Málaga is a port city on southern Spain’s Costa del Sol, known for its high-rise hotels and resorts jutting up from yellow-sand beaches.

If you take the combination of sea and culture and add a lively atmosphere, plenty of tapas served in its bars, fashionable neighbourhoods like Soho, areas such as the port that have been transformed to offer a more modern image, and monuments with centuries of history, the result is an exciting city everyone would want to discover. Because if everyone says that Malaga is prettier than ever then it must be true.

Here in the city of Picasso, you can visit the excellent Picasso Museum in the centre, and the home where he was born.

But Malaga doesn’t only live on its past. In recent years it has inaugurated the Carmen Thyssen Museum, the only Pompidou Centre outside France -its coloured cubes have become an icon- or the Saint Petersburg Russian Museum Collection. And if you prefer a more underground culture, look out for the Centre for Contemporary Art, the street art on the city’s buildings, and the alternative establishments in the Soho neighbourhood.

Several things make Malaga a unique place. To start, beyond its monuments, a sunny day spent on the legendary La Malagueta urban beach is a must.

Anyone who wants to delve into traditional flavours should visit the seaside neighbourhood of Pedregalejoand try the typical grilled sardines on skewers.

Back to La Malagueta, nearby you can find Muelle 1, a port promenade full of shops and restaurants that is perfect for a sunset stroll to La Farola, a lighthouse that is a symbol of the city.

Another emblem of Malaga is pedestrian street Marqués de Larios, a busy thoroughfare decorated with flowers and which you must visit at least once on a trip to Malaga. At night, this area and its nearby streets become the perfect spot for tapas at establishments that have become an institution, such as Bodega El Pimpi.