Malaga Cathedral and Alcazaba

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Malaga Cathedral

October 12

After yesterday’s long day, we slept in on this morning. The plan today is for Malaga Cathedral, Alcazaba, and the Gibralfaro Castle. I pre-purchased tickets in advance for Alcazaba and Gib Castle for this day via Get Your Guide. However, the tix did not have a timed entry, so whenever we get there, we get there.

At a nearby cafe we grabbed some pastry, coffee, and as always…naranja zumo (orange juice). One of favorite things in Spain is the fresh orange juice…everywhere! Mmm!! Then it was off to Malaga Cathedral, about a 5-minute walk. The cathedral has an unusually high entrance fee of 10 Euros per person. It took about 250 years to build the cathedral, between the 1500’s and 1700’s, but only one tower was completed. That one tower, at 275′ is the second tallest cathedral tower in Andalucia. Unfortunately the tower is not accessible, which is always a disappointment for us when touring a cathedral.

In spite of no tower access, we really enjoyed touring this beautiful place. We spent about an hour checking out the vast interior with massive pillars, doors, and organ pipes. There were two sets of organ pipes that looked like they’d be heard for miles away.

Malaga Cathedral — They could play soccer in here!

Also very impressive was the array of finely detailed wood sculptures of the many patron saints of Malaga.

After finishing up at the cathedral, we made our way to the nearby Alcazaba, arriving around 1:00 p.m. Fortunately we passed a gelato stand because I needed lunch!

Alcazaba Malaga — Just finishing my gelato lunch before heading in.

The Malaga Alcazaba is a Moorish palatial fortification. Construction began in the 11th century, and continued for centuries. The walled fortress overlooks Malaga and the sea, and it overhangs the adjacent ancient Roman theatre we visited on the first day here. It is also connected to the Gibralfaro Castle higher up on the hill via a walled corridor.

None of our pictures could capture the full essence of the Malaga Alcazaba, so I borrowed this one from the internet, just for proper perspective.

We spent about an hour and a half tooling around the Alcazaba. It is well maintained and a fun place to explore.

At around 2:30 p.m. we headed uphill to the Gibralfaro Castle. We had already made the uphill trek on our first day here so we knew what we were in for. Our tickets for entry to the castle were for today, so this time we actually got into the castle instead of merely suffering again through drinks and tapas at the adjacent Parador Hotel like we did the other day. It took about 30 minutes to get from the Alcazaba to the entrance to the Gibralfaro Castle, even though it is right next door. Shuttle? We don’t need no stinking shuttle!

On this hot day we really felt the steep walking to and around the castle. It became tiring, mostly for me. We headed back down toward sea level after about 90 minutes.

We got down from the castle at around 4:30 and rested a while at the beautiful public gardens at the foothills below.

The walkways and gardens at the base of Gibralfaro Castle are uniquely beautiful.

Gibralfaro Castle Malaga — Em pointing to where we just descended from.

We eventually started our way back toward downtown, but took the waterfront route. Walking along the waterfront was very crowded because there was a cruise ship docked right there, and lots of locals selling lots of cruisers lots of crap. Making our way past here we made it to a not so hectic, more residentially busy street. We parked ourselves at a sidewalk table at the Vinoteca Bouquet wine bar, which felt like an oasis. We enjoyed a drink with some cheese and bread, and watched the people walking by, mostly locals.

Then we strolled back to the apartment where we rested a bit before going out for dinner. We had made 8:30 reservations for an outdoor table at Alita in the trendy soho section of downtown. This is a newer, excellent upscale restaurant. We found it the other night walking behind a swanky looking young couple until they walked into this restaurant. The service at this cozy spot was the best we got at any restaurant on the trip, and the eclectic Spanish food was even better. Score!