Where to stay in Málaga

The Centro Histórico is compact: the cathedral, the Alcazaba, the Picasso Museum and Calle Larios on foot, and La Malagueta beach about 1 km away. Soho, between the old town and the river, has the street art, galleries and port. La Malagueta is the city beach next to the port.

East of the centre, Pedregalejo and El Palo are former fishing districts with a seafront promenade and beach restaurants. West, Teatinos is the university district. Along the coast beyond the city, Torremolinos and Benalmádena Costa are separate towns: Torremolinos the classic resort close to the airport, Benalmádena with its marina a little further on.

Central Málaga is a low-emission zone of about 400 hectares inside a ring that includes the Paseo Marítimo Antonio Machado, the Avenida de Andalucía and the Paseo Marítimo Pablo Ruiz Picasso. Cameras check plates against the national traffic authority's records. Cars with a CERO, ECO or C label enter freely; B label cars registered outside Málaga are barred from 30 November 2026, and the fine is EUR 200. The zone's hours and how it treats foreign plates were not verified.

Street parking is the SARE blue zone, run by SMASSA: EUR 1 an hour in 2026, with a EUR 0.50 minimum and a 150 minute maximum (30 minutes in short-stay bays), charged Monday to Friday 09:00 to 14:00 and 16:00 to 20:00 and Saturday 09:00 to 14:00. That rules the street out as a daily answer in the centre. SMASSA also runs 12 car parks with about 6,300 spaces and shows live free spaces; Alcazaba and Plaza de la Marina are closest to the old town, and Alcazaba has a 2.10 m height limit.

Bases outside the ring, in Pedregalejo, El Palo or Teatinos, are easier with a car. For the AP-7 and the rest of the road side, GetCar's guide Driving in Malaga and on the Costa del Sol: AP-7 Tolls, the Low-Emission Zone and Parking covers it in full.

There is no tourist tax in Andalusia. The regional government judged one premature and rejected it in May 2024, and on 14 September 2026 the regional tourism minister, Manuel Gavira, again said he opposes one. Both come from press reports; no official statement was read.

Holiday flats follow Andalusian Decreto 28/2016, amended in 2024. Each is registered in the Registro de Turismo de Andalucía, and on arrival every guest must receive a document, as a contract, showing at least the operator's name, the flat's RTA code, the number of guests, the dates, the total price and a contact phone. Guests must show an identity document. Whether the RTA code must also appear in online adverts was not found in the text read.

Málaga city has frozen new tourist flats: from 23 August 2025 they are suspended in the whole municipality for up to three years or until a planning change is approved. The suspension concerns new registrations. At national level, the national registration procedure was largely annulled in May 2026, regional registers still apply (Catalan NIRTC, Valencian tourism register, Andalusian RTA), and whether a national number must still appear on a listing is unsettled as of September 2026. Every lodging also records guest ID data under Real Decreto 933/2021.

With new tourist flats frozen in the city, supply there rests on flats already registered. Torremolinos and Benalmádena are outside the Málaga suspension, which covers only the Málaga municipality; whether they have their own was not verified.

For a stay of up to two months, a registered tourist flat is still a tourist stay; the monthly guide below covers longer lets.

A first visit on foot: Centro Histórico, with the car in a SMASSA car park.

Art, the port and the centre without its busiest streets: Soho.

The city beach and the old town on foot: La Malagueta.

A quieter stay by the sea, with an easier car: Pedregalejo and El Palo.

A budget or student stay: Teatinos.

A resort holiday near the airport: Torremolinos or Benalmádena Costa.