21 Unusual Things and Hidden Gems in Malaga, Spain

Málaga does odd very well.

I’ve lived in Malaga for years now, and there’ve been plenty of weekends when I’ve said to Jethro: “Let’s do something new, please, I’ve had enough of the beach”.

This is my alternative list for Malaga travellers. The unusual things to do in Malaga, and a few hidden gems you won’t find in the standard guides.

Visit Castillo Colomares

Jethro and I only found out about this place a year after we’d moved to Málaga, which is a bit silly given it’s a 25-minute drive away in Benalmádena. It isn’t on the Málaga city map, so I think a lot of people miss it too. If you haven’t got a car, Discover Cars is where I compare hire prices.

It’s not a castle either, even though it looks like one. A local doctor called Esteban Martín Martín built it between 1987 and 1994 as a monument to the life of Columbus. It’s small, but honestly, it’s stunning. Not the most famous site on the coast, but one of the most imaginative I’ve seen.

It sits in a sleepy town, and I suspect the people who live there quietly wish it didn’t exist, judging by the traffic it brings in.

Discover Malaga’s Secret Beach: Playa Penon del Cuervo

The bike ride out to Playa Peñón del Cuervo from Málaga centro is how I’d do it. The promenade along the coast cuts through small tunnels carved into the cliffs, and the beach itself is just east of the city, where locals go to unwind. I’ve driven too, and the parking details are in my full write-up of the beach.

It never used to have sunbeds. We went back recently and there are rows of them now, so it’s catching on to what the other beaches do. It’s named for El Peñón, the rock in the middle of the cove, and people climb it and jump off into the sea. Just to the right of it there’s a small reef with plenty of sea life, and all you need is a snorkel and a mask.

I think it has more to offer than most of Málaga’s beaches. Bring a picnic, there’s a barbecue area just off the sand.

Street Art in SOHO and Lagunillas

Go twice and you might not see the same walls. The pieces from the MAUS Project (Málaga Arte Urbano Soho) change over time, so there’s sometimes something new up in Soho that wasn’t there before. They share the walls with big works by Obey (Shepard Fairey) and D*Face, and with large, colourful murals from local and international artists all over the district.

Lagunillas is the other street-art neighbourhood. It’s just behind my home, and I often wander its streets to see the art.

When you’re done with the walls, stay for the rest of it: independent cafés, vintage shops, low-key tapas bars. La Pechá is a local favourite, and a glass of tinto with a plate of jamón there costs next to nothing. I’ve written more about the Soho flea market and the streets around it. Go hungry.

Visit the Malaga Wine Museum

Here’s a deal I can’t argue with: €7 to get in, two wine tastings included. Honestly, that’s fantastic value, and if two pours aren’t enough you can add more at €2.50 each.

You’ll find it on one of the quieter backstreets, in the restored 18th-century Palacio de Biedmas, and most visitors walk right past without noticing. It’s a small museum about Málaga’s winemaking: the vineyards of the Axarquía and Ronda, and the cellars where the region’s sweet wines age until they turn that amber colour.

Inside there are rooms of old presses, hand-painted labels and antique barrels. If you want to go deeper, you can also book a guided tasting that pairs local wines with regional food, or a small workshop on how the wine is made.

Wines and Vermouths From the Barrel at Malaga’s Oldest Bar

Step inside Antigua Casa de Guardia, where you can taste some of Malaga’s most iconic wines. It’s officially the oldest bar in the city, and it feels like it: dusty barrels line the walls, the floor creaks underfoot, and the air smells faintly of oak, sugar, and history.

You’ll be rubbing shoulders with lots of locals along the long wooden counter from morning to night, sipping Pedro Ximenez, Moscatel, Pajarete, and Malaga Virgen, each drawn straight from the barrel and served in small, old-fashioned glasses.

There’s no wine list or digital till here. Instead, the bartender scrawls your orders in chalk directly on the countertop. It’s in my best bars in Málaga too, with what to order.

Do a Wine Tasting With Winederlust

If the museum and the barrels have left you curious, this is the next step. At the start of September I did a tasting with Winederlust, run by Linda, from Manchester originally, now living in Málaga, with the WSET Level 3 and a sherry specialist certification. Her pitch is no snobbery and no jargon, just six small-batch Spanish wines (often organic, from regions and grapes you’ve never heard of) and the stories of the people who made them.

For a private tasting she comes to wherever you’re staying, so nobody has to find their way home. Her site lists €50 a head, or €55 with cheese from Quesitos Málaga. The catch is she needs at least eight people, so if there are two of you, look at her public Wine for the People evenings (six wines, €55) instead.

She also runs wine trails through the old town, two hours, four stops, a glass and a tapa at each, and hardly any walking. I haven’t done those, I only know them from Linda and her website, and the wines and tapas are fixed, so they’re no good if you have a food allergy.

Stroll Through Malaga’s Old Fishermen’s Quarter

One of my favourite walks in Málaga is out at Pedregalejo. You can start anywhere along the beach. I usually start from my home and walk all the way, or do a bicycle ride from Málaga centro. If you’re coming from town, it’s a short drive east of the city centre, and if you’d rather stay out here, Hotel La Chancla is my pick.

It was a fishing village once, and it’s turned into a laid-back seaside neighbourhood with small bars and restaurants all along the seafront. The old hand-painted fishing boats, the barcas de jábega, are still there, sitting on the sand between the rows of beach umbrellas.

The beach isn’t one long stretch. It’s cut into lots of small coves by short man-made jetties, and they keep the water calm.

Retro Gaming Nostalgia at the OXO Museum

Here’s one that never seems to make the travel guides. Part museum, part arcade, and fully retro, OXO is a time machine for anyone who ever button-mashed their way through the ’80s and ’90s. Think Atari, Pong, and Sega Mega Drive.

We love it and we’ve been back a few times. It’s weird, fun, and unlike anything else in the city, which is exactly why it earns a spot on this list. It’s also great if you have kids who are bored with the city.

On the roof is a fantastic terrace with views of the inner city and a restaurant with excellent food.

Find Hidden Gems at Malaga’s Largest Flea Market

If you can’t walk past a crate of records without stopping, clear your Sunday morning. That’s when the Rastro de Málaga happens (it’s the Mercado de Huelin officially, though you’ll only ever hear it called the Rastro), spread across the Recinto Ferial Cortijo de Torres, the fairground next to the Palacio de Ferias y Congresos.

Around 300 stalls, open air, and the mix runs from vintage clothes and vinyl to antique furniture, ceramics from Mijas, coins, books, and the odd bits of Andalusian memorabilia that make it worth going even if you buy nothing.

It’s the big one, but it’s not the only one; my guide to the markets in Málaga covers the rest.

It’s a morning market, so don’t drift over after lunch.

Automobile and Fashion Museum

Rolls-Royce Phantoms, Cadillacs, and then the rarer ones, Bugattis, Bentleys and Ferraris. More than 90 cars all together, going back over a century of car design.

The part that makes it different is the fashion. There’s a whole wing of haute couture and vintage pieces, gowns by Chanel, Dior, Prada and Balmain, and they’re displayed beside the cars. That’s the part I’d go for.

It’s inside the Tabacalera, Málaga’s old tobacco factory in Huelin. It’s listed among the world’s top automobile museums, and it has a reputation for being quiet.

The One You Missed Arriving: The Aeronautics Museum

A DC-3, a Convair 440 and the original Iberia ticket office, kept as it was. Those are the museum’s own highlights, and behind them there are more than 4,000 aviation artefacts, cockpits you can climb into, a restored control tower and planes that used to fly European routes, which you can walk through.

It’s in the airport’s original 1948 terminal, beside the runways and a few minutes from the terminals you’ll use. Most people fly in and out without knowing it’s there.

Entry is free and so is the visitor car park. Open Tuesdays 10am to 8pm, Wednesday to Sunday 10am to 2pm, closed Mondays, 1 and 6 January, and 24, 25 and 31 December. Allow about 90 minutes, they say. My guide to getting from the airport into the city carries on from there. The rest of Málaga’s museums are in a guide of their own.

Hammam Al Andalus Arab Baths

If you’ve had a day of museums and beaches and want something completely different, this is it. Hot and cold pools, a steam room, candlelit Moorish interiors, and a massage on top if you want one. The whole thing recreates the bathing ritual of Al-Andalus.

It’s tucked away on Plaza de los Mártires, a quiet square in the old town.

It’s got a reputation as the most relaxing thing you can do in Málaga, which also means sessions fill up, especially at weekends and in peak season. So book in advance. A 90-minute session starts from around €40. It’s on my rainy day list too.

La Concepcion Botanical Garden

My favourite part of La Concepción is right at the top. There’s a stone arch and a calm pond, and beyond them, sweeping views over Málaga. I’d count it among the best viewpoints in the city.

Everything else is below you: tropical gardens, art installations, a small museum and a tucked-away gallery, all part of a historic botanical garden just outside the city.

At certain times of year there are light displays and nights with floating Chinese lanterns, and in autumn the garden runs guided night visits, so check the calendar before you go.

Hours are 9:30am to 8:30pm April to September and 9:30am to 5:30pm October to March, closed Mondays. Entry is €5.20 (€3.10 reduced, under-6s free), and Sunday afternoons are free (from 4:30pm April to September, 2pm October to March). Go up first, then wander down.

The English Cemetery

The headstones belong to sailors, merchants and diplomats, which tells you a bit about who was passing through Málaga back then.

It was founded in 1831, the first Protestant cemetery in Spain. These days it’s described as a garden more than anything, beautifully overgrown, with tropical plants, old headstones and quiet corners.

It’s just off the main road near the bullring. Entry is €5 (€4 for students and retired people, free for children under 12), and it’s open Tuesday to Sunday from 9am to 2pm, closed Mondays. Half an hour is about what they suggest for a wander through.

Cuevas del Tesoro in Rincon de la Victoria

Just east of Malaga, in Rincon de la Victoria, the Cuevas del Tesoro (Treasure Caves) were my favourite new find of 2025.

Jethro and I spent two hours exploring the caves, and each time we thought we had seen it all, another path led us further down and deeper into the unknown. There are tall, narrow walkways, large impressive rooms, and glowing pools of water to explore and photograph.

According to legend, the caves hide a hoard of Moorish gold left behind by a fleeing Arab noble, a myth that still fuels the imagination of treasure hunters today. Tickets are €6 for adults.

If you want a bigger cave, the Cueva de Nerja is one of the most impressive cave systems in Europe and makes a good day trip to Nerja. And if you want a real adventure rather than a cave, the Caminito del Rey gorge walk is about an hour from Málaga, one of the best day trips from the city. Tickets sell out weeks ahead in season, so book that one early.

Cycle to Guadalhorce Nature Reserve’s Funky Bridge

Honestly, the name is half the reason to go. The Funky Bridge is a steel span off the mainland into the Paraje Natural Desembocadura del Guadalhorce, a protected wetland where the river meets the Mediterranean. It’s on the Senda Litoral and EuroVelo 8, so you’ll have company, especially at weekends and around sunset, when locals come out to ride and walk.

Getting there is a short pedal west from the centre, past Playa de la Misericordia and quiet coastal paths lined with eucalyptus, until the lagoons and sand dunes open up. More than 260 bird species have been recorded here, flamingos, herons and ospreys among them, so keep your eyes up as well as on the path.

If you need wheels, my Málaga cycling guide covers hire and routes.

Attend La Feria de Malaga (Dressed up)

We never miss the Feria de Malaga and usually end up going more than once each year. This week-long celebration only comes around once a year, so timing is crucial. Expect fireworks, processions, pop-up discos and restaurants, and tons of rides.

Last year I bought a bright red flamenco dress for the festival, and I loved it. This year I wore a black one. If you feel like a dress or suit is a bit much, you can always rent one. Read my article to find out where to get an outfit for the feria.

The dates and everything else on that month are in my what’s on in Málaga in August. There’s an equally famous feria in Seville as well. Check the schedule if you can’t make it to Malaga.

Unique Things to Do in Malaga at Night

Karaoke on a Rooftop at La Terraza Merced

My new favourite rooftop. La Terraza de la Merced, literally two blocks from my apartment, is one of Malaga’s most unexpectedly fun spots: a rooftop karaoke bar with views of Gibralfaro castle.

It’s not fancy, and the karaoke setup is basically five mics and YouTube, but I love it because the people have always been a mix of the best travellers and locals, and the drinks are cheap.

Cocktails Two Ways at Chester and Punk

Chester and Punk is one of my favourite late-night pit stops. It’s a double-concept cocktail bar that feels like two worlds under one roof.

Step into Chester, and you’re surrounded by leather armchairs, vintage lamps, and a bar stocked with fine whiskies and small-batch gins. Then cross the threshold into Punk, and the mood flips. You’re suddenly in a neon-lit den of creative mixology with drinks like the Walking Dead or Basil Smash.

The full story, including the door I walked past for a year, is in my best bars in Málaga, and there are more places like it in my guide to quirky bars in Malaga.

Hosted Night Walks Along the Alcazaba

Once Málaga City Council lit up the Alcazaba, the Moorish fortress above the old town, it announced a series of guided night walks and tours around it. You can see why. At night the crowds are gone, the air’s cooler, and the city looks that bit more special.

Whether the walks are still running is another question, so check they’re on before you build an evening around them.

Drink a Porrone at Bar La Guarida

Beware, you may have a headache the next day if you stay here too long.

Hidden down a narrow side street, Bar La Guarida is one of Malaga’s quirkiest late-night spots, and home to the legendary porron.

The place looks unassuming from the outside, but step through the door after 10:30pm and you’ll find locals crowded around concrete tables inside this cave-like room, drinking mostly from porrones.

A porron is a traditional Spanish glass pitcher with a long spout, designed for communal drinking. The bar’s signature mixes, like The Hulk, Caramelo, or Fresa Salvaje, are poured into these pitchers, and the goal is simple: pour the stream into your mouth from as far away as possible without spilling.

More to Come

I live here and I still haven’t got to the bottom of Málaga, which is the best thing about it. So this page will keep growing.

If you know something that should be on it, say so below. And if you haven’t done the essentials yet, my main guide to things to do in Málaga covers those, and the free things to do in Málaga have a list of their own. See you in the comments.