Our trip to Malaga, Spain

Our family had planned a trip to Spain in 2020 but when Covid hit our flights were cancelled. I was so upset because I was dying to go. So, we waited for everything to open back up and make new plans. And let me just say, the wait was worth it! This vacation was one of the best in my life. I am going to share some of the places we visited and the highlights!

We boarded our flight. We had a stop over in Philadelphia where we met my sister in law and brother in law. From there we took our flight to Madrid. From Madrid to Malaga was a five hour drive so we were pretty exhausted. But, where we were staying was worth the wait!

Once we got a good nights sleep we decided to explore Malaga. We had rented a car and it was fairly easy to get around. We headed to the Malaga Cathedral. I had read that the view from the top were amazing, and that was accurate!

Next we roamed the city. It is so charming. And it is so clean!

We knew we wanted to spend a day at the beach, too. There were lots of recommendations for beaches, but we went closest to where we were staying in Benalmadena. The beach was beautiful. We rented some chairs which had umbrellas and ordered some sangria and fried fish with French fries. It was a perfect day! We were there in April, so the ocean was too cold for me, but my youngest son and brother in law went in the water!

We met some friends who lived in Malaga. They were so gracious and hosted us for a lunch. We then went to Gibralfaro castle (we didn’t tour it, just took in the views). Then they took us to Alcazaba to tour the castle, which was beautiful. Then we met friends for a late dinner.

Just a few views of evening time in Malaga…

We knew we wanted to take a day trip to Seville. Originally I had read it was an hour from Malaga, but it was more like two and a half. It was with every minute! We wanted to see Alcazar, but when we went to book a ticket they were booked for a week! So, if that is on your list make sure to book well in advance. Even with missing that we still spent a full day and saw so many gorgeous things!

We went to see Space Metropol Parasol. It was cool to walk across the top, you have to buy a ticket but it was worth the views.

Lastly we saw Plaza de Espana. It was so beautiful. The details of the columns were amazing. All porcelain and in perfect condition!

Next on our list was to head back to Madrid and spend two nights in an AirBnB and do some sighseeing before we took our flight home. Our new friends came to say goodbye and recommended we stop in a cute town just a ten minute drive from Malaga. We decided to go there first and I am so happy we didn’t miss it. The town is called Mijas and it was so charming. Small little streets to roam through and shop, grab a coffee or ice cream and take pictures!

It was such a cute town and I am so happy we didn’t miss touring it! Once we finished there we headed back to Madrid. We arrived late that night so we got a good nights rest so we could do plenty of sightseeing. We first headed to Plaza de Mayor. It is a large public square with restaurants and shops. We grabbed lunch there. I felt the area was a bit of a tourist trap, but it is worth seeing. Next we walked to Mercado San Miguel which is a large food market. I had regretted eating lunch earlier because the food looked amazing!

From there we walked to the Royal Palace of Madrid. You can buy a ticket to tour inside but we decided not to. We noticed some mini open buses offering tours of the city and we decided to do that. Our goal was to end up at the Parque of Madrid and we would have needed to take a taxi, so the mini bus was a good option to see a lot of the city. They brought us to the other side of the Palace which was beautiful.

After touring the city we ended up Retiriro Park. This was my favorite part of Madrid. The park was beautiful to walk through. There were spots to grab a drink or some food. We went to see the Crystal Palace.

Then we also checked out the Rose Garden in the park. It wasn’t in full bloom but it was still pretty to see.

We had a good time in Madrid, but definitely preferred less of a city vibe and preferred Malaga and Seville. A few things you want to make sure you do while in Spain is : drink lots of coffee, have an Aperol Spritz, eat all the olives, try the fresh fish and eat some paella! Thanks for coming along on our adventure, feel free to comment below with your favorite part or if you have ever been to any of these locations!