In just 45 minutes by car, or just over an hour by bus from Almohalla 51, you’re in the wonderfully cosmopolitan, artistic and cultural city of Malaga. It’s a city of Mediterranean light and colour, fantastic restaurants and street life, but Malaga is now becoming known as a city of museums. With over 20 great museums to choose from, we’ve chosen our Top 5 for you to consider when planning a day in Malaga.
1: Museo Picasso Malaga
Picasso was born in Malaga so it’s expected that a museum should be dedicated to him in his birth town. From formal portraits as a young student to his famous abstract works, this collection is fascinating. Housed in a beautiful palace – look up to the ceilings as you pass through the galleries – it has a permanent collection of key pieces as well as more modern temporary exhibitions. Check out the quiet walled garden off the cafe – quiet and often empty.
Read more: https://www.museopicassomalaga.org/en/home
Open every day 10:00 – 19:00

2: Museo Carmen Thyssen
Set in a charming old palace, this museum displays works from the Thyssen family’s collection of classical pieces, and the upper floors have interesting temporary exhibitions. There’s a nice little cafe / restaurant too which never seems to get too busy. They also sell prints of some of the collection on canvas.
Read more: https://www.carmenthyssenmalaga.org/en/
Open every day except Monday 10:00 – 20:00

3: Pompidou Malaga
The only other Pompidou Centre outside of Paris, this contemporary art gallery has a permanent collection of challenging and fascinating artworks. Another building that is interesting in its own right, this one is housed in a box of coloured glass in the city’s regenerated port area, Muelle Uno.
Read more: https://centrepompidou-malaga.eu
Open every day except Tuesday: 9:30 – 20:00

4: Centro de Arte Contemporáneo
Otherwise known as CAC Malaga, this super funky museum displays modern art and installations in a beautifully minimalist setting – think plain white walls and big open spaces. We love it because it takes you away from some of the more traditional art which Malaga is famed for. It’s also on the edge of the trendy Soho district so you can pop in for tapas on the way back.
Read more: http://cacmalaga.eu
Open every day except Monday: 10:00 – 20:00, but in the summer (from June 20 to September 7 inclusive): 10.00 to 14.00 and 17.00 to 21.00.

5: Automobile Museum of Malaga
Slightly away from the historic centre of the city, this museum has a really interesting concept that we like. With a collection of cars from around the world spanning the period from the first automobile through to the 1960s the exhibitions are accompanied by displays of fashion contemporary to the cars. It’s a really fun museum full of colour and light.
If you fancy one more for the road, then next door is the Museo Ruso de San Petersburgo, a collection of Russian art housed in the old tabacco factory, the only collection of State Russian art from St.Petersburg in mainland Europe.
Read more: https://www.museoautomovilmalaga.com/en/
Open every day from 10:00 – 19:00