Museo de Málaga
Andalusia’s largest museum was created in 1973 and opened in 2016 — its collections spent decades in storage waiting for a building.
Destination
Museo Picasso Málaga
Digging the foundations for Málaga’s Picasso museum uncovered a Phoenician wall, a Roman garum factory and a Nasrid palace. All still visible.
Gibralfaro
Gibralfaro means ‘rock of the lighthouse’ — named for a Phoenician beacon. Its 40-metre rock-cut well is why the 1487 siege lasted three months.
Alcazaba of Málaga
Málaga’s 11th-century fortress was built partly out of the Roman theatre at its feet — which then vanished until 1951.
Málaga Cathedral
Málaga’s cathedral is missing a tower. A plaque blames the American Revolution; parish records point to a road and an aqueduct.
Basílica de Vega del Mar
Specialists still disagree on whether this basilica had one apse or two, and which century built it. The marble immersion font is not in doubt.
Marbella Lighthouse
A light has burned at Marbella since 1864, but the tower moved in 1974 — the resort had grown so close that ships confused it with house windows.
Sohail Castle
Sohail Castle is named after Canopus, the star ships from Africa steered by — and after Suel, the Roman town on the same hill.
Sierra Blanca
La Concha shields Marbella and creates its microclimate — and generates more mountain rescues than anywhere else on the Costa del Sol.
Puerto Banús
Puerto Banús was meant to be high-rise blocks. The architect talked the developer out of it and built a fake Andalusian village instead.