Estepona's Maritime Museum Unveils Major Renovation

Estepona’s Museo del Mar, dedicated to the town's seafaring heritage, will reopen on Friday after a significant upgrade.

Estepona’s Museo del Mar, located in the town’s Plaza de Toros, will officially reopen its doors on Friday, 2 October 2026, at 20:30. This follows a significant renovation designed to enhance the presentation and understanding of Estepona's rich maritime tradition and its deep historical connection with the sea.

The comprehensive upgrade has introduced new elements to improve how the museum's contents are displayed and shared, according to Daniel García Ramos, the Councillor for Historic Heritage.

Enhanced Exhibitions

Among the key new features are three large display cases that will house part of the López Mateo collection, recognised as one of Spain's finest collections of navigation and fishing instruments. Larger pieces have also been relocated to a more spacious area, aiming to improve their exhibition and allow visitors to appreciate them more fully.

The museum now includes several large-format panels providing information on various aspects of Estepona's relationship with the sea. These new displays cover topics such as fishing, marine environmental protection, traditional boat building, the canning industry, and maritime traditions.

New audiovisual resources are also part of the renovation. Three productions, viewable on a monitor within the exhibition hall, delve into significant aspects of the city's maritime history and heritage: the Alborán Sea and its biodiversity, traditional boat building, and the tradition of the Virgen del Carmen.

An Immersive Journey into Marine Life

A notable addition to the Museo del Mar is the creation of an immersive room. Equipped with screens and interactive resources, this space will recreate a Posidonia meadow. The objective of this area is to raise visitor awareness regarding the conservation of the marine environment along Estepona's coast. The local coastline is home to one of the four Posidonia populations in Málaga province, and its conservation and recovery are vital for combating climate change in the Mediterranean.

The recreation of a Posidonia meadow in the Etnographic Museum is intended to offer a unique experience for visitors, allowing them to grasp the importance of its conservation for maintaining biodiversity in the Mediterranean, Mr García Ramos noted.

Investment in Heritage

The project represents an investment of €65,347.87. It was presented by the Town Hall and received 70 per cent of its funding from the European Maritime, Fisheries and Aquaculture Fund (FEMPA) of the European Union. The remaining 30 per cent was financed by the Junta de Andalucía's Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, Water, and Rural Development.

With this initiative, the Town Hall continues its efforts to improve the cultural and museum spaces of the city and highlight Estepona's historical, cultural, and ethnographic heritage. The Museo del Mar is dedicated to preserving and promoting the seafaring identity that has been integral to the town's history.

The Estepona Town Hall first inaugurated the Museo del Mar in November 2025 to honour the ancient relationship between humans and the ocean. The centre houses the Miguel López Mateo Collection, a result of a lifetime dedicated to preserving the memory of the trades, techniques, and tools that have defined Mediterranean maritime culture. The museum was conceived with a clear educational, informative, and emotional purpose: not only to show visitors how people navigated, but also why they did so. Each exhibited object tells a story of ingenuity, survival, exploration, and tradition.