Couple photoshoot in Málaga

Ask someone from Málaga where to spend an evening with a partner and the answer is often east, not the centre: Pedregalejo and El Palo, former fishing neighbourhoods where the beach bars grill sardines on canes over embers in old boats on the sand, the espeto. A couple session built around that has an easy shape. You walk the promenade in the last hour of light, with the low houses on one side and the sea on the other, and end the session at a table, which is the most natural pose there is. In winter the sun drops behind the city and lights the promenade side-on; in summer the same walk comes later, after nine, with the smoke from the espetos in the air. For couples who prefer the city, the old town and the port give the alternative.

When to book in Málaga

The hour is the last of the day, and the month decides when that is. In December the sun sets at about six, so you meet at five and dinner is early by Spanish standards; in late June it sets after half past nine and the session finishes in the dark. Spring and autumn sit comfortably between. July and August bring humidity and full beaches, but by nine at night the promenade cools and the families have gone home, so the eastern route still works then. The calima is the one condition to move the date for. Holy Week and the Feria affect the city version far more than the beach one, so in those weeks, go east.