WHY VALLETTA, MALTA IS ONE OF MY FAVORITE PLACES ON EARTH!

I have not traveled extensively but for an old lady from a small town in Arkansas, I have managed to make it to 29 countries in the last 5 years.  I am proof that it is never to late to get out and see the world.

I love warm beaches and will not hesitate to say that my favorite Caribbean vacation was a cruise from Puerto Rico.  You can read about that vacation HERE.

I have also been vocal about my love for Italy.  I love the Amalfi coast, Cinque Terre, and a little fishing village in Cefalu, Sicily.

But there is a little island in the middle of the Mediterranean between Sicily and the north African coast that I would love to return to year after year.

A LITTLE INFORMATION

It's a nation known for historic sites related to a succession of rulers including the Romans, Moors, Knights of Saint John, French and British. It has numerous fortresses, megalithic temples and the Ħal Saflieni Hypogeum, a subterranean complex of halls and burial chambers dating to circa 4000 B.C.

DID YOU KNOW?

There is a reason many movies and tv shows are filmed here.  I'm talking shows like Game of Thrones, Gladiator, Troy, Captain Phillips, World War Z, By the Sea, Assassins Creed, and the Spy who Loved Me.  Oh, and the movie Popeye.  You can visit the movie set and swim in the beautiful turquoise water in the lagoon.

The Maltese capital of Valletta is perched on a slender peninsula, almost completely surrounded by the sea and ringed by defensive walls. Built for the Order of St John in the 16th century, it’s a beautiful little city of golden stone, full of charming lanes and elegant squares. 

MY FAVORITE PLACE

My favorite place to spend time is the Barrakka Gardens.

Not only do I love the  Barrakka Gardens but the view overlooking Malta's Grand Harbor is stunning.  

The Upper Barrakka Gardens are located at the highest point on Valletta’s bastions with the Three Cities as its backdrop. 

The gardens were built in 1661 as private gardens and exercise grounds for the Knights of St John. The first feature you will see as you enter the garden is a large fountain surrounded by colorful flowers.

The Lower Barrakka Gardens offer a different view from it’s sister garden.  It is  positioned to observe the mouth of Grand Harbour and allowing for the best ship watching in the city. You could spend hours there just sitting peacefully on a shaded bench, watching the Mediterranean Sea and the cruise ships, as well as other vessels entering and leaving Malta’s impressive port. 



One thing which is obvious to most is that there are much less crowds in this garden, as it is not as well known as the Upper Barrakka, making for a more tranquil and relaxing setting.

SIEGE BELL MEMORIAL

Not far from the gardens you can also get to see the Siege Bell Memorial, a belfry in the form of a neoclassical temple that contains a huge bronze bell within. This was erected in 1992 to commemorate the 7,000 service personnel and civilians who lost their lives in the Siege of Malta during World War II. The bell chimes every day at noon in their memory.

The tomb-memorial is to ‘King Tom’- Sir Thomas Maitland (the notorious first British Colonial Governor of Malta) and plaques on the wall commemorate wartime heroes who lost their lives in battle.



 Every day at midday and at four o’clock in the afternoon, guns are fired from a recently restored British Saluting Battery found at the lower tier of the Bastion visible from the Barrakka Gardens in Valletta Malta. 

WANDERING THE CITY STREETS

To get a real feel of the city, try wandering the streets off the main drag of Republic Street.

THE FOOD IS DELICIOUS & INTERESTING

The food around Malta is amazing.  You will find cuisine from around the world plus a lot of local fare.  

I always have a meal at Storie & Sapori just so I can have their bruschetta.

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And the pastries are amazing.

Here are some menus that will give you an idea of some of the more unusual items that you may see.

Of course, you will also find fast food restaurants from the US like McDonald's, Burger King, and Subway.

THE BEAUTIFUL CHURCHES

You could spend an entire day just looking at churches.  There are 25 churches in Valletta but most are not open throughout the day.  We happened to be there on Sunday so I managed to get a couple of photos before they locked the doors.

There are many more places to visit and experiences that are not covered in this post. It would take many posts to cover everything I love about Malta, especially Valletta.  

Never fear, I will return to see everything I have missed on my first two visits to this island.