10 Things to Do in Malaga in October

In October liturgical celebrations are the order of the day, and that leaves you with many options of fairs to enjoy. Find out what you can do this month in the city.

Andressa García

Andressa García

10 min read

10 Things to Do in Malaga in October

Malaga by Night | ©Conall

From incredibly fun halloween parties, to cheese festivals and all kinds of fairs in different locations in Malaga, this city is one of the best places where you will want to spend the most fun October.

I will show you a complete guide of the most interesting, entertaining and cultural activities you can do in Malaga. All month long the city and its surroundings have enough activities to keep you entertained, and of course to include them among the best things to see and do in Malaga.

1. Nerja Fair: In honor of St. Michael the Archangel and the Virgin of the Anguish

Nerja, Malaga| ©lhourahane
Nerja, Malaga| ©lhourahane

As you have seen, the people of Malaga usually celebrate their patron saints, so another of the traditional patron saint fairs are those held in Nerja in mid-October. Basically the procession of San Miguel Arcángel and the Virgen de las Angustias is offered, and also masses are offered in their name and the rest of the liturgical activities.

As for the celebration, it is one of the most entertaining fairs for tourists because you can get to enjoy various musical performances that take place during all the days that the fair is active. It is also common to see parades, which are musical groups that play popular music in the streets.

If you like fireworks then this is a good place to enjoy them, because it is one of the daily activities during the fairs. In case you go with children, you can also do it inside the fairgrounds. You can even take the opportunity to take a kayak route along the cliffs of Nerja and Maro.

In addition, in celebration, concerts are the order of the day, or night. And one of the best things to see in this place are the dance performances of the different local artists who offer their best shows to locals and visitors.

Book an excursion to Nerja and Frigiliana

2. Day of Las Soperas in Alora

Perota Soup| ©Saldemikocina
Perota Soup| ©Saldemikocina

The sopas perotas is the typical dish of the town of Alora, a white village of Andalusia and one of the best villages of Malaga, which in fact is very close to the city. The day of the soperas is a festivity that is made in honor of these perotas soups, to pay tribute to those flavors and those ingredients with which the different typical meals of the region are usually prepared.

In the case of sopas perotas, they are prepared with a combination of onion, tomato, basil, bread, bell pepper, garlic, mint, ground pepper and saffron. So if you like to taste local Malaga flavors, this is an excellent opportunity to do so. This festival takes place in the first days of October, usually around the 5th of this month.

In addition to the activities I have already described, you will be able to enjoy different food festivals and traditional drinks such as the famous local wine. The place where this fair takes place, which usually lasts only one day, is in the town square of Alora, which is wrapped with the magic of the festivities.

One of the interesting facts about these festivities is that approximately 7 thousand perotas soups are distributed during the day, so you will surely have the chance to eat some of them during your visit to this town in Malaga.

Book your tour through the white villages of Andalusia

3. Yunquera Fair: Spanish traditions to venerate the Virgin of the Rosary and St. Sebastian

Malaga| ©Tony Makepeace
Malaga| ©Tony Makepeace

Continuing with the traditions to venerate the Virgin of the Rosary, if there is one of the fairs that will attract your attention during the month of October in Malaga are those of Yunquera. In this place there are different shows, both musical and traditional and even parades are organized.

One of the most beautiful parades that take place in this place is that of the flamenco tradition, where men and women of this region are armed with flamenco attire to show all the beautiful and colorful flamenco costumes. So if you want to disconnect a bit from reality and get to know how flamenco traditions are, this is the place.

But in addition to this, Yunquera organizes fairs and workshops for children, so they can learn about Spanish traditions. But if what you want is to enjoy, sing and dance, the fairs of Yunquera become a place to enjoy the best activities to do in Malaga at night.

4. San Pedro de Alcántara Fair

San Pedro de Alcántara Fair| ©maccosta
San Pedro de Alcántara Fair| ©maccosta

This is a great festival held in this urban center of the town of Marbella in Malaga, and offers different activities for the enjoyment of children and adults, locals and tourists. If you go to the city in October, I recommend you to look for how to get to Marbella from Malaga to enjoy the different attractions inside the fairground.

Outside of this you can also enjoy different dance shows of flamenco music. You will also be able to see concerts of local artists and from all over Spain, which are presented every night during all the days of activity of the fair.

If that's not enough, you can also enjoy a leisurely stroll to see the lighting of the lights at the fair and the different culinary offerings, in the middle of one of the best gastronomic experiences in Malaga and its surroundings. This is one of the fairs that attracts more tourists every year.

5. Torrox Fair: Virgen de las Nieves and San Roque Procession

In Torrox| ©José vargas.
In Torrox| ©José vargas.

This is a series of activities that take place in Torrox, Malaga; as part of the celebration of the patron saints of this town, the Virgen de las Nieves and San Roque. Although the day of these saints is August 5, the fair does not take place until late September and early October. It usually takes place the first weekend of October.

The town prepares a real fair to commemorate their saints, in which they prepare from live music with presentations of different artists who come from all over Spain, to grape harvests in which you can taste different typical dishes of Malaga's gastronomy.

These festivities generally last approximately three to five days, in which the city council usually publishes the musical and artistic presentations that will take place each day. In addition, the atmosphere is conducive to take the children to enjoy sweets and candies, and to enjoy the different activities.

6. Algatocín Fair for St. Francis of Assisi and the Virgin of the Rosary

Algatocín Fair| ©Vanessa Melgar
Algatocín Fair| ©Vanessa Melgar

This is one of the most colorful patron saint fairs in Malaga, and is dedicated to the patron saints of this town, St. Francis of Assisi and the Virgin of the Rosary. The festivities usually take place during the first days of October. It opens on the first day with the procession of St. Francis of Assisi and closes with the appointment of the new stewards by the outgoing stewards.

The following days there is a tribute to the elderly and a collective lunch where you can enjoy the flavors of the typical local cuisine. The fair is full of activities for children and young people. There are also different interesting activities for adults and families.

On the third day of the San Francisco fair, the Virgin of the Rosary goes out in procession, where the reveille is heard again and the streets are full of people to welcome the patron saint of the town. Again you will have the opportunity to taste the most select of the local cuisine and enjoy the traditions of Algatocín in a patron saint festival that lasts about five days, from the departure of San Francisco until the fair closes.

During all the days that the entertainment lasts in this town, there are multiple musical shows organized by the Town Hall of the area, so one of the best activities in Malaga and its surroundings, at least at night that you can enjoy during the fairs is to attend these musical performances.

7. Fuengirola Fair: Horses as protagonists in honor of the Virgin of the Rosary

Fuengirola Fair| ©elpipe
Fuengirola Fair| ©elpipe

This is a colorful celebration that takes place in the town of Fuengirola and pays tribute to the Virgin of the Rosary, but if there is something that stands out from these days of fair is undoubtedly the large number of horses and carriages that you can see during the processions and throughout the fair.

It takes place during the second week of October, usually starting on the first days of October and ending on the 12th of the same month, a day that coincides with the commemoration of the arrival of Christopher Columbus to America, which is celebrated in Spain as the Day of the Hispanidad.

Although the fairs begin in October, there is always a kind of pre-fair that can begin during the last days of September. On the other hand, as for the equestrian shows, it is common to see not only horses and carriages all over the town, but also different tournaments and competitions are organized to highlight the skills of the jokers and the animals.

8. Ojen Fair: time to glorify San Dionisio

Ojen Fair| ©Sam Lion
Ojen Fair| ©Sam Lion

This is also a patron saint festival in which the saint to whom tribute is paid is San Dionisio. Everything takes place in the square of the town of Ojen, which becomes the epicenter of all kinds of chants and fair activities for all attendees, from children to adults.

At the site of the events you can see the women dressed in traditional costumes to show locals and visitors part of the best flamenco shows in Malaga. You can also attend the coronation of the queens and ladies of the celebration, one of the best moments of the festivities.

If what you want is to listen to good music you can also do it because in the squareare installed different groups and local musical shows. The local gastronomy also finds its space in these fairs so this is a good place to enjoy Malaga dishes par excellence.

9. Chestnut Festival in Pujerra

Chestnuts| ©Jose Antonio Martin
Chestnuts| ©Jose Antonio Martin

This is one of the most traditional and unique popular festivals in Malaga, and in fact the town is resuming the celebration of this festival. What you will love about this fair is the amount of activities that are done in honor of the chestnut and the amount of trees that produce this fruit in the surroundings of this town.

One of the most popular activities that you will surely love if you attend these festivities, is the traditional roasting of these chestnuts. It is organized among all the inhabitants of Pujerra a great bonfire in which, in the middle of dances and songs, the respective roasting of the fruits is done.

In addition to the natural environment, another attraction of this place during the fair season is undoubtedly the festive atmosphere and especially the great gastronomic offer that you can find in the place. So if your thing is to enjoy good food, this is the ideal place to do it and know the different local gastronomic proposals that Pujerra has to show you.

10. Artisan cheese festival in Taba

Cheese| ©Fredrik Rubensson
Cheese| ©Fredrik Rubensson

Continuing with the festivities dedicated to the gastronomy of Malaga, this traditional artisan cheese festival in Taba is one of the celebrations that you can not miss on your visit to Malaga, especially if you are a lover of cheese and all the dishes that can be prepared from this delicacy.

This festival that takes place in Taba the first two days of October each year, is one of the most important in the cheese sector each year, because it not only brings together the master cheesemakers of Andalusia, but this festival also has the participation of cheese producers from all over Spain. One of the things I like most about this gastronomic festival is that you will be able to taste the varieties of cheeses from at least 40 cheese makers.

Another of the attractions of this festival is the contest they have in the region to know which is the best cheese of the year; and to reward the quality of this product, they give the expected award of Guadalteba. They also usually have a cheese sweets contest, where the locals organize themselves to present their best sweet creations prepared from all kinds of cheeses.

So it is one of the best places to be in October if you want to know a little more about Malaga's gastronomy, is definitely the festival of Alora, where you can not only enjoy cheese as a product, but also the different popular by-products that can come out of a piece of cheese.

11. Halloween in Malaga

Halloween| ©seungju lee
Halloween| ©seungju lee

While it is true that Halloween is not a Spanish celebration, much less a Malaga one, it is true that the celebration of this traditional holiday has proliferated throughout Spain, and Malaga is no exception.

Every tourist place in Malaga prepares a fun and terrifying Halloween agenda to scare and entertain all visitors, tourists and locals. Among the places that take Halloween most seriously and decorate the different spaces to offer a truly terrifying experience are the Botanical Garden and the English Cemetery.

Also, if you visit the city in October and want to look for 10 things to do in Malaga with kids, you can find multiple activities without causing childish traumas, to enjoy the fun and scary Halloween activities. If you want to go out of the city you also have multiple options to enjoy in other municipalities.

Rincon de la Victoria, Torremolinos, Alora, Nerja and Estepona are some of the places where they take Halloween very seriously, so they decorate everything they can, both in streets and in shopping malls and entertainment centers, to offer tourists and locals, all the entertainment of the holiday possible.