Valletta is the smallest capital city in the EU. It’s located on the main island of Malta and is a UNESCO world heritage site. It’s the 3rd capital City that Malta has had, check out this link for the original capital Mdina. It’s known as the fortress city due to being surrounded by walls, and was built up onto the rock of Mount Sceberras on a peninsula with only one side connected to land.

I was staying in the resort town of Sliema just across the water from Valletta which actually was perfect because it meant I got to take the little ferry over to the City. Arriving by bus from Gozo island I immediately checked in, the hotel (Bayview) was this typical resort-y type but it had a nice balcony overlooking the bay.

Realising I was starving I scoped out somewhere to eat and found this veggie friendly place which was delicious. Then I spotted a Cinnabon store and had to try it! So after demolishing a salted caramel cinnabon I got on the ferry which was super easy and crossed the bay to Valletta.

The ferry drops you off at boat street, and after wandering up the hill towards the City I was getting more and more excited to explore the City. I followed the winding streets to end up on Republic St, the main thoroughfare in Valletta. One of my favourite things is wandering with no clear destination and Valletta is perfect for this. Then I found myself at the gorgeous City Gate, completed in 2014 as a modern entrance to the City. It was great to cross over and look down on the gardens below.

I found myself drawn to a fountain of multiple Tritons, and some cool statues. There was a little ice cream cart nearby, and who can say no to ice cream on a lovey sunny day? As I wandered through a cute park I noticed a lovely huge square which I later found out was called St Publius after the church that sat majestically at one end. St Publius square was interesting because it had loads of column bases spread across it. Great for a pic!

The weather was gorgeous so I took a left turn and wandered down to the Valletta waterfront where you had views out over the harbour towards Senglea and Birgu, popular places to stay when visiting Malta.

After a quick check of Google maps I realised I could walk over to the Upper Barrakka gardens, created in 1661 these colonnaded gardens offer some amazing views out over the harbour and Mediterranean. Look out for all the cool statues and huge arches.

Since the upper gardens were so beautiful I decided to continue on to the Lower Barrakka gardens! This part of Valletta was one of my favourites with lots of gorgeous stone stairways and cute little bars and cafes lining them. Obviously I had to stop here, grab a beer and watch the world go by for a while.

I made it to the lower gardens which are smaller but no less interesting and you can visit the siege bell from here which commemorates the WWII siege of Malta.

My final destination was Fort St Elmo, this star shaped fort held back many invasions of the City, and was built all the way back in 1552. It would have been great to get a top down view of it. Instead I checked out the museum and had a little wander around the grounds. Then I realised I had walked nearly the whole perimeter of the City! So I decided to head into the alleys and streets and get lost.

Valletta is honestly a stunning city for architecture, after stopping in awe at some of the buildings like the palace armoury, St John’s cathedral and the Grandmaster palace, I stopped for a nice glass of red at Republic Sq.  At this point I had a quick google of somewhere good to eat, all that walking had got me famished.

I found a place called Pastaus on the Old Theatre st, and it was one of the best pastas I have ever put in my mouth. You basically went up to a counter and picked which type of freshly made pasta you wanted along with the sauce. The truffle and mushroom pasta blew my mind, the wine was great and the service friendly.

I then realised the ferry had stopped running, so quickly figured out I could walk back to Triton’s fountain and take a bus back to Sliema which was really easy. One quick Cisk on the balcony looking out over Valletta and I was ready for bed, and ready to explore more of this wonderful country.

Published by Tom

Wanderluster, forever day dreaming of my next destination. Nurse by day, gay, geek, love sports and marvel comics. Determined to visit every country in the world! View all posts by Tom