Hop on Hop Off Malaga Highlights

The ruins of the Gibralfaro castle lie on the slopes of the Malaga hill overlooking the city and the Mediterranean Sea. A Moorish castle of an unknown origin, Yusuf I of the Kingdom of Granada built it during the Phoenician-Punic period. The name of castle is derived from the Arab word Yabal (hill) and another Greek word Faruh (lighthouse). The name Gibralfaro means lighthouse hill.

Málaga, port city, capital of Málaga Provincia (province), in the Comunidad autónoma (autonomous community) of Andalusia, southern Spain. The city lies along a wide bay of the Mediterranean Sea at the mouth of the Guadalmedina River in the center of the Costa del Sol. It was founded by the Phoenicians in the 12th century, conquered successively by the Romans and the Visigoths, and taken by the Moors in 711. Under Moorish rule, it became one of the most important cities in Andalusia. When the caliphate of Córdoba disintegrated, the kingdom of Málaga was founded, ruled over by emirs who named it “terrestrial paradise.” After they had failed several times, Christians took the city on August 19, 1487.

Málaga Cathedral, one of the city’s key architectural attractions, is known locally as ‘La Manquita’, or ‘The One-Armed Woman’, due to its uncompleted second tower. Built between 1528 and 1782 near to the site of an early Almohad mosque, original plans for this huge Renaissance and Baroque-style cathedral had included two towers, but the second was never built because of a lack of funds. Construction dragged on for over two hundred years before the Mayor of Málaga commissioned Aragonese architect José Martín de Aldehuela (1729–1802) to finish the cathedral off in the late 18th century. Aldehuela’s other iconic contributions to the province include Ronda’s stunning ‘New Bridge’ and bullring.

El Teatro Romano is the oldest monument in Málaga City; it is situated in the cultural heart of Málaga city, at the foot of the famous Alcazaba fortress. It is one of the only Ancient ruins left in Málaga after the outwardly Republican city was bombed by Nationalist sympathizers - the Italian army during the Civil war, and one of the only remaining Roman ruins in Andalucía after centuries of warfare, and construction. The site is accompanied by the Centro de Interpretación (visitors center) which teaches visitors about the history of the ruins and its subsequent excavation.

The second oldest bullfighting ring in Spain, the Plaza de Toros is a living testament to the region's most famous custom. Ronda was the home of the Romero dynasty of matadors (Francisco, Juan, and Pedro), who developed the rules of the present-day bullfight in the 18th and 19th centuries. This site is the main tourist attraction in El Mercadillo, the new town of Ronda, and was immortalized by Hemingway in his novel Death in the Afternoon. The Mercadillo quarter is separated from La Cuidad (the old Moorish town) by the El Tajo ravine. Built in 1785, the Plaza de Toros is a monumental bullring with a 66-square-meter arena and two tiers of arcaded galleries for seating spectators. The covered galleries feature elegant arches of Tuscany columns as well as Royal Box Seats.