Malaga Alcazaba Opening Hours

One of the best and most must-see and must-do things to do in Malaga is definitely the Alcazaba. In fact, on this same walk to the Alcazaba you can also see the Gibralfaro Castle, both considered true jewels of the Spanish Islamic period.

I'll show you when and what are the best times to visit this marvel anchored in Malaga. What you should bear in mind if you want to visit this pair of monuments is that you will need more than one day in Malaga to enjoy this tour.

There are certain things you should know about the general opening hours of the Alcazaba and that is that it has different opening hours for winter and summer. It is also important to know that both the Gibralfaro Castle and the Alcazaba are open all year round, with the exception of two public holidays: 25th December and 1st January.

Another thing you should know before visiting the Alcazaba is that every Monday the lifts that lead directly to the Nasrid Palaces are closed. There is no change in the timetable according to the days of the week, i.e. on Mondays, Sundays or any other day of the week, the Alcazaba and Gibralfaro Castle entrance hours are respected.

As the opening hours of these monuments depend on the season of the year, there are times when they are open at night and other months when they are not. The Alcazaba is usually open at night until 20:00.

In case you want to visit the Alcazaba or the Gibralfaro Castle at night, I recommend you to make a reservation to enter the site first. This reservation is to ensure your entrance, because generally, close to closing time, the number of tourists at the site is usually in the hundreds, and you are likely to miss out on the chance to get in.

In some months of the year, the night time opening hours are not as extensive, offering admission until 18:00 hours. If you can't or don't want to book in advance, it's important that you arrive early enough to buy a ticket for the night tour, as the queue at the ticket office is usually long.

You should also be aware that if you want to see the facilities at night, you'll have to do it on your own, because the guided tours only operate during the day and not at night, so it doesn't really rank among the best things to see and do in Malaga at night.

Definitely the best time to visit the Alcazaba in Malaga is in the morning, but the schedule of the guided tours could change your plans, and in fact if you want the visit to the Alcazaba to be one of the best activities to do in Malaga, I recommend you to do it with a guided tour, which is preferable to request it some time in advance.

You have two options of guided tours for tourists, one of them is the common or classic guided tour, in which you will have to pay a fee that includes the entrance to the facilities along with the tour with an expert. In this case, the tour is open to the general public.

The general guided tour only starts at 17:00 every day and lasts approximately 1 hour and a half. If you are looking to save time, this is undoubtedly a good way to get to know the place. However, I recommend that if you want to see both monuments, you should use at least two days to visit them, one day for the Alcazaba and one day for the Gibralfaro Castle.

Another option you have is to visit the Alcazaba privately, that is, hiring a unique experience for you and your group, in which you can coordinate the schedule in which you want to enjoy this experience. This type of guided tours are aimed at groups of up to 25 people, and the price may change according to the number of people, but before hiring this experience I invite you to learn more about the prices of the Alcazaba in Malaga.

As I have already mentioned, the opening hours of these monuments change according to the season of the year. In the case of summer, which runs from 1 April to 31 November, the Alcazaba is open from 9:00 to 20:00. This is the time when you can visit both monuments at night.

From 1 November, the winter season begins in Malaga, so it is at this time when the Alcazaba's opening hours are shortened, being open to the public from 9:00 to 18:00 every day of the week, regardless of whether it is a weekend or a working day.

You should know that regardless of the season, winter or summer, both monuments limit the entrance to at least 45 minutes before closing time, so I recommend you to arrive at least a couple of hours before closing time to enjoy the place.

In fact, as touring this place is included among the best things to do in Malaga in summer, I recommend you to visit the city for more than one day, so you can enjoy the Alcazaba in one day and the Gibralfaro Castle in another day. Although both structures are very close to each other, they are not interconnected and it is really exhausting to visit them both in the same day.

The Alcazaba and Gibralfaro Castle are almost never closed, both monuments are open all year round, regardless of holidays, week ends or any other reason. There are only two days a year when the site closes its doors to the public.

December 25th and January 1st of each year are not the ideal days to visit the monuments because they are the only days when they are not in operation. In fact, many of the 10 best museums in Malaga and other places of interest in the city are usually closed during these days, but they do work on the eve of these days, i.e. Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve.

One of the recommendations I like to make to visit both the Alcazaba and the Castleof Gibralfaro is that it is much better to go in the morning hours, this way you are ensuring that you can take all the time you need to get to know each of these places calmly.

Again, if we talk about the days when it is better or worse to visit this place, there is no doubt that one of the best times to do it is during the guided tour that takes place every day at 17:00 hours. Taking a guided tour is the best way to get to know the place like a local, which is why I always prefer to go here in the afternoon to enjoy this guided tour.

As for the time of year to see both monuments, summer is undoubtedly the best time to walk around both the Alcazaba and Gibralfaro Castle. If you decide to go in summer, I recommend that you go in the afternoon when the weather is much more pleasant than during the day.

The disadvantage of seeing these two structures during the summer is the number of people who come to visit them every year. This doesn't mean you have to go strictly in summer, in fact it can count as one of the best things to do in Malaga in winter, but always try to find a sunny day and bring warm clothes to go up.

Once you are at the foot of Mount Gibralfaro you can try to get to the monuments in two ways, one of them is by using the lift on Calle Guillén Sotelo. This is undoubtedly the best option if you have decided to include a visit to the Alcazaba among the best things to see and do in Malaga with children.

However, you have to keep in mind that this way of going up to the Alcazaba is only available from Tuesday to Sunday, because on Mondays, the lift is closed to the public and you will have to go up to the top of the monument on your own. You also have available the tourist bus of Malaga, which in its red route leaves you very close to the Alcazaba.

The next way to climb is to do it on foot, this is a journey that I recommend if you go with your family or friends, because it allows you to know little by little, everything the mountain has to offer. On this hike you will have incredible views of the city, as well as being considered a good warm-up hike before reaching the Alcazaba or the Gibralfaro Castle.

This is an option that I would not highly recommend for wheelchair users, pregnant women or people with back problems. As for the time it can take to complete this walk, it is estimated to take between 35 and 45 minutes, so if you intend to do this walk, try to do it well before closing time, so that you can get to the top in time.

Around the Alcazaba you will find different attractions that you will also want to visit during your trip to Malaga, but you will need more than one day to see them. The closest one is, of course, the Gibralfaro Castle, which you can visit the same day you go to the Alcazaba or you can go on a different day.

But apart from the Castle, what other places of tourist interest can you visit near the Alcazaba and when are they open? Let me tell you.

Roman Theatre of Malaga

It is located very close to the Alcazaba and is one of those iconic places of the city. The Roman Theatre of Malaga represents the Roman past of the city of Malaga. It is one of the most special structures of Malaga's cultural heritage because it represents one of the golden ages of this city.

It is open from 10:00 to 18:00, from Tuesday to Saturday. On public holidays and Sundays it is open from 10:00 to 16:00. It is closed on January 1st and 6th, as well as on December 24th, 25th and 31st. Admission is free and you can visit the site without booking in advance.

Malaga Cathedral

It is also close to the Alcazaba and is one of those monuments that you cannot miss during your visit to Malaga. It is one of the most significant structures in the city and is popularly known as the Manquita, thanks to the fact that the construction of its south tower was never completed.

This place is a spectacle to visit both for its external architecture and its level of detail inside. The chapels and the structure of the internal part of this religious temple explain very well the value to detail and the ornamentation that highlighted the Spanish Renaissance.

For the Cathedral of Malaga you can do it with a guided tour or on your own, but no matter which way you do it, you will have to buy a ticket. The price can vary according to age, with the most expensive ticket costing approximately 12 euros. It is open from 10:00 to 20:00 from Monday to Friday. On Saturdays it is open from 10:00 to 18:00 and on Sundays from 14:00 to 18:00.

Hammam Al Ándalus of Malaga

This is one of the best Al Ándalus monuments still standing in the city of Malaga, and it is an enclosure that works as a spa where you can go to enjoy different attentions and relaxation treatments.

It is one of the favourite places for both locals and tourists to de-stress and find themselves again. But it is also a structure that has been preserved over time and offers tourists a glimpse of how these entertainment centres functioned during the Islamic period in Spain.

As for the opening hours of Hammam Al Ándalus in Malaga, it is open to the public from Monday to Sunday from 10:00 to 22:00. Tickets can be purchased online or you can ask for them at the ticket office.