Valletta, Malta, Trip Report

[LostFan#1]

We had a 1-10pm port stop early May on Celebrity's Constellation. Be sure to be on deck early for arrival into this amazing walled city.

 

 

 

It is a bit of a walk but an easy walk to the elevator (E1 ticket at the automated kiosk), which lets you out at the Upper Gardens (quite small but lovely).

 

 

 

We rushed to St. John’s Co-Cathedral before it closed at 4pm (E4.60 sr., with headset). The cathedral offered more to see than we anticipated, including the room with the only signed Caravaggio and the museum with an impressive collection of clerical robes, illuminated manuscripts, and more. This is a must-see.

 

 

 

We had planned to get the local bus to Mdina before walking around Valletta, and I even had the bus timetable, but with so much time spent in the cathedral, we sadly had to nix that. I had downloaded a good walking tour of Valletta, so we used that, went back to the ship for dinner, and returned to walk around some more after sunset. We did not know the elevator stopped running at 9pm, so take note!! We got lost looking for it, found a policeman, asked directions, and when he told us it had just closed for the night, he then pointed us the way to walk down (it is a significant but not difficult walk) to the ship. We had a bit of a panic there as the ship was leaving at 10!

[Chloe1500]

Thank you for your report! We are headed there soon and plan to do a walking tour on our own as well. Is there a link to the one you used? Thank you.

Edited May 26, 2015 by Chloe1500

[LostFan#1]

See if these links work. For Mdina,

 

http://maltatourguide.com/tour/show/11

 

She doesn't get explicit about what the significance is of everything, but the description is good. At the top of that link, click on "click here to view map," which I also printed. If the link doesn't work, go to maltatourguide.com, and look for Mdina walking tour.

 

This is the link for Valletta: http://www.planetware.com/tourist-attractions-/valletta-m-m-vall.htm#VAL-N

 

If that doesn't work, go to planetware.com and search for Top 12 Tourist Attractions in Valletta. Great descriptions and a map.

 

Finally, visitmalta.com, malta-guide.net, and maltatourguide.com were helpful. Have a great trip!

[Chloe1500]

That works. Thank you!

[celebrity]

Malta was a huge surprise for us. We fell in love with it when we docked. So clean, felt very safe and the Cathedral is spectacular. We hope to return someday.

Yes, it is a must to watch the sail into the harbor. It's magical.

[the mice]

My husband and I spent a week in Malta in late November 2006. We really enjoyed that week. We rode the Malta buses everywhere and found the history and sights very impressive.

 

We returned to Malta on an Azamara cruise in November 2009, with only about a 6 hour port stop. You must be on deck for the arrival - just spectacular. We revisited St. John Co-Cathedral and Upper Barracka Gardens where I stood arms length from King Juan Carlos of Spain, and we also visited the Maneul Theatre, which we missed on our week's stay. We were so thankful that we had already spent a week there, because 8 hours or less is not enough time to experience Malta. There is so much to see -Valletta and all its sights, Mdina, the Hypogeum, the catacombs, island of Gozo and the Ggantia Temples, Mosta dome, the craft village, the 3 cities of the Knights of Malta, the harbor cruise, promenade walk, and more. We experienced the St Elmo reenactment and came upon a pageant in Mdina. Even in a week there were places we never got to. Malta was definitely a delightful surprise to us.