For me, visiting Malta always just takes place as part of a day trip. When I visit the islands I stay on the smaller sister Island of Gozo, my first love of the Mediterranean islands. I still love Malta and always come away thinking I should spend more than just one day a year there!
This summer we decided to give our favourite locations of Sliema, St Julian's and Mdina a miss for the chance to visit some new places (for us) on the main island of Malta. After getting off the ferry at Cirkewwa we drove to the 5,500 year old temples of Hagar Qim and Mnajdra, taking just a quick detour to the stunning Dingli Cliffs to catch a glimpse of the uninhabited island of Filfla. My beloved Gozo is actually home to some of the most intact of Malta's Megalthic Temples, which are all older the Pyramids in Egypt and Britains Stonehenge, however the stunning coastal location and visitor centre attached to the temples in Malta makes these well worth a visit!
Ready for lunch we left the Hagar Qim and Mnajdra temples desperate to get out of the hot sun. We have always photographed the three cities of Vittoriosa (Birgu), Senglea and Cospicua from the Valletta side of the Grand Harbour (at the beautiful Upper Barrakka Gardens - a must to visit). There has been a lot of regeneration in these ancient Maritime cities, so instead of our usual pitstop at the Valletta Waterfront we decided to give the Birgu Waterfront a go for lunch. I'd really recommend the waterfront's Tate restaurant. Putting the wonderful yacht views aside, it has a large and varied menu, the food was great with generous portions - but the surprise for me was that the whole menu was vegetarian! Malta does cater well for vegetarians in general, but it's quite rare to stumble across a purely vegetarian restaurant! Yep, I was beyond pleased with this find.
Before leaving Birgu we made a quick stop off at the Inquisitor's Palace, one of the few worldwide to survive both the passing of time and revolts against the Catholic church in the centuries past. The history on Malta is incredible and with everything from decorative original features, a prison complex and torture chamber, the Inquisitor's Palace certainly has plenty of the history the island is renowned for!
You can't spend time on Malta without visiting the famous and beautiful fortified capital city of Valletta. We called inside the city walls for a spot of shopping, for a wonder wound to catch up on all the restorations that have taken place in the last year or so, but also just to grab a coffee or two! I love that Valletta is compact enough to walk round leisurely in an afternoon - if that's all the time you have. I'm simply happy aimlessly wondering the grid system of streets, enjoying the amazing architecture of the palazzos, churches, palaces, and even the backstreets are quite wonderful - filled with a myriad of my favourite colourful balconies. However if you happen to be visiting for the first time, be sure to visit the St John's Cathedral and it's Caravaggio paintings, the Grand Master's Palace, Upper Barrakka Gardens and the bustling Waterfront.
If you've ever visited Malta, let me know your favourite things to do and visit. If you have any questions about the islands of Malta and Gozo please do get in touch!!
This summer we decided to give our favourite locations of Sliema, St Julian's and Mdina a miss for the chance to visit some new places (for us) on the main island of Malta. After getting off the ferry at Cirkewwa we drove to the 5,500 year old temples of Hagar Qim and Mnajdra, taking just a quick detour to the stunning Dingli Cliffs to catch a glimpse of the uninhabited island of Filfla. My beloved Gozo is actually home to some of the most intact of Malta's Megalthic Temples, which are all older the Pyramids in Egypt and Britains Stonehenge, however the stunning coastal location and visitor centre attached to the temples in Malta makes these well worth a visit!
Ready for lunch we left the Hagar Qim and Mnajdra temples desperate to get out of the hot sun. We have always photographed the three cities of Vittoriosa (Birgu), Senglea and Cospicua from the Valletta side of the Grand Harbour (at the beautiful Upper Barrakka Gardens - a must to visit). There has been a lot of regeneration in these ancient Maritime cities, so instead of our usual pitstop at the Valletta Waterfront we decided to give the Birgu Waterfront a go for lunch. I'd really recommend the waterfront's Tate restaurant. Putting the wonderful yacht views aside, it has a large and varied menu, the food was great with generous portions - but the surprise for me was that the whole menu was vegetarian! Malta does cater well for vegetarians in general, but it's quite rare to stumble across a purely vegetarian restaurant! Yep, I was beyond pleased with this find.
Before leaving Birgu we made a quick stop off at the Inquisitor's Palace, one of the few worldwide to survive both the passing of time and revolts against the Catholic church in the centuries past. The history on Malta is incredible and with everything from decorative original features, a prison complex and torture chamber, the Inquisitor's Palace certainly has plenty of the history the island is renowned for!
You can't spend time on Malta without visiting the famous and beautiful fortified capital city of Valletta. We called inside the city walls for a spot of shopping, for a wonder wound to catch up on all the restorations that have taken place in the last year or so, but also just to grab a coffee or two! I love that Valletta is compact enough to walk round leisurely in an afternoon - if that's all the time you have. I'm simply happy aimlessly wondering the grid system of streets, enjoying the amazing architecture of the palazzos, churches, palaces, and even the backstreets are quite wonderful - filled with a myriad of my favourite colourful balconies. However if you happen to be visiting for the first time, be sure to visit the St John's Cathedral and it's Caravaggio paintings, the Grand Master's Palace, Upper Barrakka Gardens and the bustling Waterfront.
If you've ever visited Malta, let me know your favourite things to do and visit. If you have any questions about the islands of Malta and Gozo please do get in touch!!
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