Málaga itinerary for first-timers

Málaga's central market hall stands behind a horseshoe-arched Moorish gate that once led into a shipyard, and a large stained-glass window lights the hall inside. Stalls are piled with fish from the bay, olives, cured ham, cheese and fruit from the Axarquía hills.

• Moorish gate
• Stained-glass window
• Fish and olive stalls

Come in the morning, when the fish counters are at their fullest and locals do their shopping.

Calle Marqués de Larios, the city's polished marble shopping street, runs from the Alameda Principal up to the Plaza de la Constitución, the old main square, where the lanes of the historic centre fan out in every direction.

• Alameda Principal
• Calle Marqués de Larios
• Plaza de la Constitución

Calle Larios is decorated with spectacular lights from late November through the Christmas season.

The Renaissance cathedral is nicknamed La Manquita, the one-armed lady, because its second tower was never finished. In front of it, the Plaza del Obispo is framed by the baroque Bishop's Palace, and quiet lanes wind around the cathedral walls.

• Málaga Cathedral
• Plaza del Obispo
• Bishop's Palace

Tours of the cathedral roof give a close view of the unfinished tower and the old town's rooftops.

From the Plaza de la Constitución, Calle Granada winds through the old town past tapas bars, small churches and side streets to the Plaza de la Merced, where Pablo Picasso was born in 1881. The Picasso Museum is a few steps away, in a Renaissance palace on Calle San Agustín.

• Calle Granada
• Plaza de la Judería
• Plaza de la Merced
• Picasso's birthplace
• Picasso Museum

The Picasso Museum is busiest in the late morning; mid-afternoon is usually calmer.

At the foot of the Alcazaba, the stone seats of a Roman theatre lay buried until 1951. Calle Alcazabilla runs past it, and in the evening the floodlit walls of the fortress rise above the terraces along the street.

• Roman Theatre
• Calle Alcazabilla
• Alcazaba walls

This 11th-century Moorish palace-fortress climbs the hillside in rings of walls, with horseshoe arches, courtyards, fountains and gardens, and views down over the port and the Roman Theatre.

• Alcazaba gates
• Palace courtyards
• Gardens and fountains

Arrive at opening time: the paths are steep and there is little shade later in the day.

From the Alameda de Don Juan Temboury, the Coracha path climbs between the walls of the Alcazaba and Gibralfaro Castle, about 130 metres above the sea. The viewpoints on the way are free, and from the top you see the whole bay, the port and the bullring. The way back down leads through pine woods and a tunnel under the Alcazaba to the gardens by the port.

• Mirador de la Coracha
• Mirador de Gibralfaro
• Gibralfaro Castle
• Monte Gibralfaro pine woods
• Jardines de Puerta Oscura

The climb is steady and almost shadeless; bring water in summer, or take the bus up and walk down.

The old port has become a long waterfront promenade. The Palmeral de las Sorpresas, with its wave-shaped white pergola and rows of palms, leads to Muelle Uno, a quay of shops and terraces that ends at the colourful glass cube of the Centre Pompidou Málaga.

• Palmeral de las Sorpresas
• Muelle Uno
• Centre Pompidou Málaga
• La Farola lighthouse

The city beach begins just past the port: a long stretch of dark sand backed by the palm-lined Paseo Marítimo Pablo Ruiz Picasso, beach bars grilling espetos and, a block inland, the round La Malagueta bullring.

• Playa de la Malagueta
• Paseo Marítimo Pablo Ruiz Picasso
• Paseo de Sancha
• La Malagueta bullring

Walk back towards the port at dusk, when the lights come on along Muelle Uno.

Between the Alameda Principal and the port, Soho was reinvented as an arts district: whole building walls are covered in murals by international street artists, and the streets are lined with independent cafés, galleries and small shops. The Contemporary Art Centre is on its edge, by the river.

• Street-art murals
• Calle Córdoba
• Teatro del Soho
• Alameda de Colón

Murals are spread across several blocks; wander the side streets off Calle Córdoba to find them.

A long garden promenade between the port and the old town, shaded by palms, ficus and tropical trees, with fountains and old pergolas. It links the Plaza de la Marina with the Plaza del General Torrijos at the start of the seafront.

• Parque de Málaga
• Paseo de los Curas
• Plaza del General Torrijos

East of the centre, these two former fishing quarters keep a village feel: low houses along a seafront promenade, small coves and beach bars where sardines are grilled on skewers over a wood fire in beached boats, the espeto tradition Málaga is known for.

• Espetos on the beach
• Playa de Pedregalejo
• Pedregalejo coves
• Playa del Palo

Stay for sunset, when the promenade fills with locals and the grills are busiest.