Modern shopping has well and truly made its mark in Málaga. Shopping malls are common and big name stores fill the streets, but it isn’t all glitz, glamour, commerce and contemporary culture. The old-fashioned hustle and bustle of the market still has a place here, with plenty of colour and energy alongside haggling, vintage gifts and genuine human contact. These are the best markets in Málaga.
Not hungry? It doesn’t matter, a visit to Atarazanas Food Market is an absolute must in Málaga. The first thing that gets you is the building itself, an imposing structure that feels important even before you wander through the massive arch, a building that spent time as a hospital and a barracks before its current incarnaton. The hustle and bustle of the market is hard to beat and impossible to match, one of the finest atmospheres in all of Andalusia, as locals and visitors alike shuffle from stall to stall in search of fresh fish, succulent meat and some seriously vibrant fruit and veg.
If you want to surround yourself with vibrant fruit and vegetables (not to mention an almost entirely local group of shoppers), get yourself to the Carmen Market. There isn’t a huge amount to admire in the architecture, but you’re here to shop, not to stare at the walls.
It might not get the coverage that the famous Atarazanas Market gets, but Salamanca Market in the north of the city is well worth a look. There isn’t a huge amount of shopping to be done here, but the building itself is one of the most astonishing in the city, the huge Neoclassical facade the clear centrepiece. At the time of writing the market was undergoing a renovation, with work scheduled to end in 2020.
You’ll need to organise your trip around this one. A once-a-month event near the Muelle Uno and Pompidou Centre, the Retro Market is a treasure trove of trinkets and tat, of vintage clothing and of live entertainment to keep you occupied when the shopping becomes too much. It is known locally as Red Friday and usually takes place on the first Friday of the month, from 19:00 until the clock strikes 12.
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