Málaga is a port city on southern Spain's Costa del Sol, known for its high-rise hotels and resorts jutting up from yellow-sand beaches. Looming over that modern skyline are the city's 2 massive hilltop citadels, the Alcazaba and ruined Gibralfaro, remnants of Moorish rule. The city's soaring Renaissance cathedral is nicknamed La Manquita ("one-armed lady") because one of its towers was curiously left unbuilt.
Loaded with history and brimming with a youthful vigour that proudly acknowledges its multi-layered past, the city that gave the world Picasso has transformed itself in spectacular fashion, with half a dozen new art galleries, a radically rethought port area and a nascent art district called Soho.
In the city center is the Picasso Museum, showcasing works of the famous artist, born in Málaga in 1881. There's also the Fundación Picasso, dedicated to the study of the man. The 19th-century bullring La Malagueta still holds fights, especially during August's famous Málaga Fair.
Tapas restaurants and bars line the beachfront and harbor, serving fried anchovies and other regional staples, many reflecting a North African influence.
The food culture experience will encompass both Michelin stars and tastefully tatty fish shacks.
