(note: associated photos to come!! I’m working on it.)

After spending our first 2 (what really felt more like 1.5 thanks to the jet lag) weekends chilling in Granada and starting to get a feel for this pretty little city, it was time for our first weekend excursion. We decided to start off nearby – still in Andalucia, but somewhere that delivered some warmer weather after lots of unexpectedly chilly and damp days here in Granada (it is still so wonderful nonetheless and I LOVE being near the mountains).

I present to you the highlights of a relaxing and fun-filled weekend in Málaga… featuring a group of novice travelers just trying to figure things out, bit by bit. I love this crazy process.

We bussed (bus company in Andalucía is called ALSA) from Granada to Málaga for about 25 euro, each of us traveling with just a regular-sized backpack. The bus ride itself was gorgeous. We passed multiple steep, vast valleys, already much lusher than the landscape in Granada, with big fluffy patches of fog peeking between them. We arrived in Málaga around 11:30 A.M. Friday, giving us plenty of time to fit in some exploration right away.

We walked from the bus station into the city, where we easily found the main feature of the city center – El Puerto de Málaga, which is essentially a big promenade along the beach lined with little playground areas, shops, and restaurants. The architecture here feels modern and there are tall palm trees everywhere. This area is very busy and touristy, but the inlet of the Mediterranean Sea that it surrounds is beautiful and it is definitely worth the walk… why?? Because at the end of this stretch is where we found the beach! While it certainly isn’t isolated, the mild temperatures meant it wasn’t crawling with people and we were easily able to find our own little spot and just take it all in for a while. It was my first time seeing and touching the Mediterranean Sea, and we were all taken aback my how gorgeous and clear the water was. This whole area is also the perfect spot for a run or bike ride, which I took advantage of right away the next morning – there is plenty of people, space, breeze, and amazing views the whole way.

After successfully checking into our Airbnb (an easy walk from the city center and under 20 euro per person for the 6 of us for TWO NIGHTS!!) we headed back to the center for some dinner. We ended up at what we realized after was probably a bit of a touristy place, but they did have a really cool dinner option where you could get a plate of mixed tapas – 8 different kinds on a plate with dividers – for 9 euros. We got to sit outside in the street inside of a heated tent and the best part of the whole thing was that instead of after dinner mints, the waiter brought out after dinner ICE CREAM BITES – as in a dollop of vanilla ice cream covered in chocolate, and I from now on I think I will forever be disappointed by free mints. After, we joined another group of gals from our study abroad program at their own nearby Airbnb, which just so happened to have rooftop access to this cute little patio, so we spent the rest of the night up there just chatting and enjoying the nice weather.

Saturday: After my morning run, which I of course got a little lost on, we set out in search of a cafetería for breakfast. On the way, I stopped by a frutería, which are definitely one of my favorite parts about Spain so far. In general here, the majority of places where people buy their goods are more often small, specialized, entrepreneurial businesses. This means there are whole shops dedicated to watches (relojerías), stationery/paper supplies (papelerías), even croissants and churros (crossanterías, churrerías), and my personal favorite is obviously the fruit/produce shops (fruterías). They are essentially just a small room filled with crates of all kinds of fresh produce, generally with boxes extending out into the street as well. It is all delicious, cheap, and SO easy when you get hangry because there seems to be one on almost every corner.

After my fruit detour, we found a cafetería, got us some tostadas and coffee/tea (pretty much the go-to breakfast of Spaniards, we have found) and headed to the Alcazaba.

Now, an Alcazaba is not something unique to Málaga – in fact, the word just means “fortress” in Spanish, so there is an Alcazaba in nearly every city you can travel to in Spain. We LOVED this one, as it had a very rustic feel, with less clean lines and geometry than many of the palace rooms in the Alhambra in Granada, and had lots of greenery as well. Every lookout place offers amazing views of the city and the entrance cost is super affordable. Just before the entrance to this also lies an old Roman Theatre with gorgeous architecture, as well as a plaza with lots of food options. We also found that there was lots of live music and even a few street performers (puppets, magicians) as we walked through this part of the city.

After lunch at a trendy little place called Lechuga (I got an amazing ensalada turco – lettuce salad with cous cous, veggies, and hummus), we spent some more time at the beach, where a few people even braved a dip in the water. It was very unlikely of me not to join in on this, but I totally had not even thought to bring my swimsuit being used to the chilly temps in Granada. Málaga is only two hours away, but it really is amazing how much the climate changes once you move away from the mountains.

At sunset, we went full out tourist and bought some tickets to the Mirador Princess – a big ol’ ferris wheel (one of the biggest in Europe, I believe). It takes you around 3 times and we caught it just as both the sun was setting and the thickest blanket of fog I have ever seen in my entire life rolled it. It was so cool to have a birds-eye view of it all.

Dinner Saturday night was cooked by us, in our Airbnb. Well, in reality, the other girls’ Airbnb saved our butts after getting back with all the food and realizing our oven/stove were sufficiently ancient and definitely both didn’t work. We split a grocery bill with ingredients for pizza, pasta, salad, and sangria, and we each paid 1.20 euro for everything. It was such an amazing deal and seriously so much fun all squeezed together in the little living room – it was definitely one of my favorite memories from the whole weekend and definitely a pro tip if you’re looking to budget or put your money more towards experiences than food.  

I adored the atmosphere of the city center late at night – there are simply so many more people out and about than would ever be at an hour like midnight or 1 a.m. in the U.S.. All the little shops keep tables and chairs out in the streets, and people sit and converse and sip on drinks late into the night. Mix this with the evening breeze off the ocean, and it is just SO PLEASANT. Maybe a funny word, but I’m not sure how else to describe it. We ordered some drinks and chocolate con churros and had a pretty decent conversation in Spanish with our incredibly kind waiter, who gave us his personal recommendations for local discotecas and told us that nighttime is dancing time, and not sleeping time – we are young, we don’t need to sleep.

The last sight we checked out on Sunday morning before catching a bus back to Granada was the Picasso Museum. Picasso is from Málaga, and accordingly, they have a whole museum dedicated to him. It was perfect in so many ways – first off, I really love Picasso’s style and all of its variety – I could easily look at two of his pieces and never suspect that they were created by the same artist. Plus, I was so in awe of the fact that he was actively producing works for over 80 years. The museum was the perfect size where you could make it through everything without getting tired and consequently not being able to enjoy the pieces in the way that you know you should.

And that was a wrap on the weekend – my favorite Málaga things were the dairy-free snickers and berry gelato I had, the “suave”(as Spaniards would say) weather, getting to meet the Mediterranean, and the beautifully lit, bustling streets at night. I think it had just the right amount of things for one weekend, but in general, I would tend to prefer somewhere more naturey and less touristy. Us gals learned as we went, and I honestly don’t think it was so bad for our first go!

Excited for the adventures to come…