# Málaga (province)

Málaga is a province in the Andalusia region of Spain. Tourism and tourist resorts, particularly those on the beaches along the Costa del Sol ("Sun Coast"), are the main industry here. Its beaches are visited by millions of European tourists; other attractions include the gorge of El Chorro near Álora, the Torcal de Antequera, the Moorish-Mudéjar district of Frigiliana, the Dolmen of Menga, and the Caves of Nerja.

## Regions

Málaga is divided into six comarcas (counties):
* Málaga the large city stretches along the Costa del Sol
* Antequera Region northern part of the province, known as the "heart of Andalucia"
* Axarquía the area east of Málaga, its seaside is often known as the "Eastern Costa del Sol"
* Costa del Sol the well-known Sunny Coast with many beachside resorts and attractive towns; note that Costa del Sol proper comprises all of the coastline from Tarifa to Nerja
* Valle del Guadalhorce central region and a natural region along the Guadalhorce river
* Serranía de Ronda the region north of the Costa del Sol

## Cities

* 36.716667-4.4166671 Málaga — the largest city in the region offers beaches, hiking, architectural sites, art museums, and excellent shopping and cuisine
* 36.823226-4.7020122 Álora — a whitewashed village nestled between three rocky spurs topped by the ruins of the castle
* 37.018365-4.5596653 Antequera — its castle provides a beautiful view of the town
* 36.596898-4.5535024 Benalmádena — a long stretch of sunny beaches, a lively nightlife and excellent cuisine
* 36.790856-3.8953315 Frigiliana — a labyrinth of charming narrow whitewashed streets with old Andalucian houses
* 36.541667-4.6256 Fuengirola — a tourist town with 8 km of sandy beaches and a Moorish castle
* 36.511364-4.8834427 Marbella — one of the most cosmopolitan beach resorts on the Costa
* 36.737222-5.1647228 Ronda — set in and around a deep gorge spanned by an impressive bridge
* 36.624537-4.4996359 Torremolinos — an attractive, clean, safe tourist town that attracts families, LGBT vacationers, and a lot of Spanish tourists

## Other destinations

* Montes de Málaga — lovely wooded mountains north-east of Málaga, sadly lacking a bus service.
* 36.73-4.981 Sierra de las Nieves National Park mountain vistas, diverse ecology, limestone peaks, deep gorges, and ancient forests home to the rare Spanish fir. Its fauna includes wildcats and golden eagles

## Understand

Spanish is spoken in Andalusia, but Andalusians have their own particularity. The endings of the words are left out. In Spanish, "good morning" is "buenos dias"; the Andalusians say: "bueno dia". The number two is "dos"; in Andalusia, they say "do".

### Climate

The province of Málaga is very far in the south of Europe. The climate is mild in winter and can be hot in summer. In summer, temperatures in Málaga are generally 2-3 ° C warmer than in Marbella, which already benefits from the cool winds of the Atlantic. Inland it gets very hot in summer (40 ° C).

## Get in
### By plane

Regular flights into Malaga airport which is Spain's 3rd largest and is served by a railway station. Lufthansa, Condor, TUI, Easy Jet, Swiss and Austrian Airlines fly to Málaga.

### By train

The RENFE long-distance train station is in Málaga. From here the AVE travels via Cordoba (in 45 min) from Seville, Madrid (in 2½ hours) or Barcelona (in 6½ hours). The two team lines to Fuengirola and Álora also run from here. There is also a regional train. You go to Ronda and Seville, among others.

### By bus

There are also numerous long-distance bus connections. You will meet at the bus station in Málaga, which is right next to the long-distance train station. Here you can get bus tickets to Cordoba, Granada or Seville . But the buses that connect the rural area around Málaga to the city also meet here. From here there is also a line to Málaga Airport.

### By car

The province of Málaga is connected to the road network of Andalusia by the coastal motorway A-7 to Gibraltar west and Almería to the east and the motorway A-45 to the north. Some of the motorway routes are subject to tolls.

## Get around
### Public transport

There is a two-line commuter rail network (Cercanias Malaga) that connects the city of Malaga mostly to places along the coast and to the airport. From 05:30 to 23:00 approximately. Single ticket from €1.80 (1-2 zones) to €3.60 (5 zones) as of Dec 2020.
* Line C1 connects the city with the most important western coastal towns near Malaga (such as Torremolinos, Benalmádena or Fuengirola).
* Line C2 connects Malaga with some towns such as Cártama, Pizarra and Álora.
The city of Malaga has a small metro network.

## See

There is a lot to see in the province of Málaga. In Málaga, Ronda, Casares and other cities you can find traces that are thousands of years old and left by the Romans, Visigoths and Moors. But nature also has a lot to offer when you leave the seaside resorts on the coast. The natural parks of El Torcal, the Serrania de Ronda, Sierra las Nieves, Montes de Málaga and others are worth seeing.

## Do

* Golf Malaga Play golf at courses such as the Alcaidesa Links course, Mijas, Dona Julia.
* Water sports in summer
* Horse riding. There is a racecourse in Mijas Costa, bordering Fuengirola.
* Hiking: There are some interesting (long) hiking trails in the region, for example the GR-249, sections of the European long-distance hiking trails also pass through Andalusia and the province of Málaga.

## Eat

Fish is Malaga's speciality. No complicated presentation, just the freshest fish, simply fried or cooked on the plancha (grill). The best place to try Malaga's fish is the old fishing district of Pedregalejo/El Palo, to the east of the city. There are many simple fish restaurants along the beach, of which the best and most enjoyable is the Tintero. Waiters continually emerge from the kitchen with different types of fish and seafood, shouting like auctioneers, and you just grab what most appeals to you!
The most genuine menu of Malaga cuisine mainly includes seafood and fish dishes or those made with them. The product of the fishing in this coast is usually small and cooked generally fried; yes, in good olive oil: anchovies (the most from Malaga), red mullets, horse mackerel, cod, squid, floured and almost crunchy.
In addition to this popular "fried fish", other marine products give rise to exquisite dishes such as "gazpachuelo", made with larger white fish and some other shellfish to intensify the flavor of the stew, which is completed with a mixture of the broth with a mayonnaise sauce, which gives it its peculiar appearance of a whitish soup. Or the "monkfish casserole", a dish of potatoes stewed with this exquisite and horrible fish and spiced with almonds and saffron.
To cool off on hot days, don't miss the "gazpacho", or the "drunkards" to accompany the coffee and finish with a good sweet Malaga wine, as recommended by the Malaga poet Salvador Rueda: "Drink it and you will drink the heart of the world. " Enjoy your meal!

## Drink

Excellent Malaga wines, and moscatel sweet wine.
* Vino Calidad
A typical Malaga sweet wine called "Mosto" made with Muscat grapes.
To go out, Malaga is a fantastic city since it is very pleasant to walk through its streets, especially in the centre, along the promenade, on the beach, or along the avenue.
In Malaga, the nerve centre of nightlife is in Benalmádena and Puerto Banús, 20 minutes by car from Malaga.

## Stay safe

This is a safe city, and most people who ask for help aren't a risk — most are students of English — but avoid women giving rosemary, who will read your future and ask for fees in exchange, and mind your luggage.