Malaga Alcazaba

There are two castles next to each other in Malaga, the Alcazaba, and the Castillo de Gibralfaro.
The Alcazaba at Malaga can be seen from Plaza de Merced, one of the central plazas and home to many cafes, one of which we ate lunch at. Despite this, my husband and I managed to walk around it, through a tunnel, and wander up to the Castillo de Gibralfaro instead. After looking around de Gibralfaro in the heat, I was pretty exhausted (and sun burnt), but I couldn't pass up an opportunity to see another castle!

From the Castillo de Gibralfaro we could look down into the Alcazaba, which seemed far smaller from the wall tops than standing inside of it. At one point the two fortresses were connected, but now you have to walk down the path near the sea to get from one to another.

 

The Alcazaba was built by Abd-al-Rahman I, the first Emir of Cordoba, in around 756-780AD,  on top of previous Roman ruins defend Malaga against pirates. Later it was rebuilt by the Sultan of Granada, Badis Al-Ziri, from 1057-1063AD.

Now it is filled with courtyards, gardens, fountains and a small museum. There were many different levels of gardens and rooms, and as we walked further into the castle we moved up the mountain.

If you want to see both castles, I would really recommend seeing them different days, or at least breaking them up into morning and afternoon, so you can take a break for lunch and maybe an ice cream in between.

There is also an Alcazaba (fortress) as part of the Alhambra at Granada.

Opening hours

Tuesday to Sunday
Summer: 9.30am to 8pm
Winter: 8.30am to 7.30 pm (last admission 19.00)
Mondays 9.00am to 6.00 pm
Closed 1 Jan, 28 Feb & 25 Dec.

Entrance fees

Normal: 2.20 euros
Joint ticket Alcazaba & Gibralfaro: 3.50 euros
Free entry Sundays after 2pm.