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The Destinations Guru

Malaga: A Tale of Two Castles

Posted on April 25, 2016October 23, 2019

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The fourth stop on our 2009 cruise was Malaga, a small Spanish city on the Mediterranean 134 kilometres from Gibraltar. As we did in Cadiz, we decided to explore Malaga on our own rather than take an organized excursion. The city is a short hop by bus from the port.

Malaga is an ancient city with a history spanning 2800 years. It was founded by the Phoenicians in 770 BC.  Like Cadiz, it is also within the autonomous region of Andalusia.


Upon leaving the ship, we took a short bus ride to the city. We were dropped off at the Paseo Parque, a broad boulevard spanned by parks on both sides. These parks are lush with greenery and the occasional statue and fountain.

Statues, fountains and lush foliage abound in the Paseo Parque.
Statues, fountains and lush foliage abound in the Paseo Parque.

We wandered though the Parque de Malaga to a road that took us to the first of two castles, the Alcazaba. The road is flanked by a steep retaining wall which is dotted with little pigeon holes.

The roadway to the Alcazaba. Note the pigeonholes.
The roadway to the Alcazaba. Note the pigeon holes.
A pigeon in a pigeon hole.
A pigeon in a pigeon hole.

Tha Alcazaba is an old fortress built by the Moors from 756 to 780 AD and extensively rebuilt by the Hammudid Dynasty in the 11th Century. It has features of Roman, Moorish and Renaissance architecture.

The Alcazaba, magnificent Moorish fortress.
The Alcazaba, magnificent Moorish fortress.

The roadway took us to an elevator which took us up into the fortress. Inside we found gardens and fountains as well as displays of crockery and other artifacts. There were also stables and drinking troughs for horses. We enjoyed walking around the battlements which command an excellent view of the city.

Some of the gardens inside the Alcazaba
Some of the gardens inside the Alcazaba

While we were there, a teacher dressed as a knight explained the history of the Alcazaba to his students. A colourful and interesting outing for the kids.

A teacher engages his class in a history lesson at the Alcazaba.
A teacher engages his class in a history lesson at the Alcazaba.

But the Alcazaba is just one of two Moorish castles in Malaga. The other is a short walk up the hill – the Castillo de Gibralfaro. The road is fairly steep and we passed fields of cacti.

Lots of cacti grow wild along the slopes of the Gibralfaro hill
Lots of cacti grow wild along the slopes of the Gibralfaro hill

Along the way we got a good view of the Malagueta, Malaga’s bull fighting arena. This 14,000 seat stadium was built in 1874 and bull fights are still staged every year from April through September.

The Malgueta, Malaga's bull fighting arena. Fights run from April through September
The Malgueta, Malaga’s bull fighting arena. Fights run from April through September

Arriving at the Castillo de Gibralfaro, you enter through a museum showing military uniforms through the ages as well as a model of the two fortresses. There is a similar model at the lower fort. from there you can wander at your leisure. The fort is a large one and offers excellent views of the city from its ramparts. We circumnavigated the parapet as we had done with the lower fort.

Janis, Chris and Sheila on the ramparts of the Castillo de Gibrilfaro
Janis, Chris and Sheila on the ramparts of the Castillo de Gibralfaro

At one point there was a sort of small dungeon below the walkway, with a grate above it. My wife and her friend Sheila went to check out the place while I stayed above with the camera. When they entered I shouted down to them, “Look up! Look waaaaaay up!” Someone nearby quickly added, “And I’ll call Rusty!” and we all had a good laugh. A fellow Canadian! The lines come from a popular kid’s show called The Friendly Giant.

Look up! Look waaaaay up!
Look up! Look waaaaay up!

We explore some more of the castle and then made our way back to the street level and a beautiful garden park called the Jardines de Pedro Luis Alonso.

The Jardines de xxx seen from the Castillo de Gibrilfaro
The Jardines de Pedro Luis Alonso seen from the Castillo de Gibralfaro. The Paseo Parque boulevard runs behind it and all along that road is a series of connected parks, all lush with foliage. The building beside the gardens is Malaga City Hall.

We wandered back to downtown through the park flanking the Paseo Parque and stopped at a restaurant for some paella. Then we wandered through part of the downtown with its marble pedestrian ways and beautiful buildings. The city looked so clean and bright. A gorgeous city.

Janis and I enjoy paella at a sidewalk restaurant.
Janis and I enjoy paella at a sidewalk restaurant.

Along the way we came across some street entertainers. They were living statues. They were dressed in gray costumes and stood absolutely still like statues. If you put a coin in a hat, the statues came alive and posed for pictures and gave you a souvenir coloured pebble.

One of the living statues. Check out the video below.
One of the living statues. Check out the video below.

We wandered back towards the ship and passed a bus, half buried in the sidewalk. It was an ad, an unusual billboard for a movie, Fuga de Cerebros, a romantic comedy about young college students. It was panned by critics but the biggest drawing Spanish movie of the year, later released in English as Brain Drain.

The unusual ad prop for the movie Fuga de Cereberos, top grossing Spanish movie of 2009.
The unusual ad prop for the movie Fuga de Cereberos, top grossing Spanish movie of 2009.

We loved Malaga. It is a beautiful city with two great castles to explore, lush green parks, great restaurants an a colourful and entertaining downtown. Well worth a visit.

We took so many pictures you’ll find a separate photo gallery linked below. Or just keep scrolling if you’re on the home page.

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  • First Port of call: Tenerife, Canary Islands
  • Second Port of call: Lisbon, Portugal
  • Third Port of call: Cadiz, Spain

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