At nine in the morning I arrived at the Valletta bus station, which is conveniently located just across the corner of the Valletta City Gate. The entrance gate of the fortified old town opens up to a big square with some old columns in the middle and a modern opera house to the right. The first thing you note is the unique architecture of the old buildings, which are all fairly high and have unique colourful covered balconies.
As I could only check into my hotel in the early afternoon and was just carrying a small rucksack for this weekend trip, I decided to explore the city a bit on foot. First stop en route was the St. John's Cathedral, which is located on a beautiful rectangular square.
Through some cosy back alleys I wandered onwards to Republic Square, which felt like an Italian Piazza with its baroque buildings and cafes.
The only thing not Italian-looking was of course the British telephone cell, as Malta was part of the British Empire for over 150 years. The British left especially a legacy in business, government administration and law. Oh, and the Maltese drive at the left side of the road too. I found this really the most intriguing of Malta: the mixture between Italian, British and North African influences in everything from food to language and culture.
I stopped in one of the cafes around the square for a second breakfast, Italian style. Note that just like in Italy you pay more in most cafes if you sit down at a table. Like Italy, many locals just have a quick bite and espresso while standing at the bar.
A stonethrow away from Republic Square is yet another square: St. George's Square. It contains the old Grandmaster's Palace as well an old guardhouse of the Order of St. John
At the square is the Seventh of June Monument, which commemorates events that day in 1919 when when following a series of riots by the Maltese population, British troops killing four after shooting into the crowds.
After walking some feet more I hit the end of the city, which is located on a rocky peninsula.
I walked to the nearby Fort St. Elmo, which contains the National War Museum. I forgot to take pictures, but the museum is highly recommended.
After the museum visit I wandered a bit more around the streets of the Northern tip of the Valletta peninsula. No matter where you walk, you encounter lovely vistas and beautiful churches or otherwise cool-looking buildings.
Next stop was the Lower Barrakka Gardens, which overlooks the harbour of Valletta and has a neoclassical temple dedicated as a monument to British Admiral Sir Alexander Ball.
As the name implies, there is also an Upper Barrakka Gardens located a short distance away higher above the city. Walking between the gardens you have some great views over the city fortifications. When watching the rocky terrain, sheltered natural harbours and unique peninsula location you quickly realise why the city (and island) was so hard to take for would-be invaders, including the Nazis in more recent history.
The Upper Barrakka Gardens are located at lovely Castille Place. On the square is a baroque palace which was originally built to house knights of the Order of Saint John who hailed from the old Kingdom of Castile in nowadays Spain. It now houses the Office of the Prime Minister of Malta.
The upper gardens were quite pleasant and had some amazing views over the city, its fortifications and the Grand Harbour.
As it was almost one in the afternoon, I headed back towards the other side of the peninsula to catch the ferry across the bay to the city of Sliema, where my hotel was located. No matter which streets you walk in Valletta, wherever you look you see those beautiful buildings and amazing vistas.
