10 Best museums in Malaga
Malaga is one of the most visited cities in Spain, but if there's one thing you can't miss, it's its museums. Here are the best of them.
In addition to a pleasant climate all year round, Malaga is known in Spain as the city of museums, thanks to the fact that, of course, there is a great variety of them scattered throughout, so this is an excellent plan to include among the activities to see and do in Malaga.
Although it is difficult to choose which are really the best because there is room for all tastes and pleasures, some of the most valued by tourists are contained in this list, which includes everything from art and painting, to popular history and Flemish culture.
1. Picasso Museum Malaga
It is not unusual for Malaga to have a museum dedicated to the life and work of Pablo Picasso, if it was in this city that the artist was born. It is an experience for true art lovers and for those who appreciate the work of this man who dedicated his life to art.
The museum currently exhibits more than 40 paintings, almost 50 drawings, around 40 graphic works and approximately 17 sculptures. In addition, the museum has more than 200 works, some of its own and others belonging to the Almine and Bernard Ruiz-Picasso Foundation for Art, for a total of approximately 400 works, all by Picasso.
Visiting this museum is one of the 10 best activities in Malaga because it takes you to know the most important aspects surrounding the life and work of Picasso in his most important years artistically speaking. If you go with family or friends, it is a good place to include in your bucket list.
Details of Interest
- Location: It is located in the Buenavista Palace on 8th Street. If you are staying nearby you can walk there.
- Price: Prices range from 7 to 9 euros per person. The 9 euro ticket is the full ticket, while the 7 euro ticket is the reduced ticket. I recommend you to check the prices of the Picasso Museum in Malaga to have more detailed information about it.
- Opening hours: It changes according to the months of the year, sometimes it is from 10:00 to 18:00, from 10:00 to 19:00 and from 10:00 to 20:00. On all occasions it is open from Monday to Sunday. Before visiting the museum, remember to check in detail the opening hours of the Picasso Museum in Malaga.
2. Carmen Thyssen Museum Malaga
In this museum different types of works of all times are highlighted. It is one of the best museums to visit if you want to know everything about ancient art. Many outstanding names of art are part of the work that is constantly exhibited in the museum.
Also, before visiting this place I recommend you to check the official website to find out about the latest art exhibitions, because the museum is not only composed of fixed exhibitions but also temporary ones that are available for a certain amount of time only.
But it doesn't stop there, because the museum also offers a lot of activities for tourists, from guided tours to talks and forums where they discuss the art and art movements that are presented inside the museum.
Details of Interest
- Location: It is located in the Plaza Carmen Thyssen at Calle Compañía 10.
- Price: Tickets are between 6 and 10 euros depending on the type of ticket you choose.
- Opening hours: The museum is open from Tuesday to Sunday between 10:00 and 20:00. It is closed to the public on Mondays.
3. Contemporary Art Centre of Malaga
This is one of the most incredible places to get to know art of all times and in all possible forms. It is a place where you will get to know much more than paintings and sculptures. They also offer visitors different guided tours through the art galleries.
One of the things I like to recommend most about this Art Centre is the large number of workshops it offers to visitors. You can take drawing and painting classes. As for the exhibitions, one of the best things about this museum is that you have the opportunity to see the fixed exhibitions as well as the temporary ones.
There are constantly temporary exhibitions showing the works of different artists. To keep up to date with all the exhibitions on offer, I recommend that you visit the website before visiting the museum, so that you can find out what activities are available at the time of your visit.
Details of Interest
- Location: It is located on Alemania Street in Malaga.
- Price: Admission is free.
- Opening hours: Varies according to the season. In winter it is open from 9:00 to 23:30. In summer it is open from 9:00 to 14:00 and from 17:00 to 21:30. In both cases it is open from Tuesdays to Sundays. Closed on Mondays.
4. Automobile and Fashion Museum
This is one of the most impressive museums you can visit in Malaga because it is a place where the best collections of luxury clothing and attire of all time are housed.
Here you can see a large number of collections of the most representative fashion brands such as Chanel, Dior or Prada, which are also linked to very famous personalities.
When it comes to cars, you will see an incredible collection of very well crafted cars in honour of the great car creators of all times. One of the museum's premises is that the evolution of cars is closely related to the evolution of fashion, and this relationship is presented to the public at all times.
Details of Interest
- Location: It is located in the La Tabacalera building on Avenida Sor Teresa Prat 15 in Malaga.
- Price: Tickets usually cost between 5 and 9 euros depending on the type of ticket chosen.
- Opening hours: It is open from 10:00 to 14:30 and from 16:00 to 19:00 from Monday to Sunday. The ticket offices are open until half an hour before closing time.
5. Centre Pompidou Malaga
Undoubtedly this is one of the most avant-garde places you can find in Malaga and that is because it mixes a lot of colours arranged in a huge cube which in turn has multiple squares throughout its structure. The architectural design of this museum is already a spectacle.
It is no less than the only Pompidou outside of France, so it is a good place to visit if you are in Malaga. Pompidou displays an avant-garde and modern style of contemporary art that you can only see by visiting this or its main branch in France.
As for the exhibitions, it is a very interactive museum that is always changing, so the exhibitions are always changing, giving tourists the opportunity to get to know a new museum every time they visit.
Details of Interest
- Location: It is located between piers 1 and 2 of the port of Malaga, a privileged location for an afternoon visit.
- Price: For a single ticket you have to pay between 4 and 9 euros. If you want a combined experience of three museums you can pay up to 16 euros for an individual ticket. With this pass you have access to this museum, the Picasso Birthplace and the Russian Art Collection, to complete the three museums. You also have the option of choosing a group ticket which costs between 7 and 10 euros if it is an open museum, and up to 65 euros if it is a closed museum.
- Opening hours: Wednesday to Monday between 9:30 and 20:00. Closed on Tuesdays.
6. Museum of Popular Arts and Customs
If you like to know the roots of everything or if you simply want to know a little more about the history of Spain and how it has evolved over the years, you cannot miss this visit to the Museum of Popular Arts and Customs.
Part of what you will see here are tools, utensils and objects from the daily life of Spaniards in past centuries, from the 16th to the 19th century. You will also see sculptures and statuettes that show how people looked like in those centuries.
Another interesting thing to discover in the museum is the large collection of clothing from the period, incredibly well-preserved dresses, accessories and all kinds of clothing, both of people with money and power, as well as of slaves and servants.
As for the layout of the exhibits, they are distributed according to the type of work. Some examples of the rooms are: the bakery, the traditional kitchen, the rural dining room, the fishing area, among other rooms where the objects are arranged.
Details of Interest
- Location: It is located in the Plaza Enrique García Herrera in the city centre of Malaga.
- Price: Children under the age of 14 can enter free of charge, while adults must pay a fee of between 2 and 4 euros, approximately. You can also plan a group visit with which you can pay up to 2 euros per person if the group consists of at least 10 visitors.
- Opening hours: Monday to Friday from 10:00 to 17:00 and Saturdays from 10:00 to 15:00. Closed on Sundays and holidays.
7. National Museum of Airports, Navigation and Air Transport
This is one of the most fun visits when it comes to museums. It is an experience that I recommend you to live with family and friends, but especially with children. This is an activity that they enjoy very much because they learn while having fun.
The museum gives you the opportunity to do much more than just look at big, iconic planes. You can enter the place and touch the planes, move the propellers and see what the customs stations were like in grandparents' time.
All of these attractions are mixed with incredible scenery and a variety of places to see and photograph during your visit. So this place is perfect to visit during any time of the year, but above all I recommend you to include it in your top 10 things to do in Malaga in summer.
Details of Interest
- Location: It is located in the Plaza Pierre Georges Latécoère, right next to the General Aviation building.
- Price: Both the entrance and the parking service are completely free.
- Opening hours: Open Wednesday to Saturday from 10:00 to 14:00 and Tuesday from 10:00 to 20:00. Closed on Mondays.
8. Museum of Malaga
Being definitely the biggest museum in Malaga, this is one of the must-see places you have to visit on your tour of the most interesting museums in the city. In this place you will see works of art of all times, as well as sculptures and paintings of the most renowned artists worldwide.
One of the things you will like most about visiting this museum is that you will be able to have an interactive experience, that is to say, it will be more than just seeing the works of art. An expert guide will teach you everything you need to know about each of the works presented in this museum.
If you go with children, they are sure to enjoy it a lot because the museum is very concerned about teaching the little ones a bit about art, but from a much more fun perspective. They usually have different types of activities for children, from interactive exhibitions to workshops and the like.
Details of Interest
- Location: It is located in the Aduana square and you can get there by public transport.
- Price: In this case tickets are free for EU citizens, but for foreigners the price is approximately 1.5 euros.
- Opening hours: Open Tuesday to Thursday from 9:00 to 21:00. Sundays and public holidays between 9:00 and 15:00. Closed on Mondays, with the exception of the Monday before a public holiday.
9. Interactive Music Museum
This is one of the most interesting interactive museums for young and old. Inside the facilities you will be able to see a large number of instruments in the various exhibitions offered by the museum. But you can also enjoy different temporary exhibitions that are constantly refreshing the appearance.
As it is an interactive museum, you will have the chance to play different instruments with the help of a virtual teacher who teaches tourists how to play each of the instruments located in this room. You can also see an exhibition of large instruments.
One of the best things you can experience in this museum is the healing power of music. If you go with the kids, they will have the opportunity to visit each of the exhibition rooms and they will surely have a lot of fun practicing with each of the instruments arranged to play, so it is definitely an activity that I would include in the list of things to see and do in Malaga with kids.
Details of Interest
- Location: It is located in the Palacio Conde de las Navas in Calle Beatas, 15 in Malaga.
- Price: For children under 6 years old the entrance is free. For people over 65 years old the entrance can cost up to 3 euros, while the general admission costs approximately 5 euros per person.
- Opening hours: It is open to the public on Mondays from 10:30 to 16:00. It is also open from Tuesday to Sunday from 10:30 to 19:30.
10. Museum of Flamenco Art
The Museum of Flamenco Art is one of the jewels you can visit in the city of museums. You can enjoy different activities inside the museum, from talks, to workshops and temporary exhibitions that are there to show you the evolution of flamenco through time.
Inside this place you will be able to see different elements related to flamenco art, costumes, instruments, types of dances and toques, among other things destined to show everything that the local artists need to stage the best flamenco shows in Malaga and Spain.
If you want to visit this museum during your trip to Malaga, I recommend you first check the website of the place, so you can find out what exhibitions and workshops are available for the time of your visit. You can include it as one of the places to visit on your list of things to see and do in Malaga at night, given its extensive opening hours.
Details of Interest
- Location: It is located at Calle Ramón Franquelo 4 in Malaga.
- Price: Admission to the museum is free.
- Opening hours: Monday to Saturday from 10:00 to 23:00 every day.