overview: powerboat P1

Malta

Valletta Destination Guide:

Trivia: Valletta is the capital city of Malta. The whole city was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1980.

Benjamin Disraeli visited Valletta in August 1830, on the recommendation of his friend, Lord Byron. He described Valletta as "a city of palaces built by gentlemen for gentlemen", and remarked that "Valletta, equals in its noble architecture, if it does not excel, any capital in Europe," and in subsequent letters to friends, that it is "comparable to Venice and Cadiz...not a single tree, but full of palaces worthy of Palladio."

 

Transport I Car Hire I Hotels I Entertainment I Food & Drink I Tourist Tips

Grand Harbour:

Grand Harbour is a natural harbour on the island of Malta. It has been used as a harbour since at least Roman times. The natural harbour has been greatly improved with extensive docks and wharves, and has been massively fortified.

The harbour mouth faces north east and is bounded to the north by St Elmo's Point and further sheltered by an isolated breakwater and is bounded to the south by Ricasoli Point. Its north west shore is formed by the Scebarras peninsula, which is largely covered by the city of Valletta and its suburb Floriana. This peninsula also divides Grand Harbour from a second parallel natural harbour, Marsamxett Harbour. The main waterway of Grand Harbour continues inland almost to Marsa. The south eastern shore of the harbour is formed by a number of inlets and headlands, principally Rinella Creek, Kalkara Creek, Dockyard Creek, and French Creek, which are covered by Kalkara and the Three Cities: Cospicua, Vittoriosa, and Senglea.

With its partner harbour of Marsamxett, Grand Harbour lies at the centre of gently rising ground. Development has grown up all around the twin harbours and up the slopes so that the whole bowl is effectively one large conurbation. Much of Malta's population lives within a three kilometer radius of Floriana. This is now one of the most densely populated areas in Europe.


Transport:

The Valletta peninsula is only a couple of kilometres in length and so the ideal way is to do everything on foot also allowing one to make use of the atmospheric stairs throughout this steep city. However, the city is built on a ridge, and is steep in parts (requiring walking up and down stairs in some places), which can be tiring. The alternative would be doing it by car which is not ideal for visitors due to lack of parking space, direction signs and the fact that the streets are very narrow, often one way and confusing if unfamiliar. Most of the main tourist attractions are along the main street (Triq ir-Republika) which does not involve steep hills.

By Car:

As with the bus lines the many main roads also converge on Valletta, however once inside the city there are many one-way streets and some pedestrian zones. Parking near one's destination can also be difficult. There is a large multi-storey car park in Floriana, about half a kilometre from Valletta.

Buses:

Malta's public transport system, which uses buses, operates mostly on routes to or from Valletta, with their central terminus just outside the city's entrance. Traffic within the city itself is restricted, with some principal roads being completely pedestrian areas.

Park and Ride:

In 2006, a park and ride system was implemented in order to reduce traffic in the more prominent areas of the city. People can leave their personal vehicles in a Floriana parking lot and transfer to a van for the rest of the trip, which takes a mere few minutes.

Getting There:

British Airways (GB Airways codeshare service) operates from Gatwick to Malta on a daily basis, as does Air Malta.


Car Hire:

Our Car Hire department can organise any type of vehicle you require, please call 01903 83288 and speak to Isie or Leannne, or alternatively you can email us your request.

 

Hotels:

5 Star Options:

  • Le Meridien Phoenicia
  • Hilton Hotel St Julians
  • Intercontintental St Julians
  • Hotel le meridien St Julians
  • Radisson SAS Bay Point Resort Hotel

4 Star Options:

  • Preluna Hotel & Towers Sliema
  • Diplomat Hotel Sliema
  • Fortina Hotel Sliema
  • Victoria Hotel Sliema
  • JUliani Hotel St Julians

3 Star Options:

  • The Osborne Hotel
  • Hotel Castille
  • Sliema Marina Hotel

2 Star Options:

  • Grand Harbour Hotel
  • British Hotel
  • Asti Guesthouse Valletta


Entertainment:

Museums:

  • St John's Co-Cathedral Musuem
  • Grandmaster's Palace Armoury Museum
  • Malta War Museum - Housed at Fort Saint Elmo
  • National Museums of Archaeology - Housed at Auberge De Provence
  • National Museum of Fine Arts
  • Manoel Theatre Museum
  • Toy Museum

Theatres:

  • Manoel Theatre
  • Royal Opera House


Food & Drink:

Valletta has a collection of decent restaurants, due to most of the tourists residing either in Sliema or on the north coast of the island there are fewer of the trashy variety, although it does have the ubiquitous fastfood places (Burger King, McDonalds, Pizza Hut). In recent years, the number of restaurants open in the evenings has grown.


Tourist Tips:

The city contains several buildings of historic importance, amongst which are St John's Co-Cathedral, formerly the Conventual Church of the Knights of Malta and home to the largest single work by Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio, his only signed work, and a priceless collection of seventeenth-century Flemish tapestries (alongside Republic Street); the Auberge de Castille et Leon, formerly the official seat of the of the Knights of Malta of the Langue of Castille, Leon and Portugal, now the office of the Prime Minister of Malta (found on the highest point of the city, above the bastions); the Magisterial Palace, built between 1571 and 1574, formerly the seat of the Grand Master of the Knights of Malta, now housing the Maltese Parliament and the offices of the President of Malta (opposite Palace Square along Republic Street). 

Other suggestions for sightseeing:

  • Grandmaster's Palace (parliament)
  • Casa Rocca Piccola - maltese Noble House
  • St. Johns Square
  • Carmelite Church
  • St Pauls Anglican Cathedral
  • Fort Saint Elmo
  • Upper Barrakka Gardens
  • Castellania (the Knights' former law courts)
  • Valletta Waterfront
  • Triton Fountain
  • The National Library
  • St. James Cavalier
  • Mdina - Malta's mediaeval capital
  • Gozo

 

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