Malaga

This coastal city’s beachy charms will surely win you over

Malaga is a bustling commercial and residential center with an economy that doesn't depend exclusively on the travel industry. With a population of 560,000, Malaga is Costa del Sol’s capital, as well as the cultural capital of Spain’s coast with its many museums and historic monuments, including the town’s chief attraction, a museum devoted to local-born Pablo Picasso.

For most rail passengers, Malaga is the gateway to the Costa del Sol, but those who linger here find much to reward them, including the city's casco antiguo, the Old Town. Stay at least long enough to taste the sweet Malaga wine, famous since antiquity. Paseo del Parque is the town’s center. It begins at Plaza de la Marina and curves to the east. This is a palm-lined pedestrian promenade filled with banana trees and fountains, even duck-filled ponds. The beaches, for the most part, are popular for their bars rather than the gritty, grayish sands. Paseo Marítimo runs along La Malagueta Beach, but even better are the beaches to the east of Baños de Carmen and El Palo.

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