We think of Málaga as the ‘pescaíto frito’ region, relaxing under the sun at the beach and the typical Mediterranean tourism experience. However, when you really know Málaga you realise that it’s boiling with culture related activities: this city from Costa del Sol is much more than just the coast.

If you love art, it’s your lucky day! Today we have five artistic visits that you cannot miss if art is your passion. Keep on reading and don’t miss a single thing!

Best art galleries in Málaga

Centre Pompidou Málaga

If you know and love the popular Centre Pompidou in Paris, you need to know that Centre Pompidou Málaga is a delegation of this museum, located at Málaga’s port. The noteworthy space known as just “the Cube” holds a modern art collection of over 90 pieces, that will dazzle you. These have been lent by the French centre, which holds one of the two most renown collections of contemporary and modern art. You will also be able to find a temporary exhibition, that changes about two or three times a year.

You can visit it for free every Sunday starting at 16:00h.

Museo Picasso Málaga

Málaga’s Museo Picasso is known worldwide, since besides being place at Picasso’s hometown, it holds in its permanent exhibition over 200 paintings, that sum up eight decades of his life’s work. It also has temporary exhibits that hold works of different categories, beyond paintings.

The building where the museum is placed was declared a National Monument in 1939, and it’s known as the Palacio de los Condes de Buenavista. You can visit it every day, although their time schedule varies depending on the season. We recommend you visit their website so you can get your tickets in advance and plan according their busiest times so you can avoid any stress.

Museo Carmen Thyssen Málaga

If you are interested in Spanish art, with a special highlight on Andalusian painting, you can’t avoid visiting the Museo Carmen Thyssen. Its collection has over 230 paintings from the 19th century that is divided by theme: romantic landscapes, costumbrismos, old masters, the end of the century, etc. It also has a whole floor dedicated to temporary exhibits.

It is located at the Palacio de Villalón, a building from the 16th century placed at the centre of Málaga’s old town, and it’s open for business Tuesday to Sunday from 10am to 8pm, except at special dates like Feria de Málaga. And you can also visit it for free on Sundays starting at 5pm.

Centro de Arte Contemporáneo (CAC)

The building itself where the Centro de Arte Contemporáneo is placed already deserves a visit: it is the old Mercado de Mayoristas, that was declared a Cultural Interest Site. As a museum, it gathers different exhibits that traverse the 20th century through its different artistic trends.

As a cultural initiative of the city hall, you can visit it for free Tuesdays to Sundays, except on designated dates such as December 25th or January 1st.

MAUS Málaga

As we have mentioned, Málaga is a city that lives and breathes in art, so we can even offer  you a radically different suggestion to the traditional art museum: MAUS, which stands for “Málaga Arte Urbano Soho” is a street art exhibit that you can check out while you walk around Málaga. You can enjoy the great work of urban artists such as Frank Shepard Fairey (also known as Obey, renown worldwide from the popular poster for Obama’s campaign “Hope”) that came to Málaga from different parts of the world to leave their art in this beautiful city.

The exhibit is located on different walls all around buildings in Málaga, so we recommend you visit their website, where you can find an interactive map plus some information about the artists.

These are our artistic recommendations for Málaga, but don’t think that this is the only thing that Costa del Sol can offer to you: we can tell you about the essential landmarks you need to visit, and of course we have some gastronomical recommendations. And if you want to go for a little roadtrip, we also know a lot about that! Don’t forget to ask for our favourite spots at the office when you come to pick up your car.

We can’t wait to see you!