Valletta

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Valletta is in Malta.

Understand

Valletta is the capital of the island nation of Malta. A harbour city, Valletta preserves much of its 16th century architectural heritage built under the Hospitallers. Valletta has recently been listed by UNESCO as part of the World Heritage.

Get in

By car

AS with the buslines the many main roads also converge on Valletta, however once inside the city there are many one-way streets and some pedestrian zones. Parking near one's destination can also be difficult.

By bus

In front of the main gate of Valletta is the main bus station for the entire island, rather than buslines covering the island in a grid, they all spread out from here and return to here.

By boat

Instead of paying a lot of money for a harbour cruise there is a small ferry leaving from Sliema which will take you across beautiful Marsamxett harbour and past Manoel Island for just 38 cents.

Another little known way is to visit Vittoriosa by bus and then have the Maltese version of the gondola, the so called Daiza bring you back in style across the spectacular Grand Harbour to Valletta, and drop you off just by Victoria gate for just 1.5 Lira p.p.

Get around

The Valletta peninsula is only a couple of kilometers in length and so the ideal way is to do everything on foot also allowing one to make use of the atmospheric stairs throughout this steep city.

Another possibility is to rent one of the horsecarts, but be sure to haggle for the price.

See

In debateable order of importance:


  • St. John's Co Cathedral[1]is unremarkeable from the outside but incredibly ornate on the inside. Each of the different 'langues' (knights of a particular nationality had their own langue) has a their own chapel lined along the side of the nave in which they try and outdo each other in splendor. The barrel shaped ceiling is one large wallpainting, the lifework of famed artist Matteo Preti. And last but not least the floor is entirely taken by knights graves all intricately inlaid marble in different colours, a recent book on the subject describes it as the 'most beautiful floor in the world.' This relatively unknown cathedral can count itself one of the most impressive in Europe. open 9:30 and 16:30 on weekdays and 9:30 and 12:30 on Saturdays. Entance is through the Carappechia Annex on Republic Street in between St John's Street and St Lucy Street, directly opposite the Law Courts.


  • The Cathedral Museum holds two works by Carrevagio who was briefly himself a Knight, one of them being his masterpiece the famous huge "Beheading of St. John the baptist."


  • The Palace of the Grand Masters [2] now is the President's office and the Maltese house of parliament. The staterooms, when accessible are quite impressive.It also houses the Knight's armory.


  • The Malta Experience[3], despite not being entirely cheap (3.5 Lira) every visitor who has any interest in culture or history and who hasn't exhaustively read up on the country before coming here would do well by starting their visit to Malta by going here. This 30 minute multimedia slideshow is an excellent introduction to the country preparing one for the sights of the country. Whenever I went to the country and brought people for the first time I would start them off here. St Elmo Bastions, Mediterranean Street, Tel +356 243776 +356 251284


  • The Upper Baraka Gardens at the upper south side of the peninsula offer a jaw dropping view of the Grand Harbour. Go on a sunny day and bring champagne!


  • The National Museum of Archaeology[4]Even though Malta has an impressive and unique ancient history this museum housed in the former Auberge de Provence in Republic street is rather a dissapointment. The museum is currently partially being renovated hopefully bringing something more worthy of its name. Auberge de Provence, Republic Street, Tel: 2122 1623.


  • Fort St. Elmo was built at the tip of the peninsula by the knights after they arrived on Malta in 1533. During the siege of 1565 the Turks made the mistake of choosing to first take the fort, for which they had planned a week. Instead the knights and soldiers present fought desperately for a month, buying essential time. The knights in the fort knew they were fighting to the death, and so rather than being taken off the ramparts when wounded knights would fight on seated in chairs until they couldn't even lift their arms anymore. Today the fort houses the Police Academy and is only partially open on the weekend.


  • Manoel Theatre[5] is 'La Scala' in miniature, a very beautiful 17th century theatre in original state. One of the oldest active theaters in Europe, it is the place for many classical music performances but also for instance the hilarious Christmas Panto. Old Theatre Street, Tel: 356/22-26-18.


  • The imposing defence walls and ramparts at the entrance to Valletta built by the Knights in the late 16th century are interesting to explore.


  • The National Library is an evocative old library on Republic Square, next to the Grandmaster's Palace. Only part of it is open to the public. The entire archives of the Knights of St. John, from the Crusades in the 11th century until 1798 when Napoleon took Malta, are kept here, in true Maltese style in rickety wooden filing cabinets. They were proud to mention that recently a sprinkler system had been installed to protect this priceless collection.


  • The Sacra Infermeria was the great hospital built by the knights, open to everyone, it had the highest level of healthcare available in Europe at the time. It was mostly destroyed during WWII, and now functions as a conference centre.


  • The National Museum of Fine Art."


  • St. James Cavalier is a fortress opposite the Auberge of Castille (today the Prime Minister's office) which was built as part of the elaborate defence systems of Valletta. Today it houses a centre for Creativity, with its own Theatre, Cinema, Music room and exhibition halls. Its twin, St. John Cavalier is currently the embassy of the Knights of St. John who are, like the Vatican, recognised by several countries as a sovereign entity.

Do

One can take a spectacular walk along the sea around the outside of the city walls, if one goes to the place where the ferry for Sliema leaves there is the possibility to walk over the rocks towards the tip of the peninsula and then around it coming back up into the city just next to the Malta Experience. This walk takes about 30 minutes and is done by virtually noone.

Learn

Several of the Maltese english language institutes are in Valletta.

Work

Buy

The main street of Valletta is Republic street, a busy pedestrian zone leading down the middle of the Peninsula from the main gate down to Republic square, this is where many of the better shops are located, although it cannot quite compete with Sliema for clothing.

The best souvenirshop (the least worthless trinkets etc.) can be found at the Malta experience.

The best bookshop of Malta is definitely Sapienzas on Republic street.

There is a daily market selling cheap clothing in the parallel street to Republic street called Triq il-Mercanti, or Merchant street.

Eat

Valletta has a collection of decent restaurants, due to most of the tourists residing either in Sliema or on the north coast of the island, there are fewer of the trashy variety.

Budget

If you keep your eyes open you may run into one of the charming traditional bakeries tucked away here and there where the tourist economy hasn't forced prices up yet and one can get lovely steaming fresh bread for mere cents.

Mid-range

  • Trattoria da Pipo is where locals go for lunch, they have an excellent selection of seafood dishes. 136 Melita St., Valletta; 21-24-80-29.
  • Caffe Cordina[6] on Republic square has a venerable history behind it, and has a reputation to match. The terrace is the place to be seen having lunch although the food isn't as good as one may expect. 244/5 Republic Street, Tel: + 356 234385.

Splurge

Drink

  • There is a charming wine bar in an ancient cellar called Trabuxu where one can also have light meals. It's at the beginning of a small alley parallel to Republic street, look for the wooden sign with the corkscrew. This place is also worth remembering as it's one of the very few nice places in the city except restaurants where one can go in the evening for a drink.

Trabuxu, No. 1d, Strait St.(couldn't find the Maltese streetname), Valletta; 21-22-30-36.

Sleep

Budget

Mid-range

Splurge

The Phoenicia just outside of the main gate of Valletta is, with the possible exception of Xara palace in Mdina, the most exclusive place to stay in the country. This is where Queen Elisabeth recently chose for her reception when visiting Malta. The place has a definite old colonial style about it. The Phoenicia, The Mall, Floriana; 21-22-52-41 or (800) 543-4300, fax 21-23-52-54, www.phoenicia.lemeridien.com.

Contact

Opposite to the Trabuxu wine bar at the beginning of 'Strait street' there is a internet cafe, however last time I checked the prices were rather unreasonable.

Stay safe

Valletta has very little happening in terms of nightlife, so the streets are almost deserted late at night. Whether this makes it more or less safe is debateable but it's something to keep in mind.

Cope

Get out

External links

  • Valletta - part of the official Malta Tourist Authority website