I would like to go to either Malaga or Seville for 4-5 days in January!
I haven't been to any of the two cities before.

Which one of the places would you recommend? Malaga is at the ocean, but Seville is probably more interesting?

Thank you

We walked both of them extensively. Preferred Seville.

Well, you can day trip by train from one to the other, Seville is larger with more going on, while Malaga is a tight little town.

I'd probably dib for Sevilla but if you were only going for a weekend I'd chose Malaga.

We spent all of January 2013 in Seville. We loved it. Easy to navigate. We had an apartment in the Triana neighborhood and enjoyed our surroundings.Pedestrian only street, San Jacinto. They have their own market that is fabulous. You can get everything you would need there. The weather was in the high 60's during the day and dropped some at night but still comfortable. If you are there during the first week of January they are still celebrating the holidays and put on quite a show. If you walk back across the bridge towards the center, you can easily go to Plaza de Armas and catch a bus to Malaga at the bus station across the street. We took the train which is also easy to get to via bus. We preferred Seville to Malaga.

Between the two, I'd opt to spend the time in Sevilla, but, as already suggested, you can visit Malaga on a day trip.

Keep an eye on Explore Seville (www.exploreseville.com) to see what's happening during your time there.

Thank you. It seems that Seville would be the best choice. In January it would might be too cold to swim in the ocean in Malaga anyway. I think a day trip to Cordoba could be nice as well.

For me it would be far, far too cold to swim in January. But great for ambling around. I would choose Sevilla, which I found to be more compelling than Malaga, which I also liked.

We were in Malaga at the end of April....no one was swimming in the ocean.
It is a lovely town to visit for a day, but, as suggested, Seville offers more to see and do.

I'd choose Sevilla. It's a wonderful city. Great architecture. I also stayed in the Triana district in 2011 and liked the area.

I spent a week in Málaga last year for Semana Santa. I loved it, but I agree that you'd be better staying in Sevilla and day-tripping to Málaga.

Here is the apartment we rented in the Triana Neighborhood.
http://www.sevilla5.com/apartments/t...jacinto-8.html
The best part is that it is on the main pedestrian street, San Jacinto but you enter a courtyard and it is very quiet. Here is another apartment downstairs that has more info attached. It is owned by the same Jose Manual Rodriguez.
http://www.flipkey.com/seville-condo-rentals/p270619/
Jose is a very helpful gentleman, you will like him and his apt, Good Luck

Seville by all means - you will love it.