The Centre Pompidou, Picasso, Kandinsky, Magritte, the Romanov Collection… are we talking about Paris…or Malaga?
Often overlooked for the more glamorous resort towns strewn along the Costa del Sol, Málaga has recently evolved into one of the most exciting cities in Spain. The past decade has seen unprecedented transformation in the formerly sleepy port town, leaving the city revitalised and reshaping it into a hugely desirable destination in its own right, with exceptionally high quality of life attached to its name.
Over the last 10 years Malaga has been experiencing a profound cultural boom, with over 100m euros having been pumped into the arts, creating fantastic cultural partnerships with some of the world’s most highly renowned establishments.
Here are just a few of Malaga’s stellar museums and galleries:
Housed within an eye-catching brightly coloured glass cube, the Pompidou Centre is the iconic French museum’s first venture outside of France. With striking permanent and temporary exhibitions showcasing some of the best modern art (including works by the likes of Frida Kahlo and Francis Bacon), the museum’s location is testament to Málaga’s growing reputation as a standout cultural hub in Spain.
The Carmen Thyssen Museum, boisterous little sister of the world-famous Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum in Madrid, showcases some of the best if 19th century Spanish art, and provides a wonderful aesthetic dialogue and counterpoint to the Moorish architecture surrounding it.
The brilliant Contemporary Art Centre is wonderfully located in the area dubbed ‘Soho’, Malaga’s answer to art-centric Soho’s of both London and New York. CAC is easily one of Spain’s boldest galleries, greatly contributing to the creative regeneration of the district, having steadily become synonymous with all things aesthetic and cultural, including the burgeoning underground culture in Málaga. The area of Soho itself is absolutely worth a visit in its own right – fantastically vibrant, and hosting a surfeit of creative spaces, exciting events, and delicious eateries, it is absolutely an on-trend destination.

