palmıana
DE
Malagueta beach in Málaga with a row of tall palms and the city behind
La Malagueta, the city beach ten minutes from the cathedral

Europe · Spain

Málaga & the Costa del Sol

Three hundred sunny days, a city that woke up, and winter afternoons at 18 degrees.

Save to your sun list

Málaga was the airport you flew into for somewhere else. That changed. The port became a promenade, the old town filled with museums and rooftop bars, and the city beach turned out to be a perfectly good beach. West along the coast, the resorts of the Costa del Sol run from Torremolinos to Marbella, all of them palm-lined and all of them warm enough for a February lunch outside.

The palm: Mexican fan palm

The tall thin palms on the Paseo del Parque and along La Malagueta are Washingtonia robusta, which love the dry heat. Under them the park holds one of Europe’s best collections of subtropical plants, planted in 1897 from cuttings the port brought in from the Americas.

When to go

°Crainsea January: 17°C by day, 6 rainy days, sea 16°C17°February: 18°C by day, 5 rainy days, sea 15°C18°March: 20°C by day, 5 rainy days, sea 15°C20°April: 22°C by day, 4 rainy days, sea 16°C22°May: 25°C by day, 2 rainy days, sea 18°C25°June: 28°C by day, 1 rainy days, sea 21°C28°July: 31°C by day, 0 rainy days, sea 23°C31°August: 31°C by day, 0 rainy days, sea 24°C31°September: 28°C by day, 2 rainy days, sea 23°C28°October: 24°C by day, 5 rainy days, sea 21°C24°November: 20°C by day, 6 rainy days, sea 18°C20°December: 17°C by day, 7 rainy days, sea 16°C17°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Typical daytime highs, rainy days per month (one drop is about four days) and sea temperature. Green bars are comfortable months, amber bars are hot or wet or cool, and the darker bars mark the best time to go.

Sights

Alcazaba and Gibralfaro

A Moorish palace on the hill above the Roman theatre, with a walk up to the castle for the view over the port.

Picasso Museum

Picasso was born three streets away. The museum in the Buenavista palace holds the family collection.

Centre Pompidou Málaga

The coloured glass cube on the port, the first Pompidou outside France.

Nerja and Frigiliana

An hour east: caves, the Balcony of Europe and a white village stacked up a hill.

Beaches

  • La Malagueta

    The city beach, palms, beach bars and the port at one end. Busy, shallow, easy.

  • Playa de la Carihuela

    Torremolinos’ old fishing quarter, still the best place on the coast for grilled fish on the sand.

  • Playa de Burriana, Nerja

    A sheltered bay below the cliffs with paddle boards, kayaks and the best paella on the coast at Ayo.

Events

  • Aug

    Feria de Málaga

    Nine days in mid August, flamenco dresses in the streets by day and a fairground by night.

  • Mar

    Málaga Film Festival

    Spanish-language cinema takes over the Cervantes theatre and the red carpet runs down Calle Larios.

  • Apr

    Semana Santa

    Holy Week processions carry two-tonne thrones through the old town to brass bands.

For remote workers

Internet5/5

A comfortable month: about €1,900

Málaga has become the tech city of southern Spain, with a cluster of international offices, fast fibre and coworking from the old town to the port. Winter is the sweet spot: 18 degrees at lunch, cheap monthly rentals and a train to Seville in under two hours. The Spanish digital nomad visa applies here too.

Compare as a base

For families

Calm water4/5
Shade3/5
Medical care5/5

The city beaches are calm and shallow, and the chiringuitos grill sardines on the sand. Further west, Fuengirola has a zoo built around a rainforest walk, and Nerja’s caves and coves are the best day trip for children who are done with sand.

Rank for your family

Three things to know

  1. Stay in the city and day-trip to the coast by train; the Cercanías line runs from the airport to Fuengirola every twenty minutes.
  2. Order espetos, sardines grilled on a cane over driftwood fires, at any beach bar with a boat full of coals outside.
  3. Winter sun works here: January averages 17 degrees and the terraces are open, but bring a jacket for the evenings.

Stories from here