Valletta, Malta -part one

Valletta is the capital city of Malta. I visited Malta for the first time in my life this November 2018, together with my boyfriend.

The bus route from San Ġiljan to Valletta is very nice. If you wish to book accommodation in San Ġiljan or  Valletta , please check this links where you can found a lot of properties to choose from.

On our way to Valletta I took few photos from the bus window.

There are not very clear, but I will share it with you anyway.

The imposing Valletta’s fortifications, consisting of bastions, curtains and cavaliers, along with the beauty of its Baroque palaces, gardens and churches, led the ruling houses of Europe to give the city its nickname Superbissima— Italian for Most Proud.

Since we stayed at San Ġiljan, we arrived to Valletta by city bus. It doesn’t matter where you go, the price of the bus ticket is €1,5 and ticket is valid for 2 hours. The first thing I saw in front of me when I went out of the bus was the amazing Triton Fountain.

The fountain is located on the periphery of the City Gate of Valletta. It consists of three bronze Tritons holding up a huge basin, balanced on a concentric base built out of concrete and clad in travertine slabs. The fountain is one of Malta’s most important Modernist landmarks.

Two of the Tritons are sitting, while the third one is kneeling, and they are balanced on a seaweed base. The face of each Triton is visible when viewed from City Gate.

Since we arrived in Valleta in the evening all the lights on the fountain and the surroundings were on, so the first impression was amazing.

A baby Jesus’ crib right next to the Triton Fountain, was actually a huge display portraying the whole of Bethlehem, complete with moving parts and live animals. Malta has a strong Catholic culture, and Christmas is obviously significant in Malta as a Christian festival. I wish I will have the opportunity to experience Christmas and New Year in Malta at least once in my life.

The center was crowded, weather was warm. We enjoyed a nice pizza and local beer in a nice restaurant in front of the St. John Cathedral, at the San Giovani restaurant.

Pizza was delicious and the service fast and efficient.

We also tried a local beer Cisk.

Valleta is so beautiful by night. We were so excited to see the city by day next morning.

The center is a popular meeting point for tourists and locals.

St George Square is located about half way between the city gates and St Elmo Fort.

The center is a popular meeting point for tourists and locals. In general, the center and the pedestrian zone were very lively with a lot of charming cafes, bars restaurants and shops.

Right after our dinner we discovered one very nice place called the Valletta food market.

We just checked the place, and we decided to have lunch there the very next day.

There were really a lot of choices for a good meal there. It is one of the must visit destinations to see while in Valletta.

The Valletta Food Market is located in the iconic Victorian-era structure, affectionately known as Is-Suq tal-Belt.

The building has been transformed from a derelict structure into a state of the art destination, where one can grab a bite, shop for food and relax in the city.

Several bespoke stalls preparing a journey of international culinary specialties for immediate consumption. These will include local favorites such as Vecchia Napoli, Zest, Gululu, ImPasta and The Pulled Meat Company together with new arrivals; Venchi’s “chocogelateria”: quality Italian gelato and confectionery, Tapea by Pico Loco Spanish tapas, Xiwi live grill, T’Anna Mari fish grill, Konak Middle Eastern cuisine, The Salad Bar and Ta’Kelinu Maltese pastizzerija.

Really beautiful place that awakes all the senses, but since we already had full belly there was no place for more food.

We explored the city center for a while, and we had a coffee at the beautiful Cafe Theatre. This cafe is nice, service is OK, but if you wish to use their toilets it can be complicated. There are a lot of stairs to climb and it is not easy to find your way to the loo and back, you might need a guide or map. I’m just joking about it but you have to follow the signs for sure and there is not a lot of them.

I couldn’t resist the aroma of cookies from the near by shop, but until we finished our coffee, and until I found my way to the loo and back, the shop was unfortunately closed. Therefore I decided to taste these cookies the very next day and I did, they were all delicious.

The name of the delicatessen shop with the cookies was Wembley Store. They sell different kinds of products but those I liked the most were the sweet treats.

There is one little street-front window where you can buy them, you don’t have to go inside of the store. I don’t know the name of the cookies I ate, because they were not labelled, but I suggest you to buy them all, they’re equally delicious and cheap.

The Wembley Store is a charming shop specializing in luxury food. It was first opened by an enterprising and dedicated young man, Emanuel Gauci, in the center of Valletta in 1924. The Wembley Store name was inspired by the British Empire Exhibition, which happened to be held at Wembley that same year.

Since we were already tired of walking we celebrated our first evening in Malta back in San Ġiljan with some local beers at the Hard Rock Cafe, that was located near of our hotel.

We had a lot of plans for the next day, we wanted to see as much as we can see for one day, before we head to the beautiful Malta’s island Gozo.

On our way back to San Ġiljan we passed by a very unique house. I can name it as a cat kingdom house. It was one beautiful old mansion with a small garden in front. I have never seen in my life so many cats in one place.

They were all yellow and it was hundreds of them in that small garden.

They were sitting, playing eating, looking to the people who were passing by. One is sure, the owners of the house must be big cat lovers.

This article will be continued, stay tuned for more information regarding Valletta by day.