The Picasso museum did for Malaga what the Guggenheim did for the post-industrial port of Bilbao: turned it into a destination. Now, finally, this shabby-chic Mediterranean city has a boutique hotel.

Hotel Molina Lario is a stylish, slightly austere, monochrome conversion of two 19th-century townhouses with friendly staff, a buzzing bar/restaurant and a rooftop pool terrace with city and sea views.

Malaga's benign climate makes it a good winter choice, with piercing blue skies the norm. Stroll through the tropical gardens of Paseo del Parque to an urban beach cafe at La Malagueta for cafe con leche. Make the steep schlep up to the vast Moorish castle. Shop on the glitzy, marble-paved Marqués de Larios or in the maze of old town streets with quaint shops nearby. And, of course, don't miss the Picasso museum, housed in a beautifully converted renaissance palace. Children love the Three Kings parade on the evening of 5 January, when all of Malaga turn out to be pelted with sweets.

• 0034 9520 62002, hotelmolinalario.com, doubles from €91