Málaga on the Costa del Sol evokes images of beaches, apartment blocks, parasols and blue skies. But as a city with over 30 museums, there is something for everyone. Visitors flock to the Picasso museum as Málaga was his birthplace, and as a bonus, the Automobile Museum has one of the world’s best private car collections. Here are the five best museums in Málaga.
Travel Essentials – the five best museums in Málaga
Getting there
Airline: Wizz Air and easyJet from London Luton (LTN) to Málaga (AGP). From £50, return.
Transport to the city: Uber, Line A Express bus or train.
Cost to the city: €20 by taxi, €3 (single) by bus and €1.80 (single) by train.
Journey time to the city: 30 minutes.
Need to know
Visa: From 1st January 2021, UK residents can visit Spain for 90 days maximum in any 180 day period.
Travel: See the FCDO website.
Currency: Euro (£1 = €1.11 approximately).
Language: Spanish. English is spoken and understood.
Best time to visit: March until May.
Time: GMT +1.
Quick Facts about Málaga
- One worlds oldest cities founded in 770BC.
- The largest southernmost city in Europe.
- Birthplace of the artist Pablo Picasso in 1881.
- Originally named ‘Malaka’, meaning factory.
- Birthplace of the actor Antonio Banderas in 1960, who still lives here.
Five of the best museums to visit in Málaga
- Museo Automovilístico y de la Moda – €9 (Adult).
- Museo Picasso Málaga – €9 combined ticket (Adult) – free on Sundays from 1700.
- Fundación Picasso Museo Casa Natal – Free with the €9 combined ticket and Sundays from 1600.
- Colección del Museo Ruso – Free with the €9 combined ticket and on Sundays from 1700.
- Centre Pompidou Málaga – Free with the €9 combined ticket and on Sundays from 1700.
1. Museo Automovilístico y de la Moda
Opened in 2007, this museum has a private collection of 90 automobiles, with many smuggled across the Spanish border by Jose Antonio Magalhaes, a Portuguese fabric manufacturer.
The cars feature chronologically from the late 1800s to modern times, each telling its own story. Some are unique, such as the 1936 Rolls Royce Phantom III, the last car developed by Henry Royce and the only one in existence today. The smell of petroleum in the air adds to the automotive atmosphere.
The museum merges automobiles, art, and fashion with Chanel, Dior, Givenchy, Balmain, and Prada. Tripadvisor rates this as the number one thing to do in Málaga.
1912 Hupmobile costing 750 dollars at the time, Automobile museum, Málaga
The modern cars include some pristine classics – perfect for the car enthusiast.
2. Museo Picasso Málaga
Born in 1881, the museum covers over 80 years of this work, including developing his mastery of art. It is interesting to observe the work of Picasso and how it changes as he grows older. Dialogues with Picasso running from 2020-2023 is the current collection.
When I was a child, my mother said to me, ‘If you become a soldier, you’ll be a General. If you become a monk, you’ll end up as the Pope.’ Instead, I became a painter and wound up as Picasso.”.
Picasso’s favourite colour was blue which dominates his work, and he referred to it as “the colour of all colours”.
3. Fundación Picasso Museo Casa Natal
The Picasso Birthplace House and Museum presents 100 drawings, almost all still unknown, and many are the work of others. Born here in 1881, it provides an insight into his upbringing. The rooms are small and not lavish.
Room 1 is a 19th-century room in the Picasso house, Picasso museum, Málaga
4. Colección del Museo Ruso
Located next to the Museo Automovilístico y de la Moda is the Russian museum celebrating Russian arts and culture with an extensive display of artefacts, including silent cinema, space and realism. The museum is large, stylish, and minimalist, with plenty of floor space. Works from well known Russian artists, such as Chagall and Kandinsky, are on display.
The museum’s origins are in Saint Petersburg. However, Málaga is the reference centre for Russian culture in Europe, with exhibits renewed annually.
5. Centre Pompidou Málaga
Opened in 2015, it was the first branch of the Paris based art museum outside France. It exhibits 20th and 21st-century contemporary art. Currently, six abstract and thought-provoking collections are displayed referencing social and political aspects of culture.
The ‘Four Piggybacks with Knife’ in the post-war generation area by Juan Muñoz, a bizarre set of sculptures along with a suspended glass corridor. The Centre Pompidou is instantly recognisable by the multi-coloured glass cube visible across the city.
The verdict
With over 300 days of sunshine in Málaga every year, spending time in a museum on a rainy day is rare. There is something for everyone with so many good museums to choose from in this city. Many are cheap and often free on Sunday afternoons.
The Automobile and Fashion Museum tops the list when it comes to the five best museums in Málaga. Located a few kilometres from Málaga port, next to the Russian museum, it is worth taking a trip there.
More information
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