Malaga city has always been a coveted tourist destination due to its idyllic location, climate and beaches, but for some time now tourists have been visiting the city in search of more than just a suntan.
The city has witnessed a cultural explosion over the last 10 years to make it one of Spain’s top museum destinations. Currently, there are about 40 museums and visitor interpretive centres in the city, including those dedicated to art, flamenco, Holy Week, bullfighting, and cars, to name but a few.
We begin with the Picasso Museum which houses a permanent collection of more than 230 works of art spread over 80 years of the artist’s work. The museum is located in the Picasso’s home and also has temporary exhibitions in some of the eleven rooms. Other artistic disciplines can also be enjoyed, and the museum is free to visit every Sunday from 6pm.
More recently, the Carmen Thyssen Malaga Museum opened in 2011 offering a look at the different genres of Spanish and Andalusian art from the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Temporary exhibitions are also shown on one of the floors. The museum can be visited for free every Sunday from 5pm.
The Centre Pompidou is the home of the Georges Pompidou National Centre for Art and Culture in France in the port of Malaga showing works from the collection in a glass and steel structure in the shape of a cube. It houses a permanent collection of art from the 20th and 21st centuries and was opened in 2015. It is free every Sunday from 4pm.
Another important museum is the Contemporary Centre of Malaga, located in a historic building and declared a Spanish Site of Cultural Interest. The museum is intended to disseminate contemporary art through conferences, seminars and workshops that reflect 20th century artistic trends. It’s the first art centre and museum in Spain to obtain the International Quality certification. The museum is free to visit and open from Tuesday to Sunday.
The Russian State Museum is in an old tobacco museum and houses a hundred pieces from the 15th to the 20th century. It was opened in 2015, and in addition to the exhibition rooms, also has a reading room, screening rooms, an auditorium and children’s workshops. Admission is free on Sundays from 4pm.
The Malaga Municipal Heritage Museum opened in 2007 and showcases some 4000 pieces including sculptures, paintings, properties and historical documents. The museum aims to enhance the city’s historical and artistic heritage and make it more open to the public and is free to visit from Tuesday to Sunday.
