Neighbourhood · Málaga
This is the base for a beach holiday that still wants the city: the old town is a walk one way, the sand a walk the other.
Best for beach-and-city trips · families · couples on a luxury break
Wrong for travellers on a tight budget (the hotels below are all four- and five-stars).
From Where to Stay in Málaga: A Neighbourhood-by-Neighbourhood Guide.
Citorah PickHotel · La Malagueta and the port
Citorah says A five-star gran lujo (grand luxury) hotel on Paseo de Reding, overlooking the Bay of Málaga. It opened in 1926 as the Hotel Príncipe de Asturias, inaugurated by King Alfonso XIII, later became a courthouse, and was restored as a hotel by Hoteles Santos. It has 190 rooms, two outdoor pools, a sea-view chill-out area for over-16s and the Botanic Spa by Sisley. The Michelin Guide lists it.
Citorah PickHotel · La Malagueta and the port
Citorah says A five-star at Paseo de Reding 20, in a modernist building from 1908 by Julio O’Brien that was long the headquarters of the Andalusian Railway Company. It has 141 rooms, the Asador Contrapunto grill and the La Danza rooftop bar. It’s new: the Junta’s register dates it from 23 April 2026.
Citorah PickHotel · La Malagueta and the port
Citorah says A four-star at Avenida Cánovas del Castillo 1, beside the bullring and opposite Muelle Uno, about 100 metres from La Malagueta beach. All 94 rooms have terraces, and its Relax Area has a sauna, a Turkish bath, a jacuzzi and a sun terrace.
Citorah PickRestaurant · La Malagueta and the port
Citorah says After 15 years in the Port of Málaga, the restaurant has moved to a more intimate space in La Malagueta, next to the Centre Pompidou Málaga.
Citorah PickMuseum · La Malagueta and the port
Citorah says The Centre Pompidou Málaga is in the Cube (El Cubo) on the port, between Docks 1 and 2 at Muelle Uno (Pasaje Doctor Carrillo Casaux s/n). It opened on 28 March 2015 as the Paris institution’s first outpost abroad, and in 2025, at ten years old, renewed its commitment to the city for ten more.
Citorah PickSight · La Malagueta and the port
Citorah says Muelle Uno is a waterfront street of shops and restaurants, “abierto a la ciudad, frente al mar”, open to the city and facing the sea, as it describes itself. Have lunch here, and look for its two landmarks.
Citorah PickSight · La Malagueta and the port
Citorah says La Farola, the 38-metre lighthouse designed by Joaquín María Pery, was finished in 1817.
Citorah PickSight · La Malagueta and the port
Citorah says La Capilla, a small chapel opened in 1725, has been taken down and rebuilt stone by stone several times.
Citorah PickBeach · La Malagueta and the port
Citorah says La Malagueta is the urban beach closest to the historic centre, and the council counts it among the city’s best known. It’s about 1.2 km long, the water is calm, and the promenade behind it has a varied choice of places to eat and water sports. The council lists toilets (with a baby-changing space), showers, sunshade and lounger hire, food and a children’s play area, and in 2026 it was one of three beaches where staff help people with reduced mobility into the water.
Citorah PickPark · La Malagueta and the port
Citorah says The Palmeral de las Sorpresas, a walk under palms and a long pergola beside the Paseo de los Curas, opened in 2011 too.
Neighbourhood · 20 places
The old centre is where the sights are. The Andalusian tourist board’s tour of it takes in “the imposing Cathedral; the Nazari Gibralfaro Castle; La Alcazaba fortress, renovated for public usage; and the Roman Theatre”. Its best-known street is Calle Marqués de Larios, or simply Calle Larios, which starts by the port at Plaza de la Marina and is lined with shops.
Best for first-timers · short stays · museum-focused trips
Neighbourhood · 6 places
It lies next to the port, bordered by the southern edge of the Alameda, the Heredia Wharf, Plaza de la Marina and the Guadalmedina river.
Best for return visitors · art-minded trips · anyone who wants the centre without the crowds of Calle Larios
Neighbourhood · 6 places
Above the old centre is Plaza de la Merced, which the Andalusian tourist board describes as the “site of the house in which the artistic genius Picasso was born”. Hotel Del Pintor calls the streets around it the “Barrio de Picasso”, steps from the Picasso Museum, the Roman Theatre and Alcazaba, and the Museo de Málaga in the Palacio de la Aduana. It’s the calmer edge of the centre, and its small hotels have more character for the money than most of the old town’s.
Best for couples · returning visitors · anyone who wants the old town on foot without sleeping on its busiest streets
Neighbourhood · 4 places
The streets around the station are practical rather than pretty. Stay here if your trip runs on trains, or if you’re catching an early one at the end of it. Otherwise, sleep in the old town and walk in.
Best for early trains · short stopovers · anyone moving on by rail
Neighbourhood · 7 places
The Andalusian tourist board describes “the suburb of El Palo, with its typical fishermen’s houses, coves, promenades” and fried fish, in the east of the city. Hotel La Chancla calls neighbouring Pedregalejo Málaga’s traditional fishing quarter, and Hostal Moscatel sums it up as one of the city’s most popular beaches, with a seafront promenade and a great many restaurants and chiringuitos (beach bars).
Best for beach-first trips · return visitors · longer stays
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