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Alcazaba of Málaga
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Three monuments stand one above the other on a single hill in the centre of Málaga. At the bottom is a Roman theatre from the early 1st century AD. Above it rise the walls of the Alcazaba, a Moorish palace-fortress whose path climbs through gate after gate to courtyards, gardens and palace rooms. At the summit sits Gibralfaro castle, with views over the whole city and the bay.
The theatre is free. The Alcazaba and Gibralfaro charge for entry, and both are free on Sunday afternoons. Some guided visits include the Alcazaba ticket; others are walks past the walls and through the theatre, and you buy the Alcazaba ticket yourself if you want to go up inside. Each card lists which kind it is.
About Alcazaba of Málaga
People have used this hill for a long time. Phoenicians settled on it around 600 BC, and the Romans built the theatre on its western slope. The fortress appears in records from 755, under the Umayyad emir Abd al-Rahman I. After 1014 the Hammudid rulers began the walls and the palace area, and from 1056 Badis, the Zirid king of Granada, gave the Alcazaba its double ring of walls, with gates such as the Puerta de la Bóveda and the Puerta del Cristo.
The Nasrid sultans Yusuf I and Muhammad V turned the fort into a palace-fortress between 1333 and 1391. Yusuf I also built Gibralfaro castle on the summit and the Coracha, a walled passage that zigzags up the hill to join the two. The name Gibralfaro joins the Arabic jabal, mountain, with the Greek faros, lighthouse. After the Christian conquest of 1487, Gibralfaro became a garrison. The Alcazaba then declined for centuries, and its restoration began only in 1933.
The theatre had been buried for centuries. It came to light in 1951 during garden works, under a cultural building put up in 1940 to house archives and museums. That building was later pulled down so the theatre could be fully dug out and restored.
What to expect on a Alcazaba of Málaga experience
The Alcazaba is a climb. The route winds up through fortified gates such as the Puerta de la Bóveda Vaída and the Puerta de los Cuartos de Granada into two walled enclosures, one above the other. Inside are the Plaza de Armas with its Hispano-Arab garden, the remains of two palaces, and a 16th-century Mudéjar wooden ceiling still in its original place. Rooms of the Nasrid palace hold a display of pottery made in Muslim Málaga between the 11th and 14th centuries, found in digs around the city.
There is a ticket for the Alcazaba alone and a combined ticket that adds Gibralfaro castle. Reduced prices apply to EU pensioners over 65, students, people with a disability of 33% or more, European Youth Card holders and large families. Children under six go free, and every Sunday from 14:00 entry is free for everyone.
Gibralfaro stands 132 metres above the sea. You can walk along its walls, which have eight towers, look down the Airón well, cut more than 40 metres into the rock, and visit an interpretation centre on the castle's military history in its old powder store. The views take in the whole city and the bay.
The Roman Theatre is run separately. Entry is free, with no booking needed to look round on your own, and an interpretation centre explains Roman life in the city.
Best time to visit
From 1 April to 31 October the Alcazaba and Gibralfaro open from 9:00 to 20:00, with last entry at 19:00. From 1 November to 31 March they close at 18:00, with last entry at 17:00.
The Roman Theatre keeps its own hours: Tuesday to Saturday from 10:00 to 18:00, and Sundays and public holidays from 10:00 to 16:00. It is closed on Mondays and on 1 and 6 January, 1 May and 24, 25 and 31 December.
On a Sunday you can see the theatre before it closes at 16:00 and go up into the Alcazaba after 14:00, when entry is free. The climb is steep, so on hot days an early start helps. If the theatre matters to you, avoid Mondays.
Getting around
The Alcazaba's entrance is at Calle Alcazabilla 2, in the old centre. If you would rather not climb the first stretch, a lift from Calle Guillén Sotelo takes you up as an alternative to the stepped main way in.
Gibralfaro is a separate visit higher up the hill. You can walk up the Camino de Gibralfaro or take city bus line 35.
On a guided visit, check the meeting point before you set off, as not every group meets at the Alcazaba gate.