February 2026
In 2019 BC (Before Covid) we had planned to move to Madrid for a year so that Susan could establish residency and apply for a Spanish passport. However, covid and myriad other issues interfered with that plan. We thought we’d “stick a toe in the water” and escape Boston’s winter, so made a plan to visit Malaga, one of the warmest places in Europe in February, for a month. We’d spent time in Malaga before and thought its many museums, charming historic center and proximity to other interesting towns would give us the opportunity to both settle into the slower Spanish pace and give us things to do.
Our departure from Boston was complicated by an incoming blizzard, so we ended up leaving a day early from JFK, which involved some last-minute juggling and the train down to Penn station and then another train out to the airport. It all went smoothly, and fortunately our AirBnB host allowed us to come a day early. We arrived mid-day, went to the closest supermarket for coffee and other essentials, and settled in.
We wanted to stay outside of the tourist area in a place with a neighborhood feel, and chose an apartment in La Trinidad, just across the river and a 20-minute walk from the pedestrianized historic center. Our apartment in Malaga was small, but more than adequate. The highlight was a lovely roof patio, where had shared a glass of wine on one of our first evenings. Our first week was spent exploring the city, getting re-oriented and adjusting to sleeping later and staying up later than we do at home. And of course, figuring out where the best vermut was!
About 5 days after our arrival, heavy rains moved in. We’d planned a trip to Cadiz during our 2nd week here, but had to cancel – roads were washed out and there was flooding throughout Andalucia. We got in a few good walks during breaks in the rain, and visited many of the excellent museums in Malaga, including Picasso’s birthplace, the Wine Museum with its amazing collection of old wine labels, and the Automobile and Fashion Museum. The latter is a collection of 100 vintage cars alongside high-fashion examples, housed in a beautifully maintained former tobacco factory, with lovely ceramic tiles throughout. A wonderful afternoon was spent at the Modern Art Museum, where we discovered the jewelry and copper work of Frank Rebajes, a Puerto Rican artist who had a gallery in NYC. (Upon our return home, we discovered that we have one of his wonderful copper plates!) A highlight was the Glass & Crystal Museum, a collection of 3,000 glass projects from ancient civilizations through art deco and modern styles. The collection is on the first 2 floors of a beautiful 19th century mansion, which became an inn, and then was bought by the current owner, who lives on the 3rd floor and, we assume, enjoys his collection when the museum hours end. We were struck by the mezuzah at the entrance, but other than learning that he’d made his fortunate in real estate in the UK, we couldn’t find more information about the collector. We also went to the Malaga Museum, which we’d visited before, and dove into the Phoenician history of the Malaga area. It was also a great introduction to the numerous Roman ruins we’d see later in our trip.
Carnival in Malaga was Feb 7-14, but the first day of events was cancelled due to the rain. Our neighbors David and Beth came for a visit from Paris, where they were spending the month, and brought sunshine with them. We attended the colorful Sunday parade together, and then spent 3 lovely days with them sharing favorite eating spots and sights in the City.
Throughout Malaga’s Carnival, there are numerous parades and compares, which are small groups of singers, always accompanied by at least one guitar and sometimes also a drummer, who dress in extremely creative costumes and sing satirical songs. Each evening as we walked through the center we’d see a small crowd on various corners, listening to the compares. It is a contest, and the best compare is “crowned” on the final night of Carnival. There was also a competition of amazing floats created by contestants for the “Queen” and “King” of Carnival, a drag queen competition, and a “Flower Battle”, where the various compares and other people in costumes marched continually down the main street, Larios, throwing tons of confetti at the crowd. Over 8,000 kilos of confetti is ordered for this parade, and there were literally mounds of it on the street by the middle of the parade. Although we tried to shake it out of our clothes on the way home, we also found plenty of it in our apartment the next morning.
At the end of Carnival, we decided to try to explore some sights outside of Malaga. It quickly became clear that while the City bus system was excellent, getting outside of the city would require a car. We used a peer-to-peer service and rented a very small Ford Ka from a lovely woman. Phil quickly mastered the controls, and we set off on a lovely day trip.
Our first stop was the Castle/Fort Sohail, 15 minutes south of Malaga. Placed strategically on a hill, it had the classic crenellated towers and an incredible view of the Mediterranean. We then proceeded south to Villa Romana De Los Molinillos, a small roman settlement and road. We spent more time at Yacimiento Arqueologico Romano in Fuengirola, a significant Roman villa complex dating from the 1st to 5th centuries AD. Discovered in 1987, it features three distinct areas: a fish-salting factory, a pottery workshop with kilns, and a remarkably well-preserved thermal bathhouse. The site is famous for yielding the Venus of Fuengirola, a marble statue now housed in the on-site museum. There were also several mosaic fragments.
All along this coastline, there are Roman ruins from the villas and adjoining garam (fish paste) factories that made this region so prosperous. We stopped at numerous places that were “just” a few marble columns or a small garam factory. It was amazing to be surrounded by so much history at every turn.
The highlight of the trip, and our southernmost destination for the day was the Roman Villa of Río Verde Located in Marbella, This is an 2nd-century archaeological site famous for its remarkably well-preserved polychrome mosaics depicting culinary themes, including ancient cooking utensils and a distinct Medusa head. It offers a fascinating glimpse into Roman domestic luxury and gastronomy. The mosaics not only highlight cooking implements and foods, but include a pair of sandals, which people took off before reclining to eat. A guide put water on some of the mosaics to highlight the colors. We spent a lot of time marveling at the amazing art.
Our last two stops were to see more recent architecture. Even though it is very touristy, we had to see the Castillo de Colomares This is a fantastical monument built by one person with two helpers in the 1980s to honor Christopher Columbus. It is an architectural mishmash, blending Byzantine, Romanesque, Gothic, and Mudejar style. The Castillo is just on the outskirts of the historic center of Benalmádena, a traditional whitewashed village. Although Saturday lunch is a busy time, we managed to find space at the bar in one of the restaurants and enjoyed an excellent shrimp skewer and some croquettas. As we were driving, we skipped our usual glass of wine with lunch.
Our last stop was the Casa de los Navajas –Perched on a cliff in Torremolinos, it’s a stunning Neo-Mudéjar palace built in 1925. Commissioned by Antonio Navajas Ruiz, who profited from local sugar cane, the residence features intricate Arabic-inspired plasterwork and vibrant Sevillian tiles. Its unique facade displays seasonal mosaics that celebrate eternal sunshine by omitting winter. (yes, this resonated with us!) After a major restoration, the council-owned building reopened in 2014 as a free cultural space. It was an interesting glimpse into how last century’s rich lived in the Costa del Sol – much more beautiful than the current rows and rows of expat housing that dominate most of the coast line.
A few days later our friends Mark and Jolie arrived from Madrid. The excellent sunny weather continued, and we enjoyed showing our friends some of the highlights of Malaga and enjoying several wonderful meals of tapas together, including an excellent seafood restaurant near our neighborhood. It was a treat to have another set of friends to enjoy the city with us.
At some point we had picked up a brochure about Villa Antiopa, the ruins of a Roman seaside estate located about 40 minutes up the coast from Malaga. We decided to go see it and it turned out to be the most complete and well interpreted set of domestic ruins with beautiful mosaic floors we’d ever seen. The museum is built directly over the ruins, which take up nearly half of a city block, and included excellent interpretations. After the museum, we took a long walk along the beach to see some of the remaining Moorish towers that dot the coastline, and then had a leisurely seafood lunch before heading back. The next day we went to Antequerra, and further back in history. Andaluscia has many dolmens, dating from the Neolithic period (5,000 – 2500 BC) and Antequerra has the largest example. We were struck by how long it took to dig pits into the hillside, haul gigantic stones to the pit and then lower them into place, and then to haul more stones to create a roof. The dolmens line up with a nearby hill during certain points in the calendar, and were both a religious building and a burial site for family members.
After visiting the dolmens, we walked through Antequerra and enjoyed its Alcazaba with wonderful views of the city (after a climb of many stairs). We rewarded ourselves with some of the local cookies, made of ground almonds in various flavors. Antequerra is also known for its soup, porra Antequerra, so we had to try some of that as well. That evening, back in Malaga, we enjoyed an excellent Moroccan meal at a restaurant downtown. We can’t figure out why, when Malaga is so close to Morocco, there aren’t more restaurants featuring this fabulous cuisine.
Our last few days were spent at a leisurely pace, visiting a craft show, going to a local circus and having final drinks at a few of our favorite hangouts. We were so lucky to be able to take this extended visit to Malaga, and are already talking about how to spend more time in Spain.
Photos
Around Town:
Arts:
Day trip to Benalmadena
We went to a ‘Circus’
Flamenco Performances
Hikes
Museums and Archeology
Parades
