I’M stood on a beach on the Costa del Sol, wiggling my toes in the warm Med.
Around me locals laugh and chat as they splash in the surf – but there’s not
an English accent within earshot.
I’m confused. This stretch of coast is home to thousands of Brits and millions
more flock here each year for their summer hols.
But there’s none on this beach and I’m smack in the middle of Malaga — capital
of the Andalusian region.
The city shouldn’t be a secret.
Beaches, culture, shopping and year-round sun – all just a couple of hours
from London. It ought to be the perfect year-round city break destination.
So I set off to find out the truth about this hidden Andalusian gem.
But most visitors only see the city’s airport before heading to Marbella and
the other well-known resorts.
And they’re missing a trick.
The first stop on anyone’s visit to Malaga should be a pilgrimage to the
birthplace of its most famous son, the artist Pablo Picasso.
The painter upped sticks and left the city with his family at the age of 10 –
but it made a big impression on him and his personality still looms large.
Much of his art is influenced by his roots in the south of Spain and his
lifelong love of bullfighting.
And there are no fewer than two museums in his honour, including the Picasso
family pad, which has been turned into a shrine to the artist. It’s rammed
with mementoes from his family’s time in Malaga – from his baby booties to
paintings by his artist father.
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Even more impressive is the huge new art gallery dedicated to Picasso.
On whitewashed walls hang some of his most iconic works as well as art by
others influenced by the great man.
The city is trying hard to appeal to culture vultures – and proudly boasts
more than 30 museums, including a shrine to motor cars and one dedicated to
Russian art, both occupying a sprawling former tobacco factory.
The Pompidou Centre is well worth a visit if you’re a contemporary art lover.
It’s a bite-sized little brother of the Paris version – but it’s equally
impressive sitting underneath a huge glass Rubik’s cube on the city’s
marina.
The marina itself is a great spot; restaurants and shops on one side, million
euro yachts on the other.
At night it’s lit up and you’ve got your pick of outside eateries offering
every kind of cuisine imaginable.
We stuffed ourselves on local seafood at the El Palmeral restaurant on the
waterfront.
If you like fish, you’ll love Malaga. They’re so obsessed with the stuff,
residents of the city are known as Los Boquerones (The Anchovies).
To get a real taste of the sea, we followed the locals to Pedregalejo, a
one-time fishing village that in recent years has been swallowed up by the
city.
Dozens of restaurants sit shoulder to shoulder along the promenade.
We dived into El Cabra and loosened our belts ready for a fishy feast.
One of the most popular local delicacies is sardines, soaked in olive oil and
roasted on spits over an open fire.
In Pedregalejo you can watch cooks prepare the dish on the beach, where they
grill the fish on barbecues shaped like miniature fishing boats.
The end result lives up the showmanship. The flesh crumbles off in your
fingers and the salty treat is to die for.
The sardines were followed by a mountain of fried fish of every shape and size
– including squid, octopus and my favourite, adobo; cubes of baby shark
soaked in vinegar. Yum.
We needed to walk off such a feast, so we headed to the outskirts of the city
and found the beautiful Jardín Botánico de la Concepción.
The lush paradise has a link to home – having been founded in 1850 by Amalia
Heredia Livermore, the granddaughter of the English consul at the time.
Making the most of Malaga’s sub-topical climate, it’s packed with ancient
trees and plants native to rainforests.
Even if you’re not green-fingered, the gardens are worth a visit if you’re
looking for a calming break from the heat of the city.
If that doesn’t chill you out enough, try a visit to El Hamman, a traditional
Arabian spa – and a nod to the city’s Moorish heritage. It offers different
hot and cold baths and a menu of massages guaranteed to send you into a
blissful trance.
It’s hidden away among a maze of enticing alleyways in the heart of the city.
You can lose hours wandering around smart shopping streets and weaving through
the narrow sidestreets – that either lead you to grand squares or tempting
tapas bars.
A must-visit is the Bodega El Pimpi, a Malaga institution – and a regular
haunt of the city’s second most famous son, the actor Antonio Banderas.
Pictures of the Zorro star adorn the walls and staff swear he visits every
year.
Tables spill out into a square overlooking the spectacular Roman theatre.
We washed down tapas with huge glasses of red wine and toasted the end of our
Andalusian adventure.
GO: MALAGA
GETTING THERE: Regular Monarch flights from Birmingham, Gatwick, Luton
and Manchester airports with fares, including taxes, from £34.99 one-way
(£75.98 return). See .
STAYING THERE: Double rooms at 4-star Hotel Guadalmedina from £53 a
night for two. Go to
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