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Málaga is very easy to reach by train from Fuengirola thanks to the light rail system (Linea C1). The main station at Maria Zambrano has excellent connections to places such as Córdoba, Madrid and Barcelona as well as having its own shopping centre, the Vialia – which opens on Sundays – a hotel and a multiplex cinema. In addition, it is conveniently located next to the bus station.
The Historic Centre of the City – the Cathedral
However, Málaga Centro station is closer to the historic centre of the city and from there it is possible to see the cathedral, nicknamed La Manquita, or ‘the One Armed Lady’. This soubriquet refers to the fact that, although the original plans were drawn up for two towers, only one was ever built. The money earmarked for the tower was used elsewhere, where exactly is open to conjecture depending on where the tour guide or travel writer learned their history.
In Plaza del Obispo, next to the Episcopal Palace, are a number of excellent cafes. Any of these makes an ideal place to rest in combination with a trip to the cathedral.
The only parts of the cathedral which are free to enter are the shop and the gardens, admission to the building or the museum upstairs is strictly by ticket only. The gardens are beautifully kept with box hedges and an ornamental pond with a huge shoal of goldfish and an effusive lily-like plant in the middle. They would also appear to be home to large numbers of birds whose joyful tweeting shatters the peace for which ecclesiastical gardens are usually known.
The Alcazaba and the Castillo Gibralfaro – History from Many Different Eras
Close to the cathedral is the Arabic fortress known as the Alcazaba. This is connected to the other great building on the hill, the Castillo Gibralfaro. At the foot of the hill, the remains of a Roman amphitheatre are in the process of being excavated and catalogued.
Picasso – Málaga’s Most Famous Resident
Of course, a visit to Málaga would not be complete without seeing something connected to Picasso, arguably the city’s most famous son. His home has been made into a museum, where paintings, ceramics and sketches are on display, with the added incentive that, when the building was restored in the 1990s, further examples of the Roman and Phoenician influence on the city were found and have been retained. His birthplace in Málaga’s historic centre is also a museum. It doubles as a research centre and official archive on the artist and his family.
