Málaga's centre runs from a Roman theatre at the foot of the Alcazaba hill to the port and the beach, and this guide follows that line. It covers six places: the Roman Theatre, Málaga Cathedral, the old post office that now houses the University of Málaga, the City Hall on the edge of the park, the Centre Pompidou on the waterfront and the city beach of La Malagueta. All of them are on or next to our Málaga scavenger hunt route, and you can link them on foot in a morning.
Teatro Romano de Málaga
The theatre was built in the early years of the Roman Empire, when Málaga, the Roman Malaca, was being given monumental public buildings, a process that went on into the 2nd century. For centuries it lay buried under the slope of the Alcazaba. It was found by chance in 1951, during work to lay out gardens: at first the remains were taken for a gate in the city wall, before they were recognised as the main entrance passage of a theatre.
Above the ruins stood the Casa de la Cultura, a building put up over part of the site; in the 1990s it was decided to demolish it so that the theatre could be fully uncovered. Today you can look down into the stone seating, which survives in its lower and middle sections, and the stage floor has been recreated in wooden planks. A glass, steel and wood interpretation centre by the architect Antonio Tejedor opened next to it in 2010, with original finds from the excavations, and the outside walls of the centre are inscribed with fragments of the Lex Flavia Malacitana, the Roman law that governed the town.
- Teatro Romano de Málaga is one of the stops on our scavenger hunt.
- Look up from the seats: the walls of the Alcazaba, the Moorish fortress, rise directly behind the theatre.
Catedral de la Encarnación
Málaga Cathedral took two and a half centuries to build, from 1528 to 1782, to plans by Diego de Siloé, so it is Renaissance in its structure and Baroque on its main facade. Its nickname is La Manquita, the one-armed lady, because the south tower was never finished for lack of money. A plaque claims the funds went to help the American colonies win independence from Britain; parish records suggest they may have been spent on repairing the road to Antequera instead, so take the plaque's story as a local tradition. The finished north tower is 84 metres tall, which makes the cathedral the second highest building of its kind in Andalusia after the Giralda in Seville.
- The carved wooden choir stalls, the work of the sculptor Pedro de Mena.
- The pair of 18th-century organs, with their trumpet pipes sticking out horizontally.
University of Málaga (Rectorado)
The University of Málaga stop on our route is not a campus but a single building beside the Paseo del Parque: the old Casa de Correos y Telégrafos, the city's post and telegraph office. It was built between 1916 and 1923 by the architect Teodoro de Anasagasti in a neo-Mudéjar style that borrows the brickwork, horseshoe arches and tile decoration of Spain's Islamic past. The university bought it in 1993, restored it between 1998 and 2002 and turned it into the seat of its rectorate, with an exhibition hall open to visitors.
- The brick and tile facade, a good example of the early 20th-century taste for the Moorish revival.
- Its neighbours: it stands between the Palacio de la Aduana, home of the Museo de Málaga, and the Banco de España building, with the Alcazaba behind.
Ayuntamiento de Málaga
A few steps further along the park stands Málaga City Hall, known locally as the Casona del Parque. The first stone was laid on 31 December 1911, and it was inaugurated on 11 April 1919, to a design by the architects Fernando Guerrero Strachan and Manuel Rivera Vera, whose entry beat a rival plan by two Catalan architects. The style is neo-Baroque with touches of modernisme, and it was declared a Bien de Interés Cultural, Spain's highest heritage listing, in 2010.
The facade tells the story of the city. A high relief by Francisco Palma García shows a matron, the symbol of Málaga, surrounded by figures of the main trades, and side reliefs by Diego García Carreras show industry, farming, fishing, shipping, commerce, the railway and the arts. Inside, five stained-glass windows by the Paris firm Maumejean over the main staircase show scenes from Málaga's history, from its founding by the Phoenicians to the entry of the Catholic Monarchs. The City Hall is a stop on our scavenger hunt.
- The four atlantes holding up the corner towers, said to represent the taxpayers.
- The Pedro Luis Alonso gardens beside the building, laid out by Fernando Guerrero-Strachan Rosado.
Centre Pompidou Málaga
Down at the port, a coloured glass cube marks the Málaga branch of the Paris Centre Pompidou. About 70 works from the Pompidou's collection went on show here in 2015, in galleries set below ground in a space known as El Cubo, and the city commissioned the artist Daniel Buren to create a large installation for it. The agreement with Paris has been renewed twice, most recently in 2024 for the years up to 2034, so the museum is set to stay. It is a stop on our scavenger hunt, close to the last one, the Palmeral de las Sorpresas, a palm-lined promenade along the quay.
Playa de La Malagueta
East of the port, La Malagueta is the closest beach to the old town, an urban beach of dark sand named after the neighbourhood behind it. It lies next to the port's eastern breakwater, and it was traditionally the place where local fishermen hauled in their nets from the sea. Today it has beach bars, play areas and sunbeds, and in summer there is a free open-air cinema. Our scavenger hunt has a stop that sends you to the beach, between Málaga Park and the Centre Pompidou.
How to see them in one walk
Start at Plaza de la Merced, the square where Picasso was born and where our scavenger hunt begins. Walk down Calle Alcazabilla to the Roman Theatre, then through the old streets past the Picasso Museum to the cathedral. From there cross to the Paseo del Parque, where the old post office and the City Hall stand side by side at the edge of Málaga Park. Walk through the park towards the sea for La Malagueta, then come back along the quay to the Centre Pompidou and end on the Palmeral de las Sorpresas.
See Málaga with World City Trail
Our Málaga scavenger hunt turns the old town into a game you play on your phone. The route links 10 stops, from Plaza de la Merced to the Palmeral de las Sorpresas, and the Roman Theatre, the cathedral, the University of Málaga, the City Hall, the beach and the Centre Pompidou are all stops, along with the Picasso Museum and Málaga Park. At each stop you solve a puzzle and learn a story, at your own pace.
There is also a self-guided walking tour and an outdoor escape game in Málaga, for people who prefer a different format.
Play the Málaga scavenger hunt →
Take the self-guided walking tour of Málaga →
Play the outdoor escape game in Málaga →
Facts checked in October 2026.