It is perhaps not surprising that Mijas Pueblo is so popular with day trippers, as it’s just a few miles inland of the resorts of Fuengirola and Benalmadena. Despite being small, this attractive whitewashed village boasts some interesting attractions, including a 17th century shrine, a quaint, oval-shaped bullring, and a rather bizarre miniatures museum. The views along the coastline are pretty good too. However, many visitors miss out on the Casa Museo de Mijas, which provides an insight into the lives of local folk before mass tourism arrived on the Costa del Sol.
Opened to the public in 1995, the museum contains various rooms displaying farming implements and craftsmen’s tools which would have been used when this was just a rural, poverty-stricken corner of Europe. There’s also a recreation of a typical household of that era.
Years of Hunger
Life was particularly tough for the inhabitants of Mijas and its sierra in the decades after the Civil War, and the museum presents some insightful written accounts describing these ‘years of hunger’, when occasionally peasants had to eat soup made from grass in order to survive.
In Hiding
The Casa Museo’s most interesting exhibit is a replica of the tiny bedroom where, in fear of his life, Manuel Cortes Quero hid away from the Franco regime for 30 years. The former socialist mayor of Mijas eventually emerged in 1969 after Franco had announced an amnesty. This fascinating story was the subject of a book by Ronald Fraser, entitled ‘In Hiding’.
Museum Details
Address: Plaza de la Libertad 2, 29650, Mijas, Malaga
Opening Hours: 10am-2pm/4pm-7pm (winter), 10am-2pm/5pm-8pm (summer)
Entrance is free
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