Mini Guide

The historic city centre of Valletta, the Maltese capital, has certainly enough attractions for a multi-day trip. However, it is perhaps not everybody’s thing to visit everypalace and every museum – apart from the required time to undertake such attempt. Therefore, we have just listed a few points of interest that we consider the most outstanding. We also believe that one may learn perhaps more about this old city if you take the time to stroll in a “aimless” manner through the streets – there are more than enough little cafes, and you also cannot really get lost: Valletta is confined on three sides by the sea (the harbour), and on the forth side there is a rather thick medieval city wall… So getting lost will end in either a splash or a thump depending on direction…

1. St. John’s Co-Cathedral: directly on the main shopping street that crosses Valletta (Republic Street / corner St John’s Square); all around it are large street cafes and many shops.
2. St. Pauls’s Shipwreck Church: the entrance is a bit hidden within the house front in St. Lucia Street and from the outside not easily recognizable as a church.
3. Upper & Lower Barracca Gardens: these small parks are located on the upper and the lower “end“ of Valletta, and they do not only offer very pretty views over the Grand Harbour and the old city quarters on the other side, but they are also the perfect starting (and ending) point for the aforementioned “planless strolls“ across Valletta.
4. Archeological Museum (also directly on Republic Street): Very interesting for the understanding of Malta’s early history – not only for museum enthusiasts and days of bad weather! Opening hours: Mon-Sun 9:00-19:00; Entrance fee: EUR 5,- / 3,50 for students and senior citizens).
5. Harbour Cruise: Although we haven’t done it ourselves, the harbour cruise around the Grand harbour and other inlets has been recommended by various people. Tours start from various locations and tickets are available from most hotels. For various different excursions around the islands,http://www.captainmorgan.com.mt/cruises.htm seems to have a good reputation.

In a way, for Mdina applies the same as for Valletta: one can visit every palazzo and church, one can just stroll across the narrow streets of this ancient “silent city“ – or one con do a bit of both... And one shouldn’t forget that the “living” part of the city, Rabat, which lies outside the city walls, does also have something interesting to offer. Besides a good hour’s city stroll and a visit of Mdina’s baroque cathedral, we can e.g. recommend a coffee (and cake, admit it Sandra!) break at the Café Fontanella which is located directly on and beneath the city walls, and a visit to the St Paul’s Catacombs in Rabat. Opening hours: Mon-Sun 9:00-17:00; Entrance fee: EUR 5,- / 3,50 for students and senior citizens).

For these app. 5,000 years’ old temple complexes located in Malta’s south, it was recommended in the past to visit them either in the morning hours or late afternoon in order to avoid the greatest heat around noon time in this very open and unprotected area. However, since last year (2009) both temple complexes are covered by large, “futuristic”-looking sun sails which protect not only the archaeological remains, but also its visitors... Therefore, you can now take your time to visit the place without “roasting” – only the app. 10-15 min long path connecting the two sites is exposed, and we would recommend a bottle of water, and, some sun protection, particularly for sensitive skins and small children (Note: this site is a bit of a difficult terrain for baby prams except some “robust” NASA Approved ‘off road’ buggies:). Opening hours: Mon-Sun 9:00-17:00; Entrance fee: Eur9,- / 6,50 for students and senior citizens.

These very impressive temples – particularly the Hypogeum which represents an underground “mirrow“ complex of Tarxien – are located right in the city and are not really easy to find by car or by bus, or on foot. (A little known fact is that Livingstone and Stanley got lost there for 17 years trying to find the bus stop!); additionally, there are only a limited number of visitors allowed in the Hypogeum per day, visiting the place is only possible within the guided tours, and tickets need to be booked in advance (e.g. at the Archaeological Museum; these restrictions apply only to the Hypogeum, not to Tarxien). Opening hours Tarxien: Mon-Sun 9:00-17:00; Entrance fee EUR 6,- / 4,50 for students and senior citizens; opening hours and entrance fees for the Hypogeum: see  www.heritagemalta.org.