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Malaga...”must do”?


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Malaga, Spain

Must Do: Be sure to take water today.

 

Celebrity offered a shuttle bus service for €5 pp roundtrip between the ship and Plaza de la Marina port gate. It's about a 10-minute ride. We were off the ship about 8:15 am and opted to walk into town. The ship will tell you it's a 40-minute walk. It's not. It's an easy 25 to 30-minutes --- only 15-minutes if you're just going to the marina shops (on the left) or beach (on the right). This was the largest and one of the most accessible beaches we saw the entire voyage.

 

 

malaga-beach.jpg

Our first stop was Alcazaba, an early 11th century fortified palace featuring arches, gates, towers, and marble columns. The entrance can be difficult to find. Head for the Roman Theater entrance (to the right of the theater) and then look for signage to Alcazaba. There is also a secret entrance/exit with an elevator across the street from Calle Francisco Bejarano Robles on Calle Guillen Sotelo.

 

 

malaga-alcazabaentrance.jpg

It's open from 9:00 am to 8:00 pm from April 1 to October 31. Cost is just €2,20 or you can buy a combo ticket with Gibralfaro Castle for €3,55. Both are also free every Sunday from 2:00 pm to close. However, it's worth paying a couple of euros to avoid the Sunday afternoon crowds. To get back down to the city, you can either return back to the Roman Theater or take the elevator from the Nazari Palace down to the secret street level entrance. Just for fun, we took this exit once we happened upon the elevator.

 

 

malaga-cathedral.jpg

After exploring Alcazaba, we walked 10 minutes to meet up with our Free “Explore Malaga” Walking Tour that met at southeast corner of Plaza de la Constitución. We made reservations online. The tour started at 11:00 am and lasted about 2.5 hours. Our guide provided a ton of information as we made our way around town. The Malaga Cathedral is really interesting both inside and out. We tipped €25 for the two of us. The suggested tip for "free" tours is €10-15 pp.

 

 

malaga-romantheatre.jpg

The Roman Theater (Free) was build in the 1st century AD and used for about 200 years. A lot of its stone, marble, and columns was appropriated in the construction of Alcazaba. It's open Tuesday to Saturday from 10:00 am to 6:00 pm / Sundays and holidays from 10:00 am to 4:00 pm. Even if it's closed you can still get good views of the theater from several vantage points.

 

Malaga is known for its tapas bars. We ate a light lunch, sharing 1 dish and 2 tapas at one of the cafe's near the Roman Theater before heading up to Gibralfaro Castle. The castle, built in 925 AD, is located on the hill above Alcazaba, with no easy access between the two. You can take a taxi, bus 35 (€1.95 fare), or you can do like we did and walk. (Admittedly, our first choice was the bus, but we had just missed it).

 

 

malaga-bullring.jpg

It was a 30 minute winding uphill walk with stops for pictures. (Okay, they were rest stops where we also happened to take pictures). Walk up Calle Cister, turn left onto Plaza de la Aduana, then a quick right onto Paseo Don Juan Temboury and keep left. Turn right onto Subida Coracha. Take the stairs on your left. Turn left. Quick right. Take the stairs. Long walk. Your destination will be at the top of the hill.

 

Since it was after 2:00 pm on a Sunday when we arrived there was no entrance fee. (Normally the cost is just €2,20 or you can buy a combo ticket with Alcazaba for €3,55). We explored the castle and took lots of pictures of the surrounding area.

 

Upon exiting, we bought soft drinks at a little shop near the bus stop. Before we could begin our descent, bus 35 arrived so we hopped on (€1.95 pp), rode it down to the Plaza Marina stop, and walked back to the ship from there (via a walkway past the busy marina shops).

 

Detailed info on 16 other Mediterranean ports: http://www.lavasurfer.com/info/mediterranean-secrets.html

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We took a long weekend in Malaga earlier in the year and really enjoyed the city, there is of course all that Caribbean Bound has described plus several art galleries, museums, the main shopping street Calle larios to the plazza is very pretty as well. We walked up and down several times we never went in any shops but we were there for the carnival so it was decorated accordingly I imagine the street would be decorated for many occasions as a friends went and it was decorated when she was there as well. The marina is worth a walk round and the walkway along the beach to the many fish restaurants on the beach, they bbq in what looks like upturned boats. It depends on your interest as to what would be on your must do list.

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The must do on a port day in Malaga is The Alhambra in the city of Granada. You must book tickets in advance as it sells out everyday.

 

If it's sold out then follow the excellent advice above. As an alternative to the city check out a guided walk in the mountains above Malaga called Caminito del Rey.

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The must do on a port day in Malaga is The Alhambra in the city of Granada. You must book tickets in advance as it sells out everyday.

 

If it's sold out then follow the excellent advice above. As an alternative to the city check out a guided walk in the mountains above Malaga called Caminito del Rey.

 

 

 

I was at Caminito Del Rey two weeks ago and it was closed because it was windy, but the scenery is very pretty. I have limited mobility so wouldn't be able to do the walk, but it's not for the faint hearted.

 

For me the highlight would be a visit to Granada.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

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  • 6 months later...
On 7/1/2018 at 9:37 AM, CaribbeanBound said:

Malaga, Spain

Must Do: Be sure to take water today.

 

Celebrity offered a shuttle bus service for €5 pp roundtrip between the ship and Plaza de la Marina port gate. It's about a 10-minute ride. We were off the ship about 8:15 am and opted to walk into town. The ship will tell you it's a 40-minute walk. It's not. It's an easy 25 to 30-minutes --- only 15-minutes if you're just going to the marina shops (on the left) or beach (on the right). This was the largest and one of the most accessible beaches we saw the entire voyage.

 

 

malaga-beach.jpg

Our first stop was Alcazaba, an early 11th century fortified palace featuring arches, gates, towers, and marble columns. The entrance can be difficult to find. Head for the Roman Theater entrance (to the right of the theater) and then look for signage to Alcazaba. There is also a secret entrance/exit with an elevator across the street from Calle Francisco Bejarano Robles on Calle Guillen Sotelo.

 

 

malaga-alcazabaentrance.jpg

It's open from 9:00 am to 8:00 pm from April 1 to October 31. Cost is just €2,20 or you can buy a combo ticket with Gibralfaro Castle for €3,55. Both are also free every Sunday from 2:00 pm to close. However, it's worth paying a couple of euros to avoid the Sunday afternoon crowds. To get back down to the city, you can either return back to the Roman Theater or take the elevator from the Nazari Palace down to the secret street level entrance. Just for fun, we took this exit once we happened upon the elevator.

 

 

malaga-cathedral.jpg

After exploring Alcazaba, we walked 10 minutes to meet up with our Free “Explore Malaga” Walking Tour that met at southeast corner of Plaza de la Constitución. We made reservations online. The tour started at 11:00 am and lasted about 2.5 hours. Our guide provided a ton of information as we made our way around town. The Malaga Cathedral is really interesting both inside and out. We tipped €25 for the two of us. The suggested tip for "free" tours is €10-15 pp.

 

 

malaga-romantheatre.jpg

The Roman Theater (Free) was build in the 1st century AD and used for about 200 years. A lot of its stone, marble, and columns was appropriated in the construction of Alcazaba. It's open Tuesday to Saturday from 10:00 am to 6:00 pm / Sundays and holidays from 10:00 am to 4:00 pm. Even if it's closed you can still get good views of the theater from several vantage points.

 

Malaga is known for its tapas bars. We ate a light lunch, sharing 1 dish and 2 tapas at one of the cafe's near the Roman Theater before heading up to Gibralfaro Castle. The castle, built in 925 AD, is located on the hill above Alcazaba, with no easy access between the two. You can take a taxi, bus 35 (€1.95 fare), or you can do like we did and walk. (Admittedly, our first choice was the bus, but we had just missed it).

 

 

malaga-bullring.jpg

It was a 30 minute winding uphill walk with stops for pictures. (Okay, they were rest stops where we also happened to take pictures). Walk up Calle Cister, turn left onto Plaza de la Aduana, then a quick right onto Paseo Don Juan Temboury and keep left. Turn right onto Subida Coracha. Take the stairs on your left. Turn left. Quick right. Take the stairs. Long walk. Your destination will be at the top of the hill.

 

Since it was after 2:00 pm on a Sunday when we arrived there was no entrance fee. (Normally the cost is just €2,20 or you can buy a combo ticket with Alcazaba for €3,55). We explored the castle and took lots of pictures of the surrounding area.

 

Upon exiting, we bought soft drinks at a little shop near the bus stop. Before we could begin our descent, bus 35 arrived so we hopped on (€1.95 pp), rode it down to the Plaza Marina stop, and walked back to the ship from there (via a walkway past the busy marina shops).

 

Detailed info on 16 other Mediterranean ports: http://www.lavasurfer.com/info/mediterranean-secrets.html

 

Would you do the free walking tour again?

Do you have a link?

TYIA

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