Valletta Bucket List

My mom and I are going on our first trip to Europe this October on a 12-night cruise! We’re two fit, adventurous Americans who love walking, window shopping, and taking pictures of quaint and quirky side streets and alleyways. We perfer smaller, local, village-style experiences to touristy or big-city-style jaunts, though we enjoy both.

Our ship docks in Valletta, and we want to explore on our own. Have any must-see’s for us? We’d like to avoid public transport while we’re there, if at all possible.

Valetta will have some quirky side streets, steep and narrow. You can visit the bar where Oliver Reed died when filming Gladiator .... the one where Brad and Angelina fell in love (kind of a star crossed film if you ask me).

Other quirks .. Mdina no cars allowed within the city walls and just outside those walls is an archiological site of a roman villa. Very nice museum and glass floor to see where the walls were as well as the mosaics.

Marshaloxx is a fishing village, great place for lunch if you like fish.

None of the above are walkable from the port, you'll have to get a taxi since you don't want to do the buses.

Sound like you ought to get over to Mdina.

Valletta, Malta (Mdina)

Hint: Get up early and don't miss any of the sail-in to Valletta, it's one of the most beautiful harbors in the world. And if you get off the ship early, you'll have the to yourself until about 8:45 am.

Malta has way too much to offer for a single day in port. We decided to keep it fairly simple and inexpensive on our first visit: attending mass at St. John’s Co-Cathedral, visiting Mdina, enjoying lunch, then returning to Valletta for further exploration.

St. John’s Cathedral aka "Co-Cathedral" is a must-see. However, due to services, it's closed to tours on Sunday and pictures are prohibited. You can still visit the church if you'd like to go to mass (no charge) at 9:15 am. On any other day, you can get a ticket for €10 per person, and visit Caravaggio's painting of the beheading of John the Baptist. Either way, the interior of this church, built in the 1570s by the Order of the Knights of St. John, is spectacular with it's painted ceiling frescos, marble and gold columns and arches, and ornate inlaid marble tombstones that cover the entire floor! They commemorate some of the most illustrious knights of the Order and date from the early seventeenth century into the late eighteenth century.

You have to work your way up since the old city is on the cliff top. As long as you use the elevator it shouldn't take you longer than 20 minutes to walk to the Co-cathedral from the ship. Turn right upon exiting the cruise terminal and walk towards the Barakka Lift (€1,00 up / free down). The Lift will let you out at the Upper Barakka Gardens which offers nice views overlooking the harbor. Start walking down Castille Street and turn right on either Republic Street (three blocks). Walk down 2.5 blocks to Triq San Gwann. You can't miss the Co-Cathedral.

Following mass at St. John’s Co-Cathedral, we walked back down Republic Street and out the City Gate to pickup a taxi near Triton Fountain. I prearranged roundtrip transportation online with eCabs to Mdina and back (just €5 per person each way for a party of 8). A comfortable van was waiting on us when we arrived.

The driver dropped us off at the Mdina Gate. Mdina is a small, walled town with narrow streets. “The elegance of the architecture, the pop of colors, the panoramic views and the sheer beauty of the town are all incredible. You can really feel as if you are in another time when here.” This is one of the “Game of Thrones” filming locations. After exploring the walled city, we went back out the front gate to get lunch at BOTTEGIN PALAZZO XARA, a reasonably priced restaurant which had received rave reviews online.

It's only a 6-minute walk to the restaurant at Palazzo Xara, Triq San Pawl, Rabat RBT1243, but we had some trouble finding it despite the building's distinctive dark royal blue doors and shutters. We chose to eat outside in their courtyard. Two of our fellow travelers enjoyed pasta dishes while my wife and I loved our locally raised roasted rabbit with pumpkin-infused mashed potatoes and a glass of Serina Merlot. Highly recommend.

We met our driver back at our prearranged pickup spot at 1:45 pm and were dropped back off at the Triton Fountain. This gave us about 2.5 hours to walk the streets and explore Valletta before returning to the ship.

Info on 28 more Mediterranean cities: http://www.lavasurfer.com/info/mediterranean-secrets.html

Excellent suggestions—thank you! I’ll definitely get up early for that sail-in!

Sound like you ought to get over to Mdina.

 

Valletta, Malta (Mdina)

 

Hint: Get up early and don't miss any of the sail-in to Valletta, it's one of the most beautiful harbors in the world. And if you get off the ship early, you'll have the to yourself until about 8:45 am.

 

Malta has way too much to offer for a single day in port. We decided to keep it fairly simple and inexpensive on our first visit: attending mass at St. John’s Co-Cathedral, visiting Mdina, enjoying lunch, then returning to Valletta for further exploration.

 

St. John’s Cathedral aka "Co-Cathedral" is a must-see. However, due to services, it's closed to tours on Sunday and pictures are prohibited. You can still visit the church if you'd like to go to mass (no charge) at 9:15 am. On any other day, you can get a ticket for €10 per person, and visit Caravaggio's painting of the beheading of John the Baptist. Either way, the interior of this church, built in the 1570s by the Order of the Knights of St. John, is spectacular with it's painted ceiling frescos, marble and gold columns and arches, and ornate inlaid marble tombstones that cover the entire floor! They commemorate some of the most illustrious knights of the Order and date from the early seventeenth century into the late eighteenth century.

 

 

You have to work your way up since the old city is on the cliff top. As long as you use the elevator it shouldn't take you longer than 20 minutes to walk to the Co-cathedral from the ship. Turn right upon exiting the cruise terminal and walk towards the Barakka Lift (€1,00 up / free down). The Lift will let you out at the Upper Barakka Gardens which offers nice views overlooking the harbor. Start walking down Castille Street and turn right on either Republic Street (three blocks). Walk down 2.5 blocks to Triq San Gwann. You can't miss the Co-Cathedral.

 

Following mass at St. John’s Co-Cathedral, we walked back down Republic Street and out the City Gate to pickup a taxi near Triton Fountain. I prearranged roundtrip transportation online with eCabs to Mdina and back (just €5 per person each way for a party of 8). A comfortable van was waiting on us when we arrived.

 

 

The driver dropped us off at the Mdina Gate. Mdina is a small, walled town with narrow streets. “The elegance of the architecture, the pop of colors, the panoramic views and the sheer beauty of the town are all incredible. You can really feel as if you are in another time when here.” This is one of the “Game of Thrones” filming locations. After exploring the walled city, we went back out the front gate to get lunch at BOTTEGIN PALAZZO XARA, a reasonably priced restaurant which had received rave reviews online.

 

 

It's only a 6-minute walk to the restaurant at Palazzo Xara, Triq San Pawl, Rabat RBT1243, but we had some trouble finding it despite the building's distinctive dark royal blue doors and shutters. We chose to eat outside in their courtyard. Two of our fellow travelers enjoyed pasta dishes while my wife and I loved our locally raised roasted rabbit with pumpkin-infused mashed potatoes and a glass of Serina Merlot. Highly recommend.

 

We met our driver back at our prearranged pickup spot at 1:45 pm and were dropped back off at the Triton Fountain. This gave us about 2.5 hours to walk the streets and explore Valletta before returning to the ship.

 

Info on 28 more Mediterranean cities: http://www.lavasurfer.com/info/mediterranean-secrets.html

If you are there on Oct 27th like us....be advised that the must see St. John Cathedral is closed on Saturday afternoons. Some of my notes so far: Don't miss sail in....Taxi is approx. 25 euro per hour...Cannon fire 4pm St Paul Church...buses are unreliable...rent taxi for 4 hours approx. 80 euros....don't miss Mdina (Game of Thrones site)...fun train Rabat route 5 euro and stops at Mdina. Join our roll call.....https://www.cruisecritic.com/rollcalls/jewel-of-the-seas-october-24-2018/

If you are there on Oct 27th like us....be advised that the must see St. John Cathedral is closed on Saturday afternoons.

We are there on Sunday, October 14, 2018 and the main reason I wanted

Malta on our itinerary was to see the Cathedral. Darn!

I guess we will have to visit again.

If you are there on Oct 27th like us....be advised that the must see St. John Cathedral is closed on Saturday afternoons. Some of my notes so far: Don't miss sail in....Taxi is approx. 25 euro per hour...Cannon fire 4pm St Paul Church...buses are unreliable...rent taxi for 4 hours approx. 80 euros....don't miss Mdina (Game of Thrones site)...fun train Rabat route 5 euro and stops at Mdina. Join our roll call.....https://www.cruisecritic.com/rollcalls/jewel-of-the-seas-october-24-2018/

We have never experienced issues with the local buses. You can actually walk to the main bus station from the port (use the elevator to get up the hill) where you can check schedules. The buses do depart on time but traffic can certainly have some impact on the various stops (just like anywhere on earth). For the more adventuress we have always enjoyed renting a car for the day and driving all over the island. But for a first time visit we would recommend splitting one's time between Mdina and Valletta.

Hank

I also have had no problem using the buses on three visits to Malta. They are just like any other city bus (e.g., crowded) but they are inexpensive and get the job done.

For the other poster arriving on Sunday -- my first two visit to Valletta were both on Sundays but I persisted. The Co-Cathedral is worth it -- don't miss the Caravaggios.

I don't think anyone has mentioned the prehistoric sites yet, but the Hal Saflieni hypogeum is well worth a visit -- you MUST reserve in advance as they only allow a few people down at a time:

http://heritagemalta.org/museums-sites/hal-saflieni-hypogeum/

The co-cathedral is a must see, but we also really liked the St Paul Shipwreck church, a totally different experience, and free. We chose to just wander around and explore. Loved it!

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We've booked the Malta Film Tour (Game of Thrones) with Malcolm Ellul for our next May port stop...Anyone done this ?...So far I've seen some great reviews on TripAdvisor.

Thanks for all of the great information. We are wanting to take the bus to Mdina. I am having trouble navigating the Malta bus stop website. Does the bus leave from the station at Triton Fountain? How frequently do they leave? Any information is appreciated.