We drove from the stunning city of Madrid to the beautiful southern coast of Malaga (almost a 6 hour drive) to attend the famous colourful fiesta. I have to say I was pleasantly surprised by the vibrancy and the happiness that surrounded the air of Malaga. My friend had booked us a lovely apartment via Airbnb…it was very local and tastefully decorated and made us all feel very welcomed and enthusiastic.
About Malaga –
Malaga is a beautiful port city along the coast in southern Spain’s ‘Costa del sol’ area which means Coast of the Sun. It was nice to know that the famous actor ‘Antonio Banderas’ was born in Malaga, in the autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain.
About the Malaga Fiesta –
In Spanish, Feria de Malaga, is a yearly festival that is very exciting and takes place at the downtown area/city centre of Malaga during the day and it moves towards the outskirts of the city in the night which is a huge fairground packed with lots of amusement and entertainment for the visitors. It’s a well known event on the ‘Costa del sol’ happening in the month of August every year.
We were happy to attend the day fair which was buzzing with tourists at the city center area.. It was beautiful to just walk along the cobblestoned lanes and alleys, watch people play music and perform their traditional dance forms. The entire downtown area was adorned with colorful decorations and lanterns. It was like being transported into a fantasy world where women were strolling with their daughters elegantly dressed up in traditional flamenco dresses with flowers on their hair, dancing on local ‘Andalucian’ music, and making merry.
There was great food, lots to drink, vibrant colors, live concerts, lovely performances, plenty of entertainment…enough to pump up your mood, energy levels and make merry at the fiesta which we all happily did.
Modern Marina and Waterfront promenade at Malaga -
The fiesta was on throughout the day and to add on it was in an area which was surrounded by the fort, church and the breathtakingly beautiful waterfront promenade in the port of Malaga which was at walking distance from the fair. The entire promenade must have been atleast 1 km long with stunning view of the sea on one side, packed with cafes, restaurants and lots of shops for enjoyment on the other side. A great place to walk and relax in the evening buzzing with tourists.
The waterfront area had amazing souvenir shops; one that we loved was Ale-Hop which had fun gifts, accessories and décor items. What really caught my eye was their trademark live sized ‘Frisian/Friesian Cow’ placed at the entrance of the shop…very eye catchy. It has been cloned 103 times so that one is placed outside each of its stores in Spain and Portugal. We bought some funky gift items from the shop like decorative lamps, diaries, pens and fun plastic/rubber covers to place on the mug to keep the tea/coffee warm….very very innovative.
Dates of fiesta – 11th August until 19th August. (we were there for 2 days i.e on 13th and 14th August this year).
Top 5 things to do in Malaga in just 2 days –
1) Walk at the waterfront promenade on the port to enjoy the mesmerising view of the coast and the lovely boats.
2) Enjoy good food and shopping at the waterfront promenade which has a variety of brands to choose from.
3) Visit the fort to enjoy the skyline of Malaga. Make sure you go before 8 pm otherwise you will miss it (just like we did unfortunately)
4) Make sure you visit during the time when the fiesta is on as it adds another level of vibrancy to the place and it’s a lot of fun and you can spend the entire day enjoying the local music, dance and savor some good local food.
5) One of the most local dish to order in Spain is ‘Paella’ which is usually ordered for lunch by the locals. It’s a must try when in Spain. Very heavy and very very tasty.
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