso's long career – paintings, drawings, sculpture and ceramics – many donated by his family. Temporary exhibitions are often excellent. Book a timed ticket online in busy months.

The white-walled galleries of the Renaissance palace are bright and calm, and the works span Picasso's whole life – from careful early portraits to playful late pieces. In the basement, you can see Phoenician and Roman remains found during the restoration.

2. Picasso's birthplace (Casa Natal)

Picasso was born in 1881 in a house on Plaza de la Merced, a few minutes' walk from the museum. Today it's a museum about his early life and family, with personal objects, sketches and a reconstruction of the family home. Sit in the square afterwards next to his bronze statue on a bench.

The apartment overlooks the leafy Plaza de la Merced, where pigeons – one of Picasso's favourite subjects – still gather around the benches.

3. Museo Carmen Thyssen

In a 16th-century palace with a cool central patio, this museum focuses on 19th-century Spanish painting, especially Andalusian scenes, landscapes and everyday life. It's a great introduction to the region's art before Picasso.

A beautiful palace with a cool courtyard, filled with 19th-century Spanish paintings of Andalusian life – bullfighters, flamenco dancers and sunny landscapes.

4. Centre Pompidou Málaga

The brightly coloured glass cube on the port is the first branch of the Paris museum outside France. Below it, galleries show modern and contemporary art from the Pompidou's collection, along with temporary exhibitions and family workshops.

The colourful glass cube by the port glows in the sun, and below it, the galleries hold modern art by Bacon, Frida Kahlo and Miró.

5. Museo de Málaga

The city's largest museum fills the neoclassical Palacio de la Aduana (the old customs house) near the port. It combines a fine arts collection with archaeology, from Phoenician and Roman finds to 19th-century painting.

In the grand Palacio de la Aduana, the rooftop terrace has a wonderful view over the city and the port, and the galleries cover everything from Phoenician jewellery to Spanish painting.

6. CAC Málaga and the Soho district

The Contemporary Art Centre, in a former market building by the river, hosts free exhibitions of international contemporary art. Around it, the Soho district is covered in large murals by street artists from around the world – walk the streets between the river and the port to see them.

In Soho, whole facades are covered in huge, colourful murals, and the old wholesale market now holds contemporary art exhibitions – free to visit.

7. Art in the streets of the old town

Málaga's history is part of the attraction too. The Roman Theatre sits right at the foot of the Alcazaba, the Moorish fortress, and the unfinished cathedral – nicknamed "La Manquita", the one-armed lady, for its missing second tower – rises above the old town.

As you walk, look for murals, sculptures and decorated doors around the old town – Málaga's streets are a gallery in themselves.

Practical tips for museum lovers

• Book timed tickets for the Picasso Museum in busy months.
• Free entry: several museums offer free entry at certain times, often on Sunday afternoons – check each website, as rules change.
• Combine tickets: look for combined tickets, such as the Picasso Museum with his birthplace.
• Plan your route: the Picasso Museum, Casa Natal, Carmen Thyssen and Museo de Málaga are all within a 10-minute walk of each other in the old town; the Pompidou and CAC are by the port and the river.
• Avoid Mondays: many museums close on Mondays.

Beyond museums

Málaga's old town is full of architecture worth seeing: the Alcazaba, a Moorish fortress-palace with courtyards and gardens; Gibralfaro Castle above it, with the best views of the city and the bullring; the Roman Theatre at the foot of the Alcazaba; and the cathedral, whose unfinished south tower earned it the nickname "La Manquita". The Atarazanas market, in a former shipyard with a stained-glass window, is great for lunch.

When to go

Málaga has mild winters and hot summers, with more than 300 days of sun a year. Spring and autumn are ideal for a city break, and Holy Week (Semana Santa) brings spectacular processions – book well ahead. In August, many locals leave and it can be very hot.

Make a weekend of it

Combine museums with a walk along the redeveloped port (Muelle Uno), tapas in the old town and a swim at Malagueta beach. Málaga Airport is close to the city and linked by suburban train, and high-speed trains run to Córdoba, Seville and Madrid.

For the wider region, see our guides to Marbella and the Costa del Sol, Estepona, Granada and Córdoba.