• malaga, spain •
Gluten-Free in Málaga: A Celiac-Friendly Travel Guide
Enjoying the beach in Málaga, Spain
After exploring Granada and spending an incredible day at the Alhambra, we packed our bags and headed to our next stop: Málaga!
Málaga was a destination Ethan was especially excited about. Why? Because it's a beach town! For those who know Ethan, they know he is happiest little clam on the sand. He literally is Ken in the Barbie movie- he is BEACH! We actually added Málaga to our trip purely because beachhhh townnnn! So naturally, getting to spend a few days in a Spanish beach city was something he was very excited about.
And, of course, we were also excited to see what Málaga had to offer for gluten-free food.
Here's everything we ate, saw, and did during our time in Málaga:
Day 1: Málaga Explorations
From Granada to Málaga
We took the train from Granada station for the roughly two-hour journey to Málaga.
The Granada train station definitely left a little to be desired when it came to the waiting area and snack availability. Compared with some of the larger train stations we'd passed through in Madrid and Seville, there wasn't nearly as much to do while waiting for our train.
Thankfully, it wasn't a particularly long journey, and I always bring my own snacks and meals. Pro tip for all these travels is to pick up extra goodies when you’re at a safe gluten free spot to enjoy for later. It really is the best hack.
We arrived in Málaga in the early afternoon and walked over to our Airbnb. After getting settled, we didn't waste much time before heading out to find some gluten-free lunch.
Gluten free pork dish with potatoes and bread from La Plancha Taberna - our favorite meal in Málaga
First Stop: La Plancha Taberna
Our first stop in Málaga was La Plancha Taberna, where we went for gluten-free tapas.
And spoiler alert... we came back again before leaving Málaga! It was THAT good.
La Plancha Taberna was exactly what we were looking for after traveling from gluten-free heaven in Granada. We filled our bellies with delicious papas bravas, chicken skewer, croquetas de jamón (ham croquettes), and, our favorite, a pulled pork on potatoes with the most delicious side of bread. I typically don’t eat or like pork, so we almost didn’t order it… thank goodness we did because this was the dish that truly has us coming back. We are still dreaming about this pork dish a year later.
La Plancha describes its menu as 100% gluten free on its website and says it is part of the Málaga Sin Gluten network, certified by the city of Málaga and ACEMA.
For us, getting to sit down for tapas and enjoy a meal without having to miss out on the true cultural Spanish foods was the perfect introduction to Málaga. We tried a bunch of different Tapas.
Finally, the Beach!
After lunch, we started our long walk toward the ocean.
Along the way, we passed the main cruise terminal and plenty of shops. We also noticed something we definitely weren't expecting to see quite so much of: PARAKEETS! Lots and lots of parakeets. Another Ethan favorite - birds! Málaga could not have been better for our sweet Ethan!
Eventually, we made it to the beach—and it was gorgeous. This was the moment Ethan had been waiting for. There is just something about getting to a beach while traveling that makes a trip feel like a vacation.
Unfortunately, there was one small problem: it was only about 60°F. So despite being at a beautiful Spanish beach, there was absolutely no swimming for us! We settled for walking along the water and enjoying the scenery and window shopping instead.
Exploring Málaga & Dinner at MIMO Vegan
Gluten free & vegan onigirau sandwich from MIMO Vegan
After spending some time by the ocean, we continued wandering around Málaga and taking in the sights and sounds of the city. One of the things we loved about Málaga was how easy it was to combine sightseeing with simply wandering around and seeing where the day took us. We explored around the town and were able to see the Alcazaba (from a distance, but a gorgeous view of it!), Málaga Roman Theatre, Málaga Cathedral / Santa Iglesia Catedral Basílica de la Encarnación de Málaga, and Málaga Park.
After a full afternoon of walking, we were hungryyyy! We passed by YUMMY MALAGA- Heladería Gluten Free & Vegan on the way, but we were not ready for a sweet treat, so we settled on trying an empanada. I will admit, this was probably a mistake, as I got the vegan empanada and it wasn’t my favorite. I wish we had enough time to go back for a proper sweet ‘yummy’ treat.
For dinner, we headed to MIMO Vegan, a vegan and 100% dedicated gluten-free restaurant in Málaga. We are not vegan, but we always love a nice vegan meal, and MIMO did not disappoint. We enjoyed the delicious bread basket, with 2 varieties of bread types, the onigirau sandwich (which was.. WOW!), a lentil tofu stew dish (I can’t remember what it was called for the life of me), and a slice of chocolate orange cake with caramel ice cream for dessert. The restaurant felt so lively, and the food was so good we practically rolled out of there!
After a long day of traveling, walking, exploring the city, and finally making it to the beach, we were more than ready for some rest. So after dinner, we headed back to our Airbnb. But before bed, we watched a documentary about Pablo Picasso.
Why Picasso? Because Málaga was his birthplace, and we were eagerly anticipating our visit to the Picasso Museum in the morning! After our documentary, we were ready for the next day ahead!
Day 2: Picasso Museum & More Málaga
The Picasso Museum
Enjoying the Picasso Museum in Málaga, Spain
The next morning, we woke up bright and early and headed out for one of Málaga's biggest attractions: The Museo Picasso Málaga.
We highly recommend visiting the Museo Picasso Málaga if you're interested in art or Picasso. Even if you’re not - it feels so once in a lifetime getting to experience this museum celebrating the works of Pablo Picasso in his hometown!
The museum is located in the historic Palacio de Buenavista, which was a great spot to explore if you get there early. We particularly enjoyed getting to explore the souvenir shops nearby - we love a souvenir stroll!
Watching a Picasso documentary the night before really made visiting the museum the next morning even more fun - we loved getting to explore Picasso’s art styles over time and matching what we knew about his life to his work styles, particularly his romantic personal life! We definitely recommend you do a deep dive before you go, but regardless, you will be wow’d by the timeless, famous works of art.
Lunch at Reviv Café
The rainbow bowl from Reviv Cafe in Málaga, Spain
We grabbed lunch afterward at Reviv Café a few minutes away and wow was it delicious!
Reviv Café was another 100% vegan and gluten free spot in Málaga. This place was off the beaten path and felt truly heavenly in a gorgeous sunny fall day.
We ordered the tofu scramble wrap and the rainbow plant based power bowl and matching morning drinks (iced coffee for me and an iced chai latte for Ethan). The tofu scramble wrap was delicious but the rainbow power bowl really blew us away. We were fighting over the last bites! I still wish I had room left for dessert because the gluten and dairy free sweet treats looked divine.
Málaga was such a great stop for us during our gluten-free travels through Málaga, and it was nice to have another fabulous meal to look forward to after a long morning of sightseeing and playing art connoisseurs.
After lunch, we spent the rest of the afternoon exploring the city, wandering through shops in around the Calle Marqués de Larios, and enjoying our final hours before it was time to move on to our next location.
Saying Goodbye to Málaga & La Plancha Taberna To Go
Gluten free pork sandwich from La Plancha Taberna - so good we had to take it to go for our trip back to Madrid!
By the early afternoon, it was time to head back to our Airbnb, grab our bags, and make our way to the train station.
On our walk over to the train station, we played it smart and went back to La Plancha Taberna to get some train pork sandwiches to go. I told you that was what sent us back for more!
We walked around Málaga María Zambrano station, which was definitely more than just a place to catch a train. The station has a huge mall built around it, so there was plenty to see and do while we waited for our train.
We enjoyed our pork sandwiches as a pre-train bite and, before we knew it, it was time to board. This time, we were heading back to Madrid for the final leg of our trip.
Málaga may have been a short stop, but it was definitely memorable. Between Ethan’s beaming face on the beach, the Picasso Museum, wandering around the city, and—of course—the delicious gluten-free food, we packed a lot into our time here. I can’t recommend enough that you add Málaga to your trip to Southern Spain!
🌴 Our Gluten-Free Málaga Takeaways
Enjoy the authentic Spanish tapas even gluten free! : One of our favorite meals in Málaga was our first stop at La Plancha Taberna, where we got to enjoy gluten-free tapas like papas bravas and pork sandwiches.
Bring food with you on travel days: The Granada train station didn't have as many snack options as some of the larger stations we'd visited, so having food with us would have made the wait easier. Same goes for taking La Plancha Taberna to go to enjoy in the Málaga station before our travels back to Madrid.
Pack for the beach—but check the temperature! Málaga is a beautiful beach destination, but our visit was around 60°F. Beautiful? Absolutely. Swimming weather? Not quite. Know the weather and pack for it before you go!
Add the Picasso Museum to your itinerary: Especially if you're interested in art or want to learn more about Málaga's connection to Picasso.
Return to places you love: We loved La Plancha enough that we knew before we even left that we'd be back. We are still dreaming about their pork sandwiches.
Málaga was the perfect final beach stop on our Spain adventure before heading back to Madrid and concluding our 10 day trip to Southern Spain.
And while Ethan may not have gotten to swim, he did get his feet in the sand—which, for him, is still a pretty successful beach day. Back to Madrid…!