Centro Pompidou Málaga

The Centre Pompidou Málaga is the first branch of the Paris museum to open outside France, and it occupies a building that is hard to miss: a glass cube in bright colours, known as El Cubo, at the base of the Muelle Uno quay in the port. It opened in 2015 under an agreement with the Pompidou in Paris, which lends works from its collection of modern and contemporary art. The cube was designed as the entrance to underground galleries and was associated with the French artist Daniel Buren, whose work is known for its use of colour and stripes, and the effect from the quay is of a rainbow block set against the sea.

The galleries below the cube hold two types of display. A semi-permanent exhibition draws on the Paris collection and runs through the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, so visitors move from early modernism to recent art in one visit. Temporary exhibitions change through the year and often focus on a single artist, a movement or a theme, with loans from Paris and other institutions. Because the programme rotates, a second visit can show a different set of works. The Málaga branch gives a different, sunnier setting from its Parisian parent, and the museum also has a space for workshops and activities for families and schools, and a shop and cafe.

The cube itself is open to visit as part of the ticket, and from inside there are views over the Bay of Málaga and the port. The surrounding quay, Muelle Uno, is a pleasant promenade with shops and restaurants, and the nearby Palmeral de las Sorpresas, a landscaped garden along the dock, adds to the walk. The old lighthouse, La Farola, stands at the end of the next quay. Late afternoon is a good time to see the cube when the sun is low and the colours are at their strongest.

The Pompidou is one of several museums in the city that have helped change Málaga’s image in recent decades. The Picasso Museum and the Museo Casa Natal Picasso, where the artist was born, are within walking distance, as is the Museo Ruso, and the city offers a combined pass for several museums, known as the Bono Art Experience. Check the official site for current details.

The museum is reached on foot from the centre of the city in about ten or fifteen minutes. City buses stop nearby, and the airport trains connect to the area. There is an underground car park at Muelle Uno for those driving. The museum is closed on certain weekdays and holidays, so check the schedule, and book online in busy periods.