We’re crammed into a vast beachside restaurant, El Tintero, on the furthest tip of Malaga’s lively Playa del Palo, where camareros clasping plates of fish circle diners like gulls, and you simply grab what you fancy.
“Salmonetes! Boquerones! Calamares!” The noise is deafening as we scoff anchovies with red pepper salad, and tear apart enormous gambas while surveying the exuberant Sunday lunchtime crowd. Even better, it’s cheapish too (€7 a plate, €5 a bottle of house wine).
Malaga, still overlooked by many on the march westwards from its not-yet-rebuilt airport to the sybaritic paradises of the Costa del Sol, is an ideal city to do “on the cheap”. It’s connected by every budget airline going, yet perfectly Spanish, and so prices aren’t extortionate either: wine and beer averages €1.50-€2 a glass, most restaurants offer a lunchtime three-course menu del dia for around €8-€9, and tapas start at €1. The dozens of free galleries and museums are a bonus. We also avoid a Saturday-night stay, when hotel prices are often higher and the best tapas bars can be packed.
To our delight we discover that after 2pm on a Sunday it’s free to visit both the Alcazaba, the magnificent Moorish fortress, and, further up the steep, bougainvillea-clad hillside, the Gibralfaro Castle. Panting in the scorching sun on the ramparts, the smell of pine needles in the air, we sink a beer at its shady cafe (€1.70) after gulping down views of an urban sprawl dominated by the unfinished cathedral on one side (it lacks a tower on the west front), and the turquoise sea on the other.
Checking into the calm spaces of our riad, hidden down a dark alleyway, we snake through the maze of narrow streets to hit the tapas bars. Some of them aren’t open on a Sunday evening, but of the handful we try we enjoy Bar Lo Gueno (Calle Marin Garcia), a tiny atmospheric corridor whose counter heaves with delights such as bacalao (a dish made with salted cod), langostinos and albondigas (meatballs) all for €2-€3 – and rather unappetising-looking pajaritos, or “fried little birds”, (two for €2.40). Nearby La Campana (Calle Granada) is equally good, specialising in fish; the eponymous bell is rung when you leave a tip. Bar Orellana (Moreno Monroy) is an ancient spot, intimidatingly packed but force your way through anyway. And best of all, near lively Plaza Merced, is El Tapeo De Cervantes on Calle Cárcer, whose arched windows, cosy interior and blend of “traditional and creative” dishes at just €3 a pop are a winning combination.
In between mouthfuls of tapas and glugs of wine (believe me, it can really go on all day) we even manage to tick off a few sights. We know we should be impressed with the much-vaunted Picasso Museum (Palacio de Buenavista; €6), and yet, while we can appreciate its elegance and ambition, the austerity of silent rooms coupled with the absurdity of some of the works gives us uncontrollable giggles, so we flee to the more welcoming spaces of Picasso’s birthplace (Casa Natal, Plaza Merced, €1).
Modern art galleries are dotted around (try Isabel Hurley, near the bullring, or Alfredo Vinas, next to hip diner Comoloco) but best of all is the Centre of Contemporary Art (free entrance), an enormous converted wholesalers’ market with works by Louise Bourgeois, Yoshitomo Nara and Miguel Barceló.
“Coaches point us out but they never stop,” says softly-spoken gardener John Hallybone the next morning, at the city’s hillside English Cemetery (free, although contributions appreciated), an exotic “paradise” (Hans Christian Andersen’s word) with an interesting story. As we stroll around 800 graves in the white sun, some covered in sea shells, John tells me it was founded by the British consul William Mark in 1830, after he learnt that Protestants were buried upright on the seashore, consecrated ground being reserved for Catholics. John points out sailors, missionaries, philanthropists and writers (including Gerald Brenan and Gamel Woolsey), all illuminated by captivating anecdotes.
Just beyond the cemetery is the city beach, Playa de la Malagueta, with its chiringuitos (cafes) serving espetos (skewers) of tasty chargrilled sardines at around €3 for six, but more atmospheric for a sunset drink is Playa de Pedregalejo, a couple of kilometres east towards El Palo (take the number 11 bus).
That evening I sit alone with a beer (€2) at Mandrila, a lounge bar, as the sun starts to disappear between two palm trees. It’s 8.30pm and still bodies bask topless, or swim in the dark water, shouts shooting across the air. Two señoritas walk little dogs, a man whistles on a bike and an Alsatian leaps past boats idling on the beach. This is the ultimate “cheap” activity, I think, as I watch the sea sucking on the shore, the lights of the distant port beyond.
Malaga’s Top 3 Bargains
1. Paseo del Parque
A shady tropical garden near the port, with plaques identifying each rare plant, where you can take in the sounds of city life – along with the clack of exotic birds. Free.
2. Mercado Centrale (Calle Atarazanas, open 7am-3pm)
It’s the 19th century wrought-iron place to gawp at the cornucopia of fish, outsize vegetables and mountains of strawberries (a kilo for €1!), not to mention the swaying loins of the usual mammalian suspects. Free.
3. Antigua Casa de Guardia
(Corner of Pastora on the Alameda, 00 34 952 030714) Unchanged since 1840 (the barmen write the bill in chalk on the wooden counter), this creaking bodega may seem intimidating but order a vasito (small glass) of Pajarete (sweet local wine) from one of the 20 barrels that adorn the walls and a pinchito atun queso (a skewer of raw tuna and cheese, just €1.50).
Accommodation
Riad Andaluz
Owned by French couple Florent and Florence (“just shout ‘Flo’ if you need anything!”), our accommodation was provided by this 18th-century former monastery where “people hid arms under Franco”, and offers seven small Moorish-influenced rooms (monastic cells, after all) around a charming, leafy courtyard. Choose the “sumak” room for the best balcony (pictured) overlooking the bougainvillea and stained glass windows. From €40 per person, including breakfast at the stylish brasserie Novembre nearby. Calle Hinestrosa, 00 34 952 213640
A version of this article appeared in The Observer.