Basic introduction to Málaga Province

Beach and golf developments par excellence plus a rich history and varied landscape

Of the eight provinces which constitute the region of Andalucía, the province of Málaga is one of the best known in northern Europe due to it being home to the Costa del Sol, one of the first popular destinations for package holidays in the 1960s and 70s. Consequently Málaga has the fourth busiest airport in Spain, and thanks partly to tourism the provincial capital is ranked fourth in the list of most important economic centres in the country and the largest in the south.

The population of 1.6 million includes 73,000 British residents and a total of 168,000 from the European Union, almost all of them having chosen to live on the coast. This total represents almost half of all EU nationals resident in the whole of Andalucía, and partly as a result of the influx of foreigners almost all of the major towns and cities are by the Mediterranean (the principal exceptions being the historic cities of Ronda and Antequera).

Málaga and other resorts such as Nerja, Marbella, Torremolinos, Fuengirola and Mijas have become bywords for tourism, and on the back of this reputation there are now a myriad of marinas and golf courses all along the 100 miles of coastline in the province. For many northern Europeans this has become home from home, and the beach bars, water sports facilities and seafront restaurants are among the most popular in Europe.

But, of course, there’s more. Inland are the mountains, which reach heights of almost 2,000 metres close to the border with Granada and are covered in extensive areas of pine forest, while close to Antequera are various wetland natural parks such as the Laguna de Fuente de Piedra. This is a stopping off point for flamingoes during their migration, and the lakes here provide fantastic opportunities for bird-watchers.

Historically, the area now known as the province of Málaga has been home to human beings for over 40,000 years, a fact to which testimony is borne by the cave paintings discovered in Benoaján and Rincón de la Victoria. Before the Romans arrived it was also colonized successively by the Phoenicians, the Greeks and the Carthaginians, eventually forming part of the Byzantine Empire before the Visigoths and then the Moors took over.

Under Moorish rule the city of Málaga flourished as a regional capital, and it was one of the last strongholds to fall to the Reconquista forces of the Catholic monarchs in 1487. After a siege lasting six months the population were executed or consigned to slavery, and despite the prosperity of the port it took centuries for the city and its hinterland to re-establish their importance.

This came about in the nineteenth century, when Málaga was one of the first provinces in Spain to welcome the Industrial Revolution. At one point the city was the most industrialized in Spain, and great mercantile wealth was built up as a result of the improvements in communications, but by the end of the century the grape harvest had been destroyed by pests and natural disasters heaped misery and poverty on the population. The Civil War brought further suffering, and it was not until the 1960s that the glamour of visitors such as Brigitte Bardot brought the good times back to Málaga.

And the good times have remained, despite the involvement of local politicians in highly publicized corruption scandals.  

Gastronomically, the coastal area of the province offers a choice between Mediterranean and international dining, with the highlights of course including fish and seafood as well as tapas and the local wines. The variety of the local geography also ensures that there is meat from the hills and mountains and plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables from the fertile land between the coast and the sierras.

Life in the province is punctuated, as it is throughout Spain, by the fiestas. Whether it’s Christmas or Easter, the Cruces de Mayo or All Saints’ Day, the Spanish party until dawn with religious fervour, and never more so than during the Feria de Málaga in the capital city during the second or third week of August. The sweet wine flows and flamenco dance and music are very much to the fore in this fundamental expression of regional character.

Without a doubt most visitors to Málaga will be attracted initially by the rightly famous coastline and its secondary attractions, but behind all this is the sixth largest city in Spain and a province with varied landscape and archetypal Andalusian character to offer. One of Málaga’s most famous sons, Pablo Picasso, once said that “everything you can imagine is real”: it wouldn’t be a bad slogan for the provincial tourism board to adopt!