Ninety seconds on Paseo del Parque
Easy to fit into a walk between Plaza de la Marina and La Malagueta, this is one of Europe's most important public parks for exotic plants, and you will hear green parakeets calling loudly from the giant ficus overhead.
The park was laid out as an extension of the Alameda Principal, as a Mediterranean garden with a promenade between gardens on both sides. Many of its exotic plants were brought by ship from overseas, some of them from Cuba, when Málaga was a major trading port.
Species from five continents grow along the paths, among them dragon trees, jacaranda and tropical trees and shrubs that flower. Palms and plane trees give most of the shade. Fountains and busts of notable people stand along the walks.
Across the road, on its north side, stands a line of grand buildings: the Aduana palace, home of the Museo de Málaga, then the Banco de España and the City Hall.
This is a straight walk east along the harbour, starting at Plaza de la Marina at the park's western end and heading toward La Malagueta. You can follow the marble path or the sandy tracks that wind through the middle of the gardens.
Along the way you pass the Eduardo Ocón auditorium, an open-air stage under a canopy held up by a concrete parabolic arch.
The walk ends at Plaza del General Torrijos, beside the park's main fountain, the Fuente de las Tres Gracias.
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