Malta, pictures from my previous trip

[Adar]

I visited Malta last year and came to the conclusion that it's probably the best places to go in the Mediterranean. You can go by bus everywhere, you got a great climate and you don't run into the annoying salesmen/beggars that you encounter in Greece, Tunisia or Turkey. Theres also a lot of non beach related things to see which means that you can do more than just lie at the beach.

Next week I am heading back to the island together with my wife to spend a week there and relax after our wedding. So this thread is essentially a combined travel diary from my previous visit and a request for advice from other members for things that I missed on my previous trip.

Valletta
Valletta is the capital of Malta and an obvious destination for day time tourism with churches, museums and some of the best views of Malta. I was there in april so I do not know if the night life in the area gets better during the tourist season but when I was there you had to go across the bay to Sliema to fight a night club or good restaurants.

Something that initially confused me on Malta is their rather unique perspective on what a "city" consists of. When I looked at Google maps I thought that Valletta was a rather large city covering a significant part of the north eastern coast of Malta. In reality it's a small peninsula surrounded by other cities, so going from the city of Valletta to the city of Sliema is more like going between two city districts than two actual cities.

They charge you quite a lot for museums and churches so we spent our time in Valletta just enjoying the view and food. Any suggestions on things I should visit this time are welcome











My favourite spot in Valletta was probably below the walls at the end of the peninsula. Getting there was a bit tricky since the walls makes it impossible to get down there if you just walk towards the end of the peninsula. Instead you need to follow the northern shore and along the peninsula and stick to the shore (on a paved road) instead of moving along the top of the fortification.


The central bus station is located right on the edge of Valletta and all buses in the country originates from here. The bus station is huge so it is a good idea to be well in time so you can locate the right bus.


Mdina
Mdina is the former capital of the island and also functioned as a "native" capital long after the Knights took control of the island. The city can trace it's architecture to the Norman era and is simple astonishing with it's small winding alleys. In the early medieval era the entire city was a fortress and the streets designed so that you could never see more than an arrow shot away.

The city also got a religious significance since St Paul was shipwrecked here and lived in a cave outside the city. Next to the cave there are also catacombs that are well worth a visit.





Inside of St Pauls cathedral in Mdina


Entrance to St Pauls cave


St Pauls cave and a German woman I later traumatized in the St Paul catacombs as I came out of a ledge I had climbed into to get a good picture.


The catacombs (much better than the picture suggests)


Tarxien temples in Hal Tarxien
Some of the oldest stone structures known to mankind are located to Malta. There are several Megalithic temples on Malta and I visited the Tarxien temples close to Valletta and the Ggantija temples on Guozo. The entrance fee was quite high (7 € I think) and if you want to visit a temple I strong suggest that you do not go to Tarxien because Ggantija is far more impressive.

Close to the Tarxien temples theres the Hypogeum of Ħal-Saflieni where you have to book very far in advance to go. I haven't been there due to the booking difficulties but I would love to get there.

The rest of Hal Tarxien is also quite boring so this is an area you can ignore unless you got ticket for the Hypogeum.


Gozo
Gozo is Maltas 2nd largest island and apparently quite patriotic since everything on Malta has to be labelled "Malta and Gozo". Getting to the ferry by bus from Valletta takes roughly an hour and no transfers. I found the island very enjoyable and if your interested in a hiking trip it might be a good idea to stay on Gozo instead of Malta. There is a small fort in the centre of the island that also contain some nice museums and great views.

A one day trip gets you to the fort and museums in a pleasant tempo but if I stayed at a hotel on northern Malta I'd probably spend a few more days on Gozo to enjoy nature and boat trips around the island.






The beach
I only spent one day on the beach and we decided on the beach in Mellieħa. There are two beaches in that area, one which is engineered to perfection and full of tourists living at the Radisson Blu hotel and another one five hundred meters to the south which seems to be more for non-family tourists and locals. We took the bus to the Radisson hotel and then followed the road to the other beach.





This was in april so the water was "only" 17 degrees so I decided to climb the surrounding hills when I had finished swimming. My friend took a picture of me when I was on the top of the hill but failed to notice something slightly awkward 5 meters away from him...



Food, beer and the pope
My friend who was living at Malta isn't exactly the greatest gourmet and we lived too far from Sliema to find any good restaurants easily so I mostly lived on pies bought in local pie shops. Some very nice pizza with Maltese sausages and the thousands of Kentucky Fried Chicken rip offs available on the island. These are named things like "Souther Fried Chicken", "Kent Fried Chicken" etc and serve quite nice meals.

This time will live in Sliema so any suggestions for good and affordable restaurants are appreciated.

Chick-King my favourite of the fast food.


The local beer can best be described as weak but decent. Cisk is the most sold lager, Blue label is the best common one and my personal favorite was 1565 Victory lager which is mostly sold to tourists. So the key to enjoying beer on Malta is to drink it in a nice setting. You can also check out SonOfOdins Maltese beer guide.

Wine is also popular on Malta but I think both the red and white wine was of quite low quality. The Rosé wine was however nice. There was also a chain who sold everything for 2 € and had some quite decent french wine for 2 € per bottle. I don't remember the name but the stores where easily found in most cities.

How to drink beer on Malta


The location

To get there you should start walking along the shore next to the Sliema ferry and follow the road below the wall when you get to where St Sebastians turn sharply to the right along the shoreline.

And the Pope

[Stavroforos]

Is all of Malta one big fort?

[Adar]

Is all of Malta one big fort?

No, that is just a side effect of you reading a travel report on a place named totalwarcenter .

But the fortifications around Valletta are seriously huge. After the failed Ottoman invasion in 1565 the Knights got serious support from the christian world to fortify the island. The resulting fortress was however so large that even during the strongest time of the Knights of Malta they would have been unable to defend all the sections of the wall.

The only times the walls where actually used were during the Napoleonic wars and WW2. During the French revolution the knights surrendered Malta without a fight and a French occupation force later surrendered to the British navy after being besieged by the local population who resented their plundering of the church.

So the major benefit of the walls for the people of Malta was during WW2 when the tunnels below the walls proved highly resistant to German bombs.

[Boustrophedon]

Great report man lovely pictures of the amphorae and beaches. Who's the girl on the beach who's face you obscured? She's got a killer body anyways very nice and all that! +rep

[Adar]

Great report man lovely pictures of the amphorae and beaches. Who's the girl on the beach who's face you obscured? She's got a killer body anyways very nice and all that! +rep

That is some girl who probably thought my friend was taking pictures of her. She was staring very angrily at my friend when he took the pictures but he didn't notice until we came home and looked at the pictures.

I obscured it because it would be rude to expose her face to you guys .

[Boustrophedon]

That is some girl who probably thought my friend was taking pictures of her. She was staring very angrily at my friend when he took the pictures but he didn't notice until we came home and looked at the pictures.

I obscured it because it would be rude to expose her face to you guys .

Oh okay

How did you find the locals btw? Friendly or rude? Helpful or rather distant?

[Adar]

Oh okay

How did you find the locals btw? Friendly or rude? Helpful or rather distant?

They were quite North European. Non-intrusive, good at English but not quite as nice as non-chav Brits. So you don't need to hide at the tourist resort like in Turkey or Egypt.

[SonOfOdin]

Nice mate +rep.
I don't appreciate everything in Malta because I'm used to it, like the big bastions and cannons and Kinnie and

Our old yellow buses are gone though
Now we have Arriva *sigh*

Ohh also, Malta isn't exactly known for fine dining. Fried Chicken is quite decent by Maltese standars .The casual Maltese family usually orders pizza on a Saturday night
However, there are some excellent family-owned traditional Maltese restaurants, but they're very expensive. Most good Maltese restaurants are in fishing villages such as Marsaxlokk(in the far South), Marsascala, Wied il-Għajn etc

[Azog 150]

Malta looks really good- lots of history and nice weather and beaches. But its small size has always put me off, I tend to like to do a fair bit of travelling on holiday.

[Boustrophedon]

Malta looks really good- lots of history and nice weather and beaches. But its small size has always put me off, I tend to like to do a fair bit of travelling on holiday.

Seconded. I don't fancy islands alot for pretty much the same reason.

[Legio]

Did you capture any shots of the wild and terrible Beli?

Lovely photographs. I'd like to visit Malta some day: it looks gorgeous.

[Belisarius]

I was here today.

[Adar]

Malta looks really good- lots of history and nice weather and beaches. But its small size has always put me off, I tend to like to do a fair bit of travelling on holiday.

You can easily spend 10 days on Malta and always see new things. The traveling distances are short but the island(s) are so full of nice things that you won't feel constrained by the size of the island. A non crazy population fluent in English also makes the traveling easier than in other Mediterranean nations.

Did you capture any shots of the wild and terrible Beli?

What is a Beli? When I google Malta+Beli I only get pictures of an old Yugoslavian ship .

Ohh also, Malta isn't exactly known for fine dining. Fried Chicken is quite decent by Maltese standars .The casual Maltese family usually orders pizza on a Saturday night
However, there are some excellent family-owned traditional Maltese restaurants, but they're very expensive. Most good Maltese restaurants are in fishing villages such as Marsaxlokk(in the far South), Marsascala, Wied il-Għajn etc

Where do you like to go out and eat? My hotel is within walking distance of Floriana so if you got any advice it would be greatly appreciated.

Essentially I got three questions for all Maltese people in the thread.

1) Where do you like to go out and eat.

2) If we want to spend a day enjoying the nature of Malta and have a picknik. Where should we go?

3) Do you have any favorite locations we should go to (museums, romance spots, good views etc).

We will travel by bus so please tell which bus route too ;-).

[SonOfOdin]

Where do you like to go out and eat? My hotel is within walking distance of Floriana so if you got any advice it would be greatly appreciated.

Floriana, as in, the town just outside Valletta? So, taking a guess, I assume it's the Excelsior hotel?
The best "restaurants" I ever saw in Floriana are a few snack bars and Chick King to be honest. There are some nice restaurants in Valletta with typical menus like Pasta, Grill, Pizza etc though. Floriana isn't really a place to hang out in, in my opinion. And Valletta is a bit scary at night, especially after 10 P.M

Essentially I got three questions for all Maltese people in the thread.

1) Where do you like to go out and eat.

Well, in my town(Birkirkara), there aren't really any restaurants so to speak. But there's a new Turkish place that I love, and after work I used to eat there all the time.

But when I'm out eating with a group of friends/family etc, usually it's always Sliema or St.Julians. ALso, the Valletta Waterfront is beautiful, but expensive.
My personal favourite restaurants are Tal-Kaptan(found both at Valletta Waterfront and Sliema) and The Avenue(found in St.Julians/Paceville).

To get to St.Julians/Sliema, nowadays you have to get the 11, 12 and 13 buses from Valletta.

2) If we want to spend a day enjoying the nature of Malta and have a picknik. Where should we go?

Buskett, no doubt. Ta' Qali is a bit more "urbanised", so to speak, with a huge picnic area and a huge park just beside the National Stadium. Buskett is just more wild and exciting though.

To get to Buskett with Arriva, the site says that you must take the 107 bus from Mosta(the town with the huge Rotund Church).

This might help you more though :

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of...outes_in_Malta

3) Do you have any favorite locations we should go to (museums, romance spots, good views etc).

Museums : War Museum in Fort St.Elmo, Museum of Natural History in Mdina, Aviation Museum(if you like, well, aviation) in Ta' Qali, The Megalithic Temples(I see you already visited some of them, my favourite is Ħagar Qim though) etc etc

Romance Spots : Barrakka Gardens in Valletta, most beaches at sunset, Cliff areas in Dingli/Xlendi at sunset(also, good for picnics if you don't mind rocky surfaces ) etc.

Good Views : Most Romance spots I listed + boat tours. There are countless boat tours available from the Ferries at Sliema, check them out if you have time.

There are just so much to list
This might help you more : http://www.visitmalta.com/holiday-ideas / http://www.visitmalta.com/malta-culture-and-heritage

[Adar]

Well, in my town(Birkirkara), there aren't really any restaurants so to speak. But there's a new Turkish place that I love, and after work I used to eat there all the time.

But when I'm out eating with a group of friends/family etc, usually it's always Sliema or St.Julians. ALso, the Valletta Waterfront is beautiful, but expensive.
My personal favourite restaurants are Tal-Kaptan(found both at Valletta Waterfront and Sliema) and The Avenue(found in St.Julians/Paceville).

To get to St.Julians/Sliema, nowadays you have to get the 11, 12 and 13 buses from Valletta.

My problem is that as a Sweden I tend to consider everything within 6 km "walking distance". I used Floriana as my reference point because I mixed up where I stayed last time with where you live.

My hotel is close to Fort Manuel so Tal-Kaptan is really close. I also found out that my favourite restaurant the last time (better than Chick-King ) was Mamma Mia, in Ta' Xbiex.

Romance Spots : Barrakka Gardens in Valletta, most beaches at sunset, Cliff areas in Dingli/Xlendi at sunset(also, good for picnics if you don't mind rocky surfaces ) etc.

Just to clarify, is Dingli/Xlendi the same place as Hal-Djingli southwest of Mdina and close to Buskett? Seems like a nice area if those three are close to each other.

[SonOfOdin]

My problem is that as a Sweden I tend to consider everything within 6 km "walking distance". I used Floriana as my reference point because I mixed up where I stayed last time with where you live.

By my Maltese standards, walking distance = 2 km maximum
I know people who get the bus for a 5 minute journey, 15 minute walk

My hotel is close to Fort Manuel so Tal-Kaptan is really close. I also found out that my favourite restaurant the last time (better than Chick-King ) was Mamma Mia, in Ta' Xbiex.

Ahh Il-Gżira then. While you're there, check out Fort Manoel on Manoel Island of course. They recently renovated it

Yeah I know where Mamma Mia is. I hear it's quite good, I've never been there personally though.

Just to clarify, is Dingli/Xlendi the same place as Hal-Djingli southwest of Mdina and close to Buskett? Seems like a nice area if those three are close to each other.

Ħad-Dingli is very close to Buskett yes. A long time ago, when I was 14/15 had a picnic with friends in Buskett, and at about 6 p.m we walked one straight road that led to Dingli.
Here, I have a pic of that particular moment. I think this was 2 years ago

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

But Xlendi is in Gozo. I should not have put a "," not a "/" between them

[Adhamh Ashashi]

I have been to Malta like 3 times and the most important lesson for me was as follows: Kinnie is horrendous.

[SonOfOdin]

I have been to Malta like 3 times and the most important lesson for me was as follows: Kinnie is horrendous.

Blesphemy. If I had the money, I'd drink Kinnie like I drink water.

[Hobbes]

What is this? Photos of Malta? I thought you only needed one?

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

I am joking, Malta looks awesome

[The Doubtful Guest]

Sweet pictures! Reminds me of Panzer General II, Valletta was a pain in the butt to capture haha.