3 Days in Malaga Itinerary: 2025 Guide to the Best Things to Do, Eat, and See
Wondering how to spend 3 days in Malaga? In my opinion, this is the perfect amount of time to spend in this Andalusian city.
I visited Malaga last year with my family and I can’t recommend it enough as the perfect seaside stop in Spain. 3 days gives you enough time to explore history, swim in the ocean, see world-changing art, and, of course, eat delicious tapas and seafood.
Here’s a complete guide to 3 days in Malaga including a daily breakdown of what activities are worth it (including free ones!), restaurants and bars to try, which beaches and museums to explore, and what you need to book in advance.
I also have a list of the 20 best things to do in Malaga, in case you want to swap out anything from the itinerary below!
3 Days in Malaga Itinerary: Quick Guide
Running short on time? Here’s a quick guide of everything you need for a perfect trip to Malaga, Spain
Where to stay:
- You want to stay near the Centro Historico, not the harbor.
- I highly recommend the apartment we rented. The best hotel in Malaga (that’s actually affordable luxury) is Hotel Molina Lario, with its rooftop pool that has views of the cathedral.
What to Do:
- A Flamenco show, Alcazaba tour, and Cathedral visit are unmissable.
- This Paella & Sangria cooking class was incredibly fun for our whole group
Where to Eat & Drink:
- For food: El Pimpi, Casa Lola and tapas everywhere 🙂
- For drinks: La Terraza de la Alcazaba and Chester & Punk
Day 1: City “Must-Do’s” + History
For your first day in Malaga, spend a minute getting to know the city and diving into what it’s most famous for – tapas, Flamenco, and the Alcazaba fortress.
☀️ Morning: Free Walking Tour of Malaga
📍Recommended Tour: This tour by Guruwalk is free, informative, and not too long.
🎟️ Need to book in advance? Nope, you just need to let them know a day ahead so they reserve enough guides.
Start your day with a free walking tour of Malaga’s historic city center. This is one of the best free things to do in Malaga and my favorite way to start any trip in a new city.
I find it’s really nice to get a lay of the land and help me navigate my home for the next few days.
I took this tour from GuruWalk at 11am.
You’ll meet in the city center, preview all the famous sites so you can decide what you want to explore more later, learn about the history of Malaga, and get restaurant recommendations from locals. Can’t recommend it enough.
🍴Lunch: Tapas at Casa Lola
📍Recommended Spot: Casa Lola or any restaurant that piques your interest
🎟️ Need to book in advance? No reservations accepted
After your tour, go get some tapas! Spain is famous for tapas and Malaga in particular is known for seafood tapas like garlic shrimp (which you should order everywhere) and fried anchovies (if you’re into that sort of thing).
Casa Lola is the most famous tapas restaurant in Malaga. Be ready for a wait, but it moves quickly. If you’re not into waiting (I very rarely am), pretty much every restaurant you see will have great tapas. You honestly can’t go wrong.
🏛️ Afternoon: Alcazaba Tour + Gibralfaro castle
📍Recommended Tour: Depending on your timing, this tour at 1:45 or this tour at 5pm.
🎟️ Need to book in advance? Booking a day or two ahead should be fine for this as well.
Malaga is most famous for the Alcazaba, a Moorish palace built in the 11th century. It’s pretty amazing to be able to walk through the palace and see so much history and insight into how people lived.
The walls are built for military superiority and there are stunning views of the sea and city. You’ll also see the Roman Theater, which was discovered by accident during construction in 1994!
While you can visit on your own, I got so much more out of it by going with a guide who could explain the rich history and point out specific sites in the Alcazaba I would have walked right past without realizing the significance.
I recommend taking this tour at 1:45pm or this tour at 5pm if you’re trying to beat the heat.
You can also make the 20 minute walk up to Gibralfaro castle, which dates back to the 10th century and is connected to the Alcazaba.
💃🏽 Evening: Flamenco Show
📍Recommended Show: Teatro Flamenco Malaga
🎟️ Need to book in advance? Yes, I’d book at least a week out because the venue is small and will likely sell out.
There’s nothing that says “Welcome to Spain!” quite like a Flamenco show. This was the perfect way to make our family vacation in Malaga really feel like it had kicked off.
This show is about an hour and a half but it really flew by. The dancing, the stomping, the singing, the guitar – it was all exceptional.
The theater I recommend was particularly lovely and quite intimate, seating maybe 40 people. You’ll want to arrive early as seats are first come first served, and you don’t want to be all the way in the back.
There’s also a cute little bar so you can have some Spanish cava or a cocktail while you watch the show.
🍽️ Dinner: Seafood and Paella
📍Recommended Spot: Los Marangós Molina Lario or any other restaurant that looks delicious
🎟️ Need to book in advance? You can make reservations by calling them at this number.
After the show, head to dinner pretty much anywhere in old town.
Spain is known for Paella, and Malaga is known for seafood, so you can get an amazing seafood paella or grilled shrimp dish pretty much anywhere you go. Don’t worry, if you’re not a seafood lover there are plenty of meat and vegetarian options as well.
I’d recommend Los Marangós Molina Lario (a local had originally recommended it to me!), but truly, you can stop at just about any restaurant and have a great meal.
Day 2: Beach (Or Hammam) + Cooking Class
If you’re there in a warm season (~May – October), I’d say it’s worth it to carve out some time for a beach day. After all, if you have three days in Malaga, why not spend one of them swimming in the Mediterranean Sea?
Not visiting in the summer? Swap the beach for a visit to the Carmen Thyssen museum or the Hammam al Andalus.
🥐 Morning: Breakfast Pastries Before the Beach
📍Recommended Spot: Panadería Cafetería Granier Málaga
Okay, I was not ready for just how exceptional the pastries in Malaga were going to be. Dare I say that Malaga gives Paris a run for its money?
Every time I walked past Panadería Cafetería Granier Málaga I was blown away by the pastries in the window, and when I finally bought some, I wished I had been doing it every day. I highly recommend the chocolate croissant, if you’re into gooey, delicious, chocolatey goodness.
Grab a few pastries and get ready for the beach!
🏖️Beach Day
📍Recommended Spot: Playa Pedregalejo
🎟️ Need to book in advance? Nope, but it’s worth renting a beach chair. There are tons of options when you get to the beach.
If you’re looking for the best beach in Malaga, you have a few options. La Malagueta is the closest and the most famous. It’s lovely, there are bars and showers and beach chairs for rent. Because it’s the closest, it’ll also be the most crowded. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, but it is something you’ll want to keep in mind.
I wanted to get a little farther out so we went to Playa Pedregalejo. It’s about 15 minutes out of town and has plenty of beachfront restaurants and bars, and fishermen grilling that day’s catch of espetos (sardines).
We got there by taking the bus (because I’m obsessed with trying public transit in foreign cities), which was very easy from the town center, but you can also definitely catch an Uber.
The beach itself was very lovely, and we rented chairs + umbrellas for €20 each, which was well worth it in my opinion. Local restaurants run the chairs, so waiters will also come by throughout the day and take your order for any food or drinks you might want.
You will need to bring your own towels. We bought ours from a shop just down the way.
👩🍳Evening: Sangria + Paella Cooking Class
📍Recommended Class: Spanish Cooking Workshop with Paella and Sangria. This was definitely a highlight of the trip for me!
🎟️ Need to book in advance? Yes, I’d book this at least a week ahead.
One of my favorite things to do in any city I visit is take a cooking class. This cooking class in Malaga was by far one of my favorites, and one of the few where I’ve recreated the recipes at home!
We learned how to make Sangria, almond soup (it sounds weird, but everyone actually loved it!), a Malaga-style salad, and paella. This is a great thing to do in Malaga for families because the class is so hands-on while also being simple and fun.
The instructors were incredibly kind and taught us all about the local ingredients, how to choose quality paprika, and what saffron is actually worth it. I’ve since made paella for friends we’ve visited around the world and it never fails to impress.
🍹Evening Cocktails: Creative Drinks at Chester & Punk
📍Recommended Spot: Chester & Punk
If you’re not quite ready for bed after your cooking class meal, I’d recommend heading to Chester & Punk for some of the most creative cocktails I’ve ever had in my life.
Think expert mixology + amazing presentation + probably some dry ice or fire. Everything we had was delicious and everything we had was served in a really fun manner.
Definitely a fun add-on for any vacation night.
Day 3: Art + The One-Armed Lady
On the last of your three days in Malaga, you have to visit the Picasso museum, explore the famous “one-armed” cathedral, and dine at Malaga’s most famous, local restaurant.
🎨 Morning: Head to the Picasso Museum
📍Recommended Tickets: Skip-the-line tickets here. Trust me, you do not want to be waiting in the line to enter that spans a few blocks.
🎟️ Need to book in advance? Yes, at least a week ahead.
Picasso was actually born in Malaga and you can’t leave without visiting the Picasso museum. You’ll get to see quite a bit of his work, including his early contemporary art and sketches, in a fairly intimate and lovely museum.
I’m not an art connoisseur by any means, but I still found this to be a pretty profound experience. It’s just undeniable that Picasso changed the world of art, and getting to see his work in his hometown is one of the best activities in Malaga.
You can do the whole museum in about an hour, so it’s really a nice, not overwhelming activity.
Note: There are serious lines to enter this museum. I wouldn’t go without a skip-the-line ticket, it’s just not worth spending the whole day waiting in line.
🍴Lunch: Mercado de Atarazanas
📍Recommended Spot: Mercado de Atarazanas
I really love wandering through food markets in cities I visit. There’s something about seeing all the local ingredients, the fruit (I bought an amazing green juice – does that cancel out all the cava I drank?), the hustle and bustle.
I even love looking at the meat and seafood stalls (though I might hold my breath).
Bonus: If you did the cooking class the day before, this is the perfect time to buy the quality paprika and saffron you learned about!
The Mercado de Atarazanas was really fun to wander through, and there are a lot of restaurants that serve meals from the ingredients right in the market. You can pick pretty much any one (there might be a line, but it’s worth it) and have a solid meal.
I recommend getting shrimp and clams, if they’re not sold out!
⛪ Afternoon: Visit “La Manquita” Cathedral
📍Tour Needed? Nope! But tickets are €10 at the door.
At this point you’ll have walked past the cathedral probably a dozen times, but it’s time to actually go inside! The Cathedral’s full name is Santa Iglesia Catedral Basílica de la Encarnación de Málaga and was built from 1525 – 1782.
However, the second tower was never completed, earning it the nickname “the one-armed lady”. The interior is pretty awe-inspiring, thanks to the high ceilings, stained glass, and intricate stonework.
You can also explore the roof for an additional fee, which has great views of the city.
🍽️ Dinner: El Pimpi
📍Restaurant: El Pimpi
🎟️ Need to book in advance? Yes, you absolutely need a reservation and you should make one about a month in advance. You can reserve here.
El Pimpi (named after the young men who helped sailors navigate the city when they first landed in Malaga) is Malaga’s most famous restaurant. It’s very traditionally Spanish, and you’ll find excellent quality meat and seafood alongside great service.
Our walking tour guide from the first day assured me that both locals and tourists love this spot, and, if you like wine or vermouth, it’s a great spot for that as well.
This is the perfect way to end your three days in Malaga – a delicious meal in a traditionally beautiful building with wonderful people.
Afterwards, you can head over to Calle Larios, grab some ice cream and wander the town one last time.
Where to Stay for 3 Days in Malaga
If you’re only spending 3 days in Malaga, I would urge you to stay in the Centro Historico. You want to be close to the major sites and there are plenty of options.
When it comes to accommodation in Malaga, these are the three options I’d recommend:
- For Groups: If you’re visiting Malaga with family or in a group, I can’t recommend this apartment on VRBO enough. We absolutely loved staying here. It has 4 giant, beautiful bedrooms, is incredibly central, and yet very quiet. The high ceilings were my favorite part, I honestly didn’t want to leave!
- For Affordable Luxury – Molina Lario Hotel: We also spent some time ogling the Molina Lario (which is a 4 star hotel in Malaga)l. It’s very centrally located and has a rooftop pool with a view of the cathedral. I would absolutely stay here next time if I wasn’t in a big group.
For a Splurge – Only You Hotel: This is true luxury in the perfect location. It’s a 5-star hotel in Malaga, and it lives up to the hype. You get a spotless pool, chic rooms, unbelievable views of the ocean, and a breakfast buffet that’s to die for. This is where I’d go for a really special trip.
3 Days in Malaga: Wrap-Up
Spending 3 days in Malaga is the perfect amount of time to get to know this lovely, seaside town.
You can explore the castle and church, experience traditional flamenco dancing, swim in the Mediterranean Sea, and eat and drink plenty. Visiting Malaga was truly one of my favorite family trips I’ve taken and I’m sure I’ll be back again.
Cheers to your next adventure, I hope you enjoyed this 3 days in Malaga itinerary, and please eat all the garlic shrimp you can find! 🦐🇪🇸
