![]() ![]() Then do as the Vallettans do: kick back under the shaded colonnade of Cafe Royale, opposite parliament, for people-watching and pastries (£2 Pjazza Teatru Rjal).Īfternoon Half an hour from the centre by bus (£1.75 ) or taxi (about £20), Mdina is a magnificent hilltop town that has barely changed since the Middle Ages, when it was Malta’s capital. Off St Paul’s Street, the Church of St Paul’s Shipwreck is a wonderfully creepy shrine to the saint, who was stranded on Malta and whose wristbone is now on display amid a blaze of gilded arches and altarpieces. Nearby, St Paul’s Street is home to Maltese designers selling vintage clothes and jewellery at Mint Sparrow ( ). ![]() Don’t miss Strait Street, once a gauntlet of dodgy seadog sin pits, now an atmospheric alley lined with cool cafes - Frascati does great coffee ( ). Valletta’s handsome grid of honeyed limestone facades is riddled with traces of its myriad occupations, from covered Ottoman balconies to art deco flower kiosks and British phone boxes. Until then, it’s time for a Sunday-morning mosey. ![]() Morning Scheduled to open in early 2019 in the former residence of the Italian Knights of St John, Muza is the highly anticipated national gallery ( ). Just around the corner, the steps outside Café Society are where the locals groove to live bands and DJ sets (St John Street cocktails from £5.30). #Flybilletter valletta full#The area around St Paul’s Street is full of bohemian bars and hipster eateries, including Cru, a four-table wine bar that opened last year and serves craft beers, organic wines and delicious tapas treats: try the smoked mackerel pâté and artichoke and sausage tortilla (mains £6 ). But it’s also lovely just to take an aimless stroll through the cobbled, flower-filled lanes, then have a beer at Tate Cafe, on the quay.Įven without the European Capital of Culture events, Saturday nights are a joy, with diners spilling out to pavement tables for dinner in the warm night air. The 1530s Inquisitor’s Palace (£5.30 Main Gate Street) and the bastioned Fort St Angelo (£7 Birgu Waterfront) are the big hitters here. There’s not enough time for all three, but Birgu is a must, 10 minutes away by water taxi (£1.70) or ferry (£2.50 return ). The cafe at the Upper Barrakka Gardens is where Vallettans go to sip one in the shade (£4.50), with views across the harbour to the fortified mini cities of Birgu (also called Vittoriosa), Senglea and Cospicua - aka the Three Cities. If pastizzi offer an instant hit of Malta’s past, the Aperol spritz is today’s signature drink. These Sicilian Arab-inspired ricotta and pea filo pastries are serious business, and locals say Caffe Cordina, founded in 1837, is the best lunch spot on Republic Street to sample them (85p ). Two minutes back along Republic Street, the Grand Master’s Palace is the former residence of the heads of the Knights of St John - worth a look for the breathtaking marble corridors and tapestry chamber (£8.90 St George’s Square).Īfternoon Malta is a joyous mess of Mediterranean influences - and nothing says that better than the humble pastizzi. Be there when it opens at 9.30am to have them to yourself. Halfway along, St John’s Co-Cathedral is a riot of 16th-century marble tombstone floors and gold-leaf ceilings, with The Beheading of St John the Baptist one of two magnificent Caravaggios in a hushed side chapel (£8.90 ). The main action happens on Republic Street, a largely pedestrianised avenue of shops and cafes running between Fort St Elmo - where the Ottomans were repelled in 1565 - and Renzo Piano’s Egyptian-style City Gate, unveiled in 2014. It’s no pushover, mind: the Knights of St John, who built the place in the 16th century, plonked it on a sheer-sided peninsula with lanes plunging down to the harbour - you don’t so much tootle about town as trek. Morning Valletta is the smallest capital in the EU - the city’s towering bastion walls would fit comfortably inside Hyde Park - so it’s a brilliant place to explore on foot. ![]() And on an island that basks in 300 days of sunshine a year, the weather is still balmy. It’s one of the 2018 European Capitals of Culture, so the city is buzzing with activity, from theatrical extravaganzas to open-mic nights. But Malta’s capital is worthy of a trip in itself - a pocket-sized pearl with grand palaces, baroque churches and a thriving arts scene. Sunday October 07 2018, 12.01am, The Sunday Timesįor most Brits, Valletta is the gateway city for a fly-and-flop holiday. ![]()
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