A Week in Malta & Gozo - Valletta (Day 2)
Yellow limestone apartments overlook Valletta Harbor. A peaceful and beautiful location.
UPDATED: 2/5/2023
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Our first full day in the country was spent exploring the city of Valletta, Malta’s capital city, on foot during daylight and at night, getting oriented with the area, visiting a number of fascinating museums and outdoor parks. The small, walkable city held a number of wonders, including a surprise concert we happened upon after dark!
getting the day off to a start in valletta
September 21st is Malta’s Independence Day to commemorate when it gained independence from the United Kingdom in 1964. It also happened to coincide with our visit. We had looked into any special events that would be taking place, and the main one is a 3-day (Fri-Sun) Military Tattoo evening performance in St. George’s Square in the central part of Valletta. Walking into town we passed right by the square with the temporary bleachers set up.
Like many places, Valleta is not an early rising city compared to the standards of American cities. We found one of the earlier opening places that served breakfast catty-corner from St. George’s Square and were their second group of the morning at just after 8am. The other group was a number of military members who probably had no choice but to be up! Because Valletta is an active military site for Malta, we saw a decent number of military personnel throughout our stay, including a wide variety of uniforms for their Independence Day event.
Cafe Cordina opens early (under Maltese standards) and provides relaxing outdoor seating.
At Caffe Cordina , we selected an outdoor table in the square in front of the impressive National Library of Malta building. Dustin ordered a ham and cheese omelette, and I ordered poached eggs with salmon atop an English muffin. Both meals were fine, somewhat unique renditions of these classics. Sipping on a cappuccino and dining al fresco was a nice start to our first full day to explore the city.
upper barrakka gardens
After breakfast, we walked about 10 minutes to the Upper Barrakka Gardens . Located high atop the harbor, the garden is a mixture of statues/sculptures, flower and shrub beds, and arched pavilions with benches for visitors to sit, relax, and enjoy the view. Among the statues is one of Winston Churchill that we had read about in one of our trip pre-reads Churchill and Malta's War 1939-1943 by Douglas Austin.
As a show of appreciation for England’s support and protection during the difficulty on Malta during World War II, years after the war, the Maltese government sent one of their local artists to capture Churchill’s likeness in the statue as a gift for him. Churchill sat for the artist and then returned the sculpture with him to Malta to be displayed there since he is much beloved by the Maltese for his role in protecting them.
Mounted Maltese Cavalry parade through Valletta during their Independence festival.
Victoria Gate overlooks Valletta Harbor and provides an access point through the city walls.
Lindsey waits patiently for me to take her photo in front of this garden-like walking street that was comprised of wide stairs on the hill (if you look closely, you’ll see that the planters are stepped)..
a brief history of malta in world war ii
By way of a really brief history of Malta in World War II: Just off the tip of Italy, where Mussolini’s forces were allied with Germany’s Hitler, Malta was in a precarious spot as a small island nation. It also was a very strategic stronghold for the Allies (including England and the United States) because of its proximity to Italy, the ability it had to provide a base of operations for the Allies in the Mediterranean, and the defensive and offensive capabilities to protect the strategic cities held by the Allies in Egypt and Northern Africa, which is just south of Malta.
Because of this importance, England primarily (with support from the United States at certain junctures) devoted significant efforts to the protection of Malta during the war. This support was provided by way of both Naval and Air support as well as basic provisions and supplies for the population (food, etc.).
For significant periods of the war, Malta was down to short supplies of both military craft as well as food, and the people were at risk of starvation and certainly had provisioned diets. This was due to the difficulty in successfully getting cargo ships to the area with the strong Italian air offense and the near-constant bombardment of the island from above and in its harbors. There was significant damage to parts of Malta, and over 500 civilians were killed in the bombings.
world war ii & Siege of malta (1565) sites in malta today
There are several spots visitors can go to see important military sites. There are former air raid shelters in Valletta. Visitors can also observe the areas that were decimated in the bombings by what has grown up in those spots - they have newer buildings than the rest of the city. For example, the buildings across the harbor from Valletta on the Senglea peninsula are mostly newer due to the significant World War II bombing there.
Malta is also dotted with several historic forts that date back to another important historical event – the Siege of Malta in 1565 - when the competing Christian and Islamic (Ottoman Empire) forces clashed. Interestingly, several of those forts were re-purposed during World War II for modern military forces. Coming from the United States without such old historic structures (for the most part), the idea that two very different military forces could use the same forts about 400 years apart for vastly different war tactics (airplanes vs cannons) and fighting for diverse causes is fascinating!
upper barrakka gardens (continued)
Also buried in Upper Barrakka Gardens is the Barrakka Lift (choose either an elevator or stairs) that goes from the height of this garden down to the Grand Harbor level and allows easy, quick access to the ferries to carry people over to the three cities across the bay. The current lift was built in 2012, replacing an older lift that operated starting in 1905.
We would take that trip from the harbor up to the garden a few days later as part of our return trip. There is a cost to take the lift, which was included in the cost of our ferry ride. For those wishing to experience it, it is advisable to do so when it is included with your ferry ticket.
One of several cannons overlook Valletta Harbor from the Saluting Battery next to the Upper Barrakka Gardens.
A bust of Winston Churchill watches over the Upper Barrakka Gardens. This is the statue described above.
The tranquil sounds of water spill from this fountain at the Upper Barrakka Gardens.
exploring valletta on foot
After leaving Upper Barrakka Gardens, we walked along the bay to the Lower Barrakka Gardens, which were less crowded (at least at that hour of the morning). This garden has a large Romanesque monument/building in the center and is a bit more wild and casual in its setting compared to the more formal feel of the Upper Barrakka Gardens.
Continuing on our route, our destination was to be Fort St. Elmo, one of the aforementioned forts that was used during both the Siege of Malta and during World War II. Having read a fascinating history of the Siege of Malta, I was excited to see this in person. Unfortunately for some unknown reason, the fort was closed for a week or so that would cover our entire visit. This information had not been listed anywhere online (at least that we had found).
Old and new architectural styles sit side by side in Valletta.
In what seems to be the standard in Malta, yellow limestone accented with bright color makes for gorgeous contrast against the blue sky.
Closed shutters keep out the intense Mediterranean sun and help maintain cooler temperatures inside these apartments.
A temple set in the tranquil Lower Barrakka Gardens.
The Lower Barrakka Gardens are not large but are definitely worth visiting if you enjoy a relaxing stroll through the greenery.
We relaxed for a while and enjoyed the view of Fort Angelo and Birgu (Città Vitorriosa) across Valletta Harbor.
We altered our course back to the center of Valletta to the Grand Master’s Palace, which is situated right off St. George’s Square and was almost hard to find the way its entrance was tucked away. As a result of the public holiday for Independence Day, this and several other museums were open free to the public, so while we didn’t get to see a few things on the trip, getting into a number of museums for no charge was a nice surprise and made us very glad we hadn’t purchased the Malta Pass. The Malta Pass (which you can read more about on their site here) offers 1, 2, or 3 day entry to 40 sites across Malta and its island of Gozo.
The Grand Master’s Palace was the palace of the Knights of St John, who held control of the island from 1530 after they lost to the Ottomans at Rhodes and were granted the island by the Pope (who, by the way, didn’t bother to check with the others already living on and in control of the island!) to their loss of the island to the French under Napoleon.
The Grand Master’s Palace is currently undergoing some renovations so parts were closed. I suspect a building that old is nearly always undergoing or in need of further renovations! We spent about 90 minutes touring the palace, which included the main palace itself with large rooms dotted with paintings depicting the Siege of Malta. The paintings had columns painted between them all on the wall, made to appear as if there were framed paintings between actual columns while all the while being one set surface of paintings. The rooms were ornate and beautiful with sweeping ceilings.
We then moved into the Armory Museum, contained within the Grand Master’s Palace, which contained different armor and weapons from across the centuries. I have never seen such extensive armor in a museum before and found the various styles and technological developments in their design to be fascinating.
There was chain mail, full-plate armor, half-plate armor, pikes, the ultimate invention of a gun sword, which was literally a sword with a gun built into it as one piece, and interesting information on the history of armor. Some of the armor is purported to have been worn by certain Grand Masters of the Knights of St. John and was labelled as such.
While armor is, ultimately, an exercise in practicality, the intricate designs and engraved patterns that developed in different time periods were artistically fascinating. To go into battle was not sufficient without the trendiest gear! Yes, humans have always been vain in the ways of their own time and place.
Looking up in the Grand Master’s Palace courtyard.
Inside the Grand Master’s Palace rich paintings adorn the walls, chandeliers hang from above, and even the ceiling decorations are a sight to behold.
The floors of the Grand Master’s Palace feature beautiful tile work.
The exquisite patterns adorning this armor must have taken an incredible amount of time to create.
Throne at the Grand Master’s Palace in Valletta. The chair itself seems strangely underwhelming!
Look closely at the middle weapon. Yes, that’s right, it’s a freaking GUNSWORD!! I thought they only existed in fantasy.
What was also interesting to contemplate as sweat dripped off of us in the museum cooled by fans (which is the standard in Malta) is the fact that the soldiers wore this gear in the beating hot sun while engaged in battle. Malta is not a flat country so any amount of fighting or battle was likely to require more exhausting uphill and downhill travel for those on foot. And this is not to mention that we were there in late September, hardly the height of the heat!
Seeing the full suits of armor mounted in the exhibit, I commented to Dustin how terrifying it would look to see an entire hoard of people moving towards you in that attire. Lo and behold, at the end of the room in the museum there was a fairly sizable area of life-sized fake people dressed and ready to fight.
We moved into the second massive room of the armory, which housed some of the smallest (dare I say cute?) cannons as well as some behemoths along with other weaponry.
It’s not common in my experience to see significant medieval era military attire and weaponry in the United States because more of that history resided elsewhere, so seeing all of this up close was very worthwhile and gave us a new appreciation of the intricacies of armor.
THIS IS SPARTA!!! Oh wait, wrong time period, wrong armor, wrong… everything. Seriously, though, walking around in all this armor under the Maltese sun would be horrible.
After finishing our visit at the Grand Master's Palace, our plan was to visit St. John’s Co-Cathedral next. Located about the equivalent of 1-2 city blocks away on a square near St. George’s Square, we discovered that the cathedral closes early on Saturday, and we had missed our chance. So, we made plans to visit it later on during the trip, which we fortunately were able to make happen.
Instead, we found a restaurant near the cathedral with street seating. Luciano’s offered a range of mostly Italian fare, and we ordered a delicious pizza with pruscuitto, sliced parmesan cheese, bufala (which we had discovered in Paris last spring), arugula (interestingly, called rucola locally), and oil. The toppings were amazing, and the brick oven crust was sublime. Online ratings give the restaurant a hit or miss impression but we had a great experience so maybe pizza is the way to go there.
With fresh ingredients and a wonderful crust this pizza made a wonderful lunch!
Next stop – a short block or two walk down the street right in the heart of Valletta – the National Museum of Archaeology . Like the Grand Master’s Palace, this museum was also free due to the public holiday.
The museum is absolutely worth visiting if you have any interest in archaeology, history, and cultural history of an area. It housed both interesting information that came in handy during the rest of our visit to provide context and also some unique, rare, and historically important findings.
The displays themselves are much more modest than most museums in the United States – they honestly looked like display boards for a school project, so if you’re looking for a showy museum, you will not find it here, but the information was presented in a helpful, informative way. I should add that this is similar to most of our museum experiences in Malta, which we don’t mean as a bad thing, simply a factual representation of our museum experience.
Personally, I feel like I came away with more understanding of what I was observing than I often do so perhaps simple – and not showy – is best! Later on in the trip, we also visited the smaller Museum of Archaeology in Gozo in the walled city fort known as Cittadella.
The National Museum of Archaeology is divided into three sections: Neolithic Era, Bronze Era, and the Phoenician Era. In total, we spent about 90 minutes touring this museum. In addition to the history and evolution of the eras on Malta from its earliest known people, there were artifacts to represent each segment. These included pottery, jewelry, carved fertility women, actual Neolithic carved stones with patterns and designs from sites on the island (some of which we would visit and whose stones were moved inside for preservation purposes).
Significant craftmanship went into these limestone carvings. These blocks once adorned sites from the Temple Era, including Tarxien Temples, which we would visit the following day.
This Neolithic figure is known as the Sleeping Lady and was discovered in the Ħal Saflieni Hypogeum, which we would visit the next day.
Pottery shards as well as shaped bone, obsidian, shells, and stone from the Ghar Dalam Phase are some of the oldest human artifacts in Malta’s history. 5,200 BCE is OLD!!
Ready to sit for a bit after a lot of walking, we stopped for ice cream at one of several ice cream spots in the town. Dustin got mint chocolate chip and chocolate chip, and Lindsey got tiramisu and coffee. They were all delicious and because of the heat of the Mediterranean day, we ended up with hands coated in ice cream very quickly as the large heaps dripped out of the cup faster than we could lick them up.
We spent the latter part of the afternoon wandering around the city some more. By this point, we really felt that we had a pretty good understanding of its layout and how to easily get around and find the main streets. We then retired to our apartment for a little before dinner before venturing back out.
For dinner we went to a recent that was highly recommended called Aaron’s Kitchen. The server was very pleasant and friendly, the restaurant had nice décor, but unfortunately neither of us had great meals, which could have simply been a fluke. Dustin had Lampuki, which is a local fish (also known as mahi mahi for those in the states) and found it to be bland. Lindsey had swordfish that was topped with olives. While the topping was delicious, the fillet was very thick and so rubbery that it was impossible to cut with a fork alone (having since Googled this, it appears that rubbery swordfish is undercooked). It was a place we wanted to like and other people clearly do, but our experience was sub-par.
After dinner, we wandered Valletta to see the city lit at night. First, we stopped next to St. George’s Square to listen to the military tattoo. We could see portions of it at the edge of the area operating as the stage. Unable to see much, though, we continued on along the main walking road until we happened upon the opera ruins (Pjazza Teatru Rjal) that we had planned to visit the evening before. The site was destroyed in World War II and has more recently been reconstituted as an outdoor music venue, which was a great use of the space! Since we only thought that one event was being held there during our trip, we were surprised to hear a sonorous orchestra and opera emanating from it.
Watching and listening to the philharmonic orchestra from our perch about 10 feet up the side of the building.
After looking it up later online we discovered that this was also a free concert held by the Malta Philharmonic Orchestra featuring a Maltese opera singer. Apparently the philharmonic orchestra’s events are not even listed on the main website for the ruins!
The acoustics of the site were phenomenal, and the lighting with the ruined walls was beautiful. Luckily, we could hear it from the street pretty well and a number of passersby had crawled up on the edge of the building to listen. When one side was fairly full, we walked around to the other side, where the acoustics were not as great but where we were able to climb up and listen for a while.
A portion of the walled fortifications surrounding Valletta lit up at night.
The Triton Fountain is a must-see at night for its full effect.
Next, we wandered up near the city gates to Valletta to the Triton Fountain, beautifully lit in rosy copper and blues with a few street vendors still out although it was getting to be a little later. Having taken in the warm night and the city activity, we returned to our apartment and scaled the ladder atop the spiral staircase (as precarious as it sounds) to sit on the rooftop for a while. We heard some of the finishing touches of the evening’s Military Tattoo concert and then, dead tired, we called it a day. A very full first day.
This is the approximate walking route we took, though we wandered up and down a lot of side streets as well.
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Check out our other posts about Malta:
This was the view from atop our rooftop patio - can’t beat it!
Day 3 took us to an ancient, underground burial chamber and more!