Neighbourhood · Málaga

La Merced

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

Wrong for beach-first trips; travellers who want a big hotel with a pool.

From Where to Stay in Málaga: A Neighbourhood-by-Neighbourhood Guide.

Where to stay in La Merced

All of Málaga

  • Hotel · La Merced

    Hotel Del Pintor

    Citorah says A three-star boutique hotel at Calle Álamos 27. It’s about 3 kilometres from María Zambrano station, by its own account.

  • Hotel · La Merced

    Hotel Palacete de Álamos

    Citorah says A four-star boutique hotel at Calle Álamos 20, in a late-19th-century building that keeps one of the few surviving stretches of the old medieval city wall. It has a spa and apartments as well as hotel rooms.

  • Hotel · La Merced

    Well & Come Málaga

    Citorah says A four-star boutique hotel at Calle Madre de Dios 19, registered at the end of 2024. Its rooftop looks out over the Alcazaba and the cathedral, and it has a spa and a 24-hour gym.

Where to eat in La Merced

All of Málaga

  • Restaurant · La Merced

    Cortijo de Pepe

    Citorah says A mesón since 1971, with separate menus for the bar, the dining room and the terrace.

Things to do in La Merced

All of Málaga

  • Museum · La Merced

    Museo Casa Natal Picasso

    Citorah says The Museo Casa Natal Picasso (formerly the Fundación Picasso Museo Casa Natal) is the house where Picasso was born, at Plaza de la Merced 15, declared a national monument in 1983. Picasso was born in Málaga on 25 October 1881 and spent his first ten years there; the rooms cover his family, his childhood and his training under his father, José Ruiz Blasco, a drawing teacher.

  • Sight · La Merced

    Plaza de la Merced

    Citorah says Plaza de la Merced is at its top end: spain.info recommends its pavement cafés, and the Picasso Foundation and Birthplace Museum is just off the square.

Other neighbourhoods

All neighbourhoods

  • Neighbourhood · 20 places

    Centro Histórico

    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

    Soho

    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 · 10 places

    La Malagueta and the port

    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

  • Neighbourhood · 4 places

    María Zambrano

    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

    Pedregalejo and El Palo

    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

Plan the trip

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