A Weekend Break In Malaga

Although perhaps not a traditional choice as a short trip destination, a weekend break in Malaga can offer more than just a bit of tapas and some sun (lovely as those both are). The city is full of gorgeous hotels, historic and cultural sights and landmarks, as well as restaurants serving up some excellent cuisine and some of the most enviable shopping in Europe. Malaga is also a popular choice when it comes to nightlife as the town as a huge range of bars and pubs and everything tends to finish late. And if you do find you've exhausted the city you can hire a car from a Malaga car hire company and head down to the coast to Torremolinos or to Seville or Grenada, all of which are a couple of hours drive away.

Hotels in Malaga range from small and comfortable, to large and luxurious and there's something to suit every style and budget. The high rise Malaga Centro offers modern rooms just 500 metres from the seafront from just 46GBP a night. Or you can stay at the NH Malaga which is an avant-garde hotel with high tech decor, lighting and contemporary paintings from just 58GBP per night. If you'd rather stay just outside the city, the Cortijo de la Reina is located in the countryside outside de Malaga, 800 metres from the Sanctuary of the Virgin of the Victory and one kilometre from the Roman Theatre. Rooms range from 68GBP per night. Flights to Malaga run all year round from most major airports and are often subject to some pretty heavy discounting, particularly by low cost airlines. If you look really hard at the right time of you, you could pick up a flight from around 30GBP.

As the birthplace of Picasso, you can't very well pay a visit to Malaga without going and paying tribute to the master of cubism. The Picasso Museum has a number of classic Picassos and you can also visit the house Picasso was born in, which has more examples of his painting, as well as sketches and ceramics and information on his youth and family. Other popular tourist spots include Malaga cathedral with its impressively decorated roof, the impressive Moorish fortress La Alcazaba and Tivoli World which is a local theme park with rides, attractions, wild west shows and flamenco demonstrations.

Eating out in Malaga is a joy as the city offers every type of cuisine from local Spanish to the finest international. Cafe de Paris is considered one of the city's finest restaurants and serves up a menu of classic French and Belgian cuisine. For something more local and steeped in tradition, try La Cancela, a fifty year old restaurant where you can get a fine glass of Malagan wine alongside deep fried, locally caught fish.

Nightlife in Malaga doesn't get going until late and it's not unheard of to be leaving your hotel room around 11pm to go for dinner. The traditional Andalucian tapas bars are normally the focus for the first part of the night and then you can head on to jazz, flamenco or clubbing to the latest tunes from the producers of Europe.