Top Tourist Attractions in Malaga, Spain

Guest post by Irina Chirilov

Malaga is one of the largest Spanish cities; it is located in the South of Spain, in Andalucia, being the capital of the MalagaProvince. The entire Costa del Sol has a Mediterranean climate and for this reason a lot of tourists come and spend great summer vacations there.

Malaga is a city that was built by the Phoenicians close to 3,000 years ago; during the Roman Empire it was one considered a confederated City of Rome. Nowadays it is one of the top world tourism capitals, and its importance is growing continually.

Malaga attracts tourists with its beaches, the possibility of hiking, its architecture, the art museums, the great places for shopping and the excellent cuisine. You can get to Malaga by bus, by train, by car, by plane, by boat or even by taxi. In fact Malaga has the third biggest airport in Spain.

What is there to see and visit?

1. One of the most recommended places to go to is the Alcazaba Fortress. It was built in 1040 by King Badis from the Zirid dynasty, who was thus trying to protect his family from invaders. The fortress was raised up on a hill.

2. Castillo de Gibralfaro represents the ruins of a Moorish castle, which has an unknown origin. It was built during the Phoenician Punic period and it is open for visitors between 9:00 and 18:00, the price for the entrance ticket being just under two Euros.

3. Another top tourist attraction in Malaga is the RomanTheatre, which was raised in the first century B.C. and is located close to the Alcazaba Fortress. The Theatre was used for entertainment for about four centuries now, even though the Moors used some of the remains of the theatre to build some fortresses nearby. The theatre ruins were found in 1951, when the authorities were planning to build a new garden in the region.

4. The Museum of Glass and Crystal in Malaga is located in an 18th century palace and contains a private collection of artistic glass and crystal pieces coming from various historical periods and cultures. The entrance fee is 4 Euros, and this guarantees you the possibility of touring the museum with the help of a certified guide.

5. The Cocodrilos Park is the place where you will have the chance to see about 300 crocodiles of different species. The Park is open all year long and it consists of eight lakes, an African village, a museum, an audiovisual room, a nursery for baby crocodiles, a fortress that was built using the African Sahara style and a playground for kids.

6. The natural monument Canyon of Buitreras is a spectacular narrow gorge that has been formed due to the action of the river Guadiaro. This natural marvel has its origins in the Jurassic period, and the tourists visiting it have all talked about the awe that the canyon inspires. It is the perfect place to go if you are looking for spectacular, natural landscapes that are both wild and awesome. A lot of accommodation possibilities are offered to tourists coming to visit the canyon and the prices start from few Euros per night for a regular bedroom.

As mentioned at the beginning of the article, besides all these unique and wonderful places to visit while in Malaga, you will also be charmed by its excellent cuisine; you will have the opportunity to eat not only special Malaga dishes, but also some of the best international ones.

Author bio: Irina Chirilov is a blogger for Thrifty Bucharest Romania, a car rental agency that represents Dollar Thrifty Car Rentals in Eastern Europe.

The wonderful city of Malaga

One of the worlds most popular tourist destinations

Guest post by Mark Barry

Malaga – Gateway to the Costa del Sol

Malaga, situated in Andalusia, Spain, is one of the major tourist attractions on earth today. The place carries great significance as it encircles the memories of one of the greatest painter mankind has ever known – Pablo Picasso. Presenting glorious history of 2800 years, the city is now considered among the oldest cities of the world.

Let’s explore more about the amazing Spanish city, its major attractions, social life, entertainment and nightlife and most importantly the overwhelming history of civilization Malaga features.

History of Malaga: stranger than fiction, more colourful than dreams

The city is located on the shore of Mediterranean sea. The city was first discovered and explored by Phoenicians in 770 BC. The name Malaga (Malaka) originates from Finish meaning salt; the reason behind such naming refers to the salty fish invariably caught and sold on the shore and nearby vicinity.

Later, the city revolved around imperialism, monarchy, military governance and autonomous governance through the last 1500 years. First, the Romans acquired the city, then the Arabs; later it was taken over by Catholic monarchs. Finally in the 1960s, the city attained it’s current status of being an autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain.

Entertainment and nightlife in Malaga

Malaga is a vibrant city featuring live Spanish music, enticing culture, liberal thoughts and ethnicities. There are plenty of gay and lesbian hotspots around the city. There are numerous bars, nightclubs, music clubs and many more. Theatres here present Spanish culture through the cinemas, dramas and documentaries. Attraction parks here introduce the tourists to Malaga’s exclusive crypto zoology.

At the same time, you can attend the flamenco shows, visit the go carting tracks, Malaga football club and many more sights. The city presents much historical evidence of it’s evolution through thousands of years. A car ride across the city will help you explore numerous attractive historical memoirs and complete your Malaga tour.

Here are some of the major tourist entertainment spots:

• La Bodega Malaguena: It’s a vibrant bodega bar
• Sala Wengé: A live music club for social gatherings
• Weekend Café Bar: A popular cocktail bar in the city
• Teatro Romano: A music club with HD TV, live music and sports
• Casanova Lounge Club: A vibrant lounge and cocktail bar

Hotels and Restaurants in Malaga: authentic cuisines, great taste, cost-effective options.

Most tourists visiting the city take great interest in authentic Spanish cuisine. Fortunately, none are disappointed with the restaurants and bars here. There are numerous hotels and restaurants featuring high quality authentic foods from different international cuisine.

The tapas bars are also considered as one of the major food attractions of this historical shore-town. The price of the foods here are comparatively cheaper than other cities of Spain. At the same time, the city presents some cosy, comfortable, yet cheap residency options for tourists. There are some attractive resident-hotels, cottages and flats available across the town.

Here are some of the lucrative residency-options for the international tourists:

• Restaurants: Café de París, El Chinitas, Adolfo, Escuela de Hostería, Parador de Málaga-Gibralfara etc.
• Hotels: Parador de Málaga Golf, Hotel La Bobadilla, AC Málaga Palacio, Parador de Málaga-Gibralfaro, Hostal Derby etc.

Malaga is also known as the California of Europe for its comfortable climate, generous people, vibrant culture and numerous activities. Tourists around the world have always been attracted to the city. Truly the seaside Spanish town is one of the most amazing leisure destinations on earth today.

Mark blogs about all areas of the world but his favourite place is his villa in Lanzarote.

Spanish cities

Spain

Lately, I have received lots of guest submissions about Spanish cities, from a tourist point of view. As I have received another today I thought you lot might like to read some of them. If you’re planning a trip to any of the cities included then the articles could be very useful.

The first one, entitled “Barcelona – the Purest Spanish Happiness” will follow this post and I will try to post at least one per day.

To follow will be articles about Barcelona, Madrid, Sevilla, Valencia, Malaga, Zaragoza and Murcia.

If you have an interest in any other Spanish city please let me know and I’ll do my best to provide for you.

Best of British in Spain

EXPATS are being invited to take part in an event showcasing the best of British on the Costa del Sol.

British National Day is an opportunity for businesses, charities and those with special interests to promote what they do, at La Trocha Shopping Centre on July 28.

The day will feature over 25 stalls with a British theme and various performers offering a range of entertainment.

For more information, contact Jo Taylor. Email: chairman@coinrbl.info or tel: 663 157 776

Centro Comercial La Trocha‎
Carretera Coín-Cártama, Km 1
29100 Coín
952 45 23 50
www.centrolatrocha.com‎

See map of the location: La Trocha

Source: The Olive Press

Reduction in property tax in Marbella

A welcome tax reduction for Marbella 

The Marbella town hall has approved a subsidy for the IBI tax for property owners registered with the town hall as part of efforts to revitalise the ailing property market.

The subsidy in property tax will be between 1.5% and 10% of the tax due based on the assessed value of the property.

For example, a family registered in the town hall with a property that has an assessed value below 100,000€ will receive a 10% reduction in the property tax.

Marbella Mayor, Angeles Muñoz, said that this means “they [property owners] will hardly notice the increase in the IBI tax.”

Owners with properties valued between 100.000€ and 200.000€ will receive a 5% discount, while those with properties valued between 200.000€ and 300.000€ will be given a discount of 3%.

Owners whose properties are valued over 300.000€ will be given a 1.5% discount in their IBI.

Assessed property values will be revised every ten years.

“In our opinion, the plan taken is fairer than reducing the tax of every owner equally. This would mean that families with more resources would obtain bigger reductions. It is necessary to benefit families with fewer resources” Muñoz said.

The town hall have also approved a 60% reduction (the maximum allowed by Spanish Law) on the Plusvalía tax. Plusvalía is the tax you pay on any profit made when selling a property. If you buy a property for 100,000€ and sell it for 150,000€ then plusvalía will be due on 50,000€.

By making these changes the mayor hopes the property market “will be revived”.

Muñoz added that Marbella is leading the recovery of the real-estate market in the Malaga province.

New plans for Costa del Sol rail line

Proposed route of rail line

A new plan to run extend the Mediterranean corridor along the Costa del Sol have been submitted to the government.

Home owners along the proposed route are awaiting news of the plans hoping their homes will not be in the way.

The planned line will run parallel with the A-7 motorway, cutting across farmland between Manilva and Algeciras, with another section of track from Marbella and west of Fuengirola.

The plan, backed by authorities in Malaga, is for the line from Almeria to Algeciras, via Malaga, and was proposed by lobby group Ferrmed who justified euro cost by emphasising the high positive economic impact the line would have on the area.

The cost of the western stretch, from Malaga, would cost around 7.5 billion euros and would include nine tunnels and 10 viaducts.

The route, which would include a stop in Motril and in Marbella would also include a freight line. Currently, Marbella is the only town in Spain, with a population over 100,000, without a train station.

The plan will need approval from the European Commission before it can proceed.

Mayor of Malaga, Francisco de la Torre, highlighted the importance of the rail link for commercial development between Europe and Asia insisting that it “made more sense to run the freight line along the coast than inland which has steep inclines preventing the passage of big trains.”

Málaga at Number 1 for the British

Málaga has been a popular destination for British tourists for as long as I can remember and this year seems to be no different.

Online flight provider SkyScanner reports that Málaga is at number one for the number of flight searches from the UK for 2012 summer flights.

This is a rise of one place from last year when New York (now in ninth position) topped the chart.

Málaga isn’t the only Spanish city proving popular again this year. Despite Faro in Portugal coming in second place, Spain dominates the top seven with Alicante at number three, followed by Palma de Mallorca in fourth. Tenerife, Ibiza and Barcelona complete the top seven.

Over the last three years Spain has consistently topped SkyScanners chart of popular searhes. In 2011 Málaga maintained it’s position as the most searched for city from the UK.

This comes as experts predict an increase in airport charges will damage tourist numbers in Spain this year.

Easter boost for the Costa del Sol?

Semana Santa procession

With Easter fast approaching, it is no surprise that the rain has arrived too.

Every year we look forward to Semana Santa; the carnival atmosphere; Spanish cuisine and rain. Why does it always rain at Easter?

Businesses in the region look forward to the festival for another reason though – tourists. As schools across Europe close for the holidays many hundreds of thousands of tourists will arrive in Malaga with money to spend. Even if they don’t have large wads of disposable income they will still need to fill their bellies and quench their thirst so some businesses are guaranteed to see an increase in takings.

Hoteliers in the region are hoping the rain in Spain falls mainly on the plain as hotel bookings have so far been 9% lower than last year, according to the Málaga province’s hoteliers’ association, AEHCOS.

The four start Hotel Fuerte in Marbella reports 78% occupancy for the first half of easter week, with 87% for Thursday and Friday and the owners think further bookings will depend on the weather.

The rain affected bookings in 2011 when the second week of Easter being a wash-out. Many hotels saw occupancy fall during the second week.

The current forecast is for rain for the first half of the week with a possibility of more rain in the second half (it’s raining now).

Some hotels are not so worried though. Holiday World in Benalmadena say they have received a similar number of bookings to last year and are almost fully booked for the long weekend.

Tourists play a huge part in the Semana Santa festivals as they inject much needed cash into the economy. The Spanish will spend an average of 240 – 400€ over the five-day holiday and the hope is that the tourists will too!

I read a nice article about Semana Santa written by artist Nicolas de Lacy Brown, a regular visitor to Marbella. You can read it here: Semana Santa – Easter Spanish Style

Next stop – no stop in Malaga!

After announcing that the high speed rail link would pass through Malaga, EU officials have now scuppered the plans by refusing to pay for the extra link.

The plans for the new high-speed rail line were originally to bypass Malaga and head inland. However, Mariano Rajoy’s Partido Popular revised the plans to include an airport stop at Málaga and then continue along the coastline for almost the entire journey to the north-east. Most visitors to Málaga airport are amazed that they can only go as far as Fuengirola by train and the plans would have greatly improved public transport in Andalucía, one of the countries main tourist destinations. It could also have included Marbella – the only town in Spain with a population over 100,000 without a train station.

Officials from the EU have accepted the plans to take the line via Antequera, but rejected the link up with Málaga airport, which will now be excluded from the plans which must be underway by 2030.

Having seen both the original and the revised plans, EU transport ministers opted for the original plan deciding to take both the passenger and freight lines past Marbella.

“Both a freight and passenger line are vital for the Costa del Sol,” said Margarita del Cid, president of the Mancomunidad de Municipios of the western Costa del Sol. She added that extending the rail-line west was important for commuters as well as tourists.

Spain does not plan on leaving it there and further discussion and negotiation is planned. So, next stop… more confusion!

Tourist board change tactics

The Costa del Sol attracts millions of tourists each and every year and the crisis doesn’t seem to stop the hoards descending on the Mediterranean coast with predictable regularity.

This year the Costa del Sol Tourist Board (Patronato) have changed the way it promotes the region moving away from the nationalities of visitors and focusing more on their characteristics and tastes. The new plan was presented in Málaga on Wednesday.

The tourist board have set a target of attracting 37% more tourists to the region than in 2011.

Elias Bendodo, president of the tourist board, announced the plans which include 321 advertising and promotional events which, he said, shows the commitment of the organisation to meet the target they have set for themselves.  Despite grim economic outlooks across Europe, they are confident that the Costa del Sol’s reputation as a tourist hot-spot will keep the numbers up.

“We are going to do more for less”, Bendodo said. He added that they want to promote the the Costa del Sol “as the perfect destination”, and as having more to it than just sun and sand.

Focus points of the plan include holiday tourism, residential tourism and leisure, cultural activities and language learning. Along the coast events will further promote golf and green tourism, as well as active and rural tourism.

The main objective of the plan is to attract tourists with money to spend, and show them that the Costa del Sol is a great tourist destination at any time of the year.