After our week on Gozo last summer, Olly and I headed back to Malta, where we stayed at the Hyatt Regency in the rather lively St Julian's for five nights. It's a bit of a party town but one that's conveniently located for visiting the capital, Valletta, and Mdina, the silent city. Which we did.
But first, before we even got to the hotel, we stopped off at the
Popeye Village. Not to visit it, you understand, but to go to the viewing point to have a squiz at it. (It was only a five-minute detour on the way from the ferry terminal to St Julian's.) Popeye, of course, is the spinach-loving cartoon character, and a live-action film was released in 1980 film starring Robin Williams. Which was filmed in Malta at this specially-made film set. Nowadays it's a mini theme/waterpark, and entry is only around €20, if you're intrigued - or a big fan of the movie!
Mdina might also be recognisable to you as well if you're a Game of Thrones fan - Littlefinger's brothel, which is in Mesquita Square, pictured below with the green doors and shutters, is just one of the recognisable filming locations from the series. And even if you're not a Game of Thrones, Malta's "silent city" is worth a visit. Dating from around medieval times, you might be surprised to learn that people still actually live in Mdina - around 250 residents call the fortified town their home.
Once you've wandered aimlessly around Mdina, exploring its nooks and crannies, you might want to head into a museum, of which the town has a few. We plumped for Palazzo Falson, which was the home of Captain Olof Frederick Gollcher - his home is filled with art and antiques, and it made for an enjoyable mooch. Plus from the rooftop, you get a great view of St Paul's Cathedral - and you can enjoy the rooftops of Mdina with an Aperol (or tea) in the sunshine. But if you take your cake seriously, there's only one place in Malta to go:
Fontanella Tea Garden. They literally have every cake. Lemon cake. Apple cake. Carrot cake. Cassatella cake. Orange and almond. Baci. Classic chocolate. Chocolate and orange. The list goes on. And with a great view of the surrounding countryside as well, it's worth a visit if you're in Mdina.
You can't go to Malta and not visit the capital, Valletta. (There's a great view of the capital city from Sliema, and you can take a ferry across to Valletta. Or, equally, enjoy dinner with a Valletta view at Chophouse,
like we did - pictured below.) Valletta is not quite as old as Mdina, but it's not far off. But what it lacks in years, it does make up in steepness, so be aware that some streets in Valletta are a bit of an upward trek! We found this to be the case when we were heading to
Sotto Pinsa Romana Valletta for a rather excellent pizza.
One of the big tourist must-sees in the capital city is the rather opulent
St John's Co-Cathedral, which was built by the Order of the Knights of St John. Completed in 1577, the co-cathedral has a seriously stunning interior, including Caravaggio's The Beheading of Saint John the Baptist, which is the only painting Caravaggio every signed. And the reason why it's a co-catherdral? That's because the archdiocese of Malta is shared between there and the aforementioned Cathedral of St Paul in Mdina. Enty costs €15 for adults, and it's well worth an explore.
Next on your Valetta see-list, though it's obviously worth a mooch around the city, are the Upper and Lower Barrakka Gardens. You might think they're next to each other - or up and down a hill from each other - but they're actually about a fifteen-minute walk away from each other. The Upper Barrakka Gardens sits above the harbour - you can actually get a fast ferry to Gozo from there - and were created in the 1600s to be the private gardens of the knights. Nowadays they are open to the public - and free to wander around.
Much smaller, the Lower Barrakka Gardens is much more peaceful because of this - and because they aren't as central as the Upper Barrakka Gardens. One thing it does have though is a rather splendid Roman temple, which you'll see as soon as you enter the gardens (pictured at the top of this post and also below).
Finally, a quick word about St Julian's, where we stayed. The main shout-out for us was the food - blogged about
here - but it really is a party town. The Hyatt Regency for us was far away enough from the action, but still close enough that we could walk to restaurants - plus it had a much-needed rooftop pool. If you're after a party scene in Malta, St Julian's is the place to be.
Have you been to Malta? x
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