Spain: Beaches and shopping in Malaga, the capital of the Costa del Sol

The words Malaga and tourism usually take you down to its coast, to the Costa del Sol; But Malaga, the city, would also like to vindicate their roll and attraction.

Malaga, with one million inhabitants, is situated in a privileged natural enclave on the Costa del Sol. The Mediterranean surrounds its coasts, and the Montes de Malaga protects the city, forming a mountainous barrier that shields it from the cold, characterising its climate by mild temperatures due to the sea’s roll as a thermic regulator.

The capital city wants to value its beaches and become a shopping destination. In the attempt of becoming a shopping city, the town hall of Malaga wants the shopkeepers to loose their fear and start to open their stores on Sundays and Bank Holidays. On these Bank Holidays, Malaga wants its city centre to be an open shopping centre with cultural activities. Projects like Soho are part of this plan, in which as well as being a neighbourhood of the arts, it should welcome big business firms.

Malaga’s aim is that the centre of the capital city expands so that its not only limited to Larios street (picture on the right), Granada street and the surroundings of the Cathedral, but to reach El Ejido and La Malagueta to make the most of the attractions of these areas like the new ‘Muelle 1’ (Dock 1) for example with its innovative commercial offer.

The arrival of cruises to the Malaga cruise port is gradually increasing. At present, with figures from 2011, the number of foreign travellers that arrive at Malaga port has surpassed the national’s total.

The markets that mainly arrive at Malaga are the German, the British and the emerging markets such as the Russian or the Nordic, and sometime in the near future, the Chinese, of which a great increase is expected over the next few years.

The congresses are also another important sector, reason why Malaga boosts its Hall of Trade Fairs and Conferences, as well as supporting small conventions in hotels of Malaga.

At the mouth of the River Guadalhorce, due to the sedimentary contributions of the river, we are able to spot what the locals call “Marismas del Guadalhorce” (Marshes of the Guadalhorce).

The Montes de Malaga was declared Natural Park in 1989. There we can find over 230 different types of plants and over 160 vertebrates species.