Are you going to visit Malaga? Discover the best museums in the city

During the last few years the cultural offer in Malaga has increased with the creation and opening of new museums in the city. Currently there are dozens of museums located in the city of Malaga, so we will talk about the most relevant and interesting ones so that you can decide which ones to visit on your visit to Malaga.

Picasso Museum Malaga

In the Buenavista Palace in Malaga is located one of the best museums in Malaga, where there is a Permanent Collection that shows 80 years of work of Pablo Picasso, artist born in Malaga in 1881.

The Picasso Museum Malaga is located in this historic building, former seat of the Museum of Fine Arts, characteristic of the Andalusian civil architecture of the 16th century, where Renaissance and Mudejar elements are mixed. In the central part we find the Plaza de la Higuera, presided over by this beautiful fruit tree, which gives way to facilities such as the library, the shop and the auditorium.

The permanent exhibition of the Picasso Museum is made up of a selection of pieces donated by his relatives, Christine Ruiz-Picasso and Bernard Ruiz-Picasso, daughter-in-law and grandson of the artist. You can enjoy more than 233 works of different styles, techniques and materials that the painter from Malaga worked with, works that are essential for understanding the history of Western art. There are also temporary exhibitions and related cultural activities at different times of the year.

The Picasso Museum in Malaga has up to 11 rooms where you can see how Picasso breaks with established precepts and gives way to new creations. He is considered to be the most important artist of the 20th century. He is a very versatile artist, so you will be able to see works in various disciplines.

Carmen Thyssen Museum Malaga

The Carmen Thyssen Museum in Malaga houses the Carmen Thyssen-Bornemisza Collection. This is another of the best museums in Malaga and is a must-see, displaying works from four different collections: old masters, such as Ezquerra or Zurbarán, of which the “Santa Marina” stands out; romantic landscape and costumbrismo, Andalusian costumbrista painting and preciosista painting, created by artists such as Joaquín Sorolla, the Domínguez Bécquer or Manuel Cabral Aguado Bejarano; preciosismo and naturalist painting, Spanish painting from the mid-19th century filled with colour and realism; fin de siècle, works by great artists who renewed Spanish painting during the last years of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century with an international vision where Sorolla, Casas, Iturrino share space with Zuloaga and Julio Romero de Torres.

Pompidou Museum Malaga

This is the first branch of the Parisian Centre Pompidou in the world, which landed in Malaga to set up in El Cubo del Muelle 1. The Pompidou Museum Malaga shows selected works from the 20th and 21st centuries from the modern and contemporary world, housing around 80 works by important protagonists of modern and contemporary art such as Francis Bacon, Picasso, Giacometti, Magritte, Frida Khalo, Chagall and Kandinsky.

In addition to the Centre Pompidou Collection, you can enjoy, depending on the time of year you visit, temporary exhibitions on the same theme, which are renewed every year.

The Centre Pompidou Malaga also offers programmes dedicated to dance, the spoken word, performance and film, making the Cube a living, participatory facility in which workshops, training and dissemination activities generate a strong sense of creative community. This facility reaffirms, among its missions and priorities, to constitute a platform for exchanges between society and contemporary creation.

Russian Museum Malaga: Collection of the Russian Museum of St. Petersburg

The Tabacalera building houses the Russian Museum of Malaga, which houses the Collection of the Russian Museum of St. Petersburg.

It is the first venue equipped to be a reference centre for Russian culture in Europe. Since its inauguration on 25 March 2015 it has achieved a figure of over one hundred thousand visitors per year, becoming part of that series of great museums that place Malaga in a prominent place on the international art scene.

The Russian Museum of Malaga hosts long-term exhibitions, which are renewed year after year, and biannual temporary exhibitions related to Russian art and its relationship with European culture that complete the exhibition programme, with exhibitions of great Russian avant-garde artists such as Chagall, Kandinsky and Malevich

Malaga Automobile Museum

The Automobile Museum of Malaga is located in the old Tabacalera, and houses a private collection of almost a hundred vehicles accompanied by more than 200 pieces of Haute Couture and contemporary art designs.

There are 6 thousand square metres where you will find cars of legendary brands such as Bugatti, Ferrari, Mercedes, Hispano Suiza, Bentley or Rolls-Royce. All of them with incredible customisations that show spectacularity and elegance. The peculiarity of this Automobile Museum lies in the fact that the vehicles are accompanied by pieces of 20th century haute couture from Galliano to Balenciaga that exude glamour and style.

Museum of Imagination Malaga

This quirky interactive museum is located in Malaga’s SOHO. Here adults and children alike enjoy illusions and works that play with the senses and perceptions.

In this museum you are the protagonist. It has 3 rooms dedicated to a specific theme. The first room is dedicated to science and you’ll find objects invented by scientists that you can manipulate, as well as optical and musical effects, 3D images, special mirrors… In the second room you can experiment with shadow and light effects, and in the third room, the fun and photography room, you can take part in murals with 3D images, rooms with optical effects…

The Museum of Imagination in Malaga will immerse you in the world of illusions, so you’ll have to be prepared and remember to take your camera with you.

Malaga Wine Museum

The Wine Museum of Malaga is a space located in the heart of Malaga where the culture and history of wine in the province of Malaga coexist. Its aim is to disseminate and promote all the activities related to Malaga wines with designation of origin.

In the Wine Museum you will find the history and geography of the wines, their vineyards and areas of production and elaboration, as well as the types and ageing of the liqueur and sweet wines that make up the D.O. Malaga, and the whites, reds and rosés of the D.O. Sierras de Malaga.

Its collection houses an extensive collection of wine labels and prints, tools for cultivation and care of the vine. It is worth mentioning the part of the museum dedicated to production, where you can understand how must is made from grapes, see the machines used in a winery, and learn about the final stage: labelling and bottling.

The Wine Museum is located in the Palacio de Biedmas, in the Plaza de los Viñeros. It is an 18th century palace refurbished in 2008, with more than 800 square metres of floor space that includes several areas: an exhibition room, a tasting room, a training room, and a shop where you can buy the wines that you can try at the beginning of your visit with the two tastings included in the ticket price. You can find more information about opening hours and ticket prices on the Wine Museum website.

If you are a wine lover, you can read our article about the best typical wines of Malaga and where to drink them.

Cheers!

Customs Museum

The Museum of Malaga or as the locals know it, the Museo de la Aduana, is located in the Palacio de la Aduana, opposite the Alcazaba of Malaga, between the Paseo del Parque and the Roman Theatre. The museum is divided into three floors, housing everything from archaeological remains to works of art.

On the ground floor there is a store room which can be visited with archaeological remains, paintings and other objects. Here you can find the Lady of the Customs, a marble sculpture from the 2nd century discovered during the construction of the palace.

The first floor is dedicated to the fine arts. Here you will find sacred art, landscapes and works by artists such as Picasso, Moreno Carbonero, Muñoz Degrain and Simonet.

The first floor houses the archaeological collection, with pieces from prehistoric times to the Andalusian period, including the Roman and Phoenician eras.

It is worth noting that admission is completely free for European citizens and only €1.5 for other visitors. You can find out more about the Museo de la Aduana here.

Extra bonus: on the terrace of the Museo de la Aduana you will find the restaurant “La Terraza de la Aduana”, a place with spectacular views of the Alcazaba in Malaga.

Interactive Music Museum

The Interactive Museum of Music, located in the centre of Malaga, allows visitors not only to learn about music and culture, but also to play the instruments and live a sensory experience from the youngest to the oldest.

The Interactive Museum of Music houses up to 1000 instruments from different periods and cultures around the world. Throughout the visit you will find multimedia, interactive and mechanical resources, which will help you to get to know a cultural region. It is not designed to see more or less old or curious instruments, but to get to know different cultures from all over the planet through their music.

At the same time, there are storytelling, workshops, conferences and musical sessions for children and families.

Visiting the Interactive Music Museum is a lively and participative experience.

Please play!