The new high-speed AVE train link from Madrid to Málaga makes it easier than ever to visit the Andalusian city, which was recently included in The New York Times' list of places to visit in 2008.

While the port city is already a significant tourist draw, thanks to its location on the Costa del Sol, it is doing its best to bring in even more visitors through major extensions to its airport and seaport, which is already a hub for several international cruise lines.
 
Málaga is best appreciated from a height - that's to say, from its 11th-century Moorish fortress, the Alcazaba, and the adjoining 14th-century Gibralfaro palace. Both can be visited for a little over EUR 3, and offer wonderful views of the city and its bullring, La Malagueta, which inspired many of Pablo Picasso's paintings after his father took him there as a little boy to see the famous matadors Lagartijo and Mazzantini.
 
As a matter of fact, one of the city's biggest cultural draws, at least since 2003, is the Picasso Museum. Following the dying wishes of the maestro, 200 artworks were brought into the Palacio de Buenavista, a 16th-century Renaissance building in the city centre, as the basis for a permanent collection to rival other Picasso museums in Barcelona, Antibes and Paris. The centre is currently hosting a show called Picasso, Object and Image, which examines the artist's working methods in different media and how they influenced each other.

Málaga authorities like to boast about the city's 14 kilometres of beaches, which draw sunbathers almost year-round thanks to permanently mild weather and in spite of their sand not being the whitest nor the finest. The beaches are also a good place to sample Málaga's specialties, such as the pescaíto frito (a variety of lightly fried small fish) and the surprisingly satisfying espetos de sardina (sardines grilled on an outdoor barbecue). One good place to taste these dishes is Restaurante El Tintero, a no-frills outdoor eatery located on the popular Playa El Palo, where waiters walk out of the kitchen bearing large platters of fish, allowing diners to inspect the goods before deciding whether to eat them or not.

 1 2 Next >