Malta
Find your own story of happiness.
Malta! Sounds like somthing from a dream. Let’s get familiar with this country:
Malta, officially the Republic of Malta, consists of the main island Malta and the smaller islands of Gozo and Comino. It lies at the center of the Mediterranean, 93 km south of Sicily and 288 km north of Africa. The country became a republic in 1974.
The capital of Malta is Valletta which population is 5827. The population of the whole country is 514 564 people.
The country covers an area of 316 km²; compared, it is about twice the size of Washington, DC, and would fit into Luxembourg eight times.
The Euro is the official currency; Languages spoken by the Maltese: Maltese, English, while many others are fluent in Italian, French, Spanish or German.
In my mind there are some itineraries which may be suitable for this place.
Malta is a tourist destination with its warm climate, numerous recreational areas, and architectural and historical monuments, including UNESCO World Heritage Sites.
I imagine comething mostly cultural with the components of nature enjoying. It won’t be a long tour, because this country is small enough for journeys, but pretty big for just a trip. And it will be appropriate for adults, beacuse walking a lot and sitting at one place could be exhausting for cildren.It is also expected to be low-cost.
3 days to discover Malta!
Day 1
It’s morning time. From airport, we go to Silema to stay there. There are options:
We booked a room in the hotel “the Maltese Sun” in advance, so it would be cheaper than in other places and we’ll stay there for a cost 29–31 dollars per night in the city center. Then, after checking in, it’s time for lunch.
Go to Piadina Cafe near the hotel. Travelers say that it’s a great choice and you can have a good meal there. The avegave check is from 4 to 10 Euros.
We start our tour from Mdina, the Heart of Malta, to feel the spirit of Middle Ages first.
Mdina is an ancient walled city inhabited and possibly first fortified by the Phoenicians around 700 BC. Higher fortifications were added by Malta’s Arab rulers and Norman rulers. After the Knights Hospitaller arrived in the mid 1500’s the importance of Mdina as the seat of power faded steadily. What was once the old capital of Malta became the ‘silent city’, almost a ghost town. Today most of the palazzos belonging to the old aristocracy are being restored and the tourists bring life to the place, but there are only 300 inhabitants left.
But you can be as a guest there.
It’s possible to get there from Slima by bus in an hour. During this time, you can enjoy beautifil nature outside and read the history of this destination in brochures.
Visiting this place will take about 4–6 hours. You can choose whathever sites you want:
The Silent City itself
With its narrow streets and ancient air.
The National Museum of Natural History
The museum is located to your right as you enter the Main Gate and is popularly visited. To be fair, the museum could do with a little work and part of the interest is in the building itself: Vilhena Palace. It’s a commanding building, with its beautiful baroque facade and impressive entrance courtyard.
St Paul’s Cathedral
Easily recognisable in the skyline of Mdina, St Paul’s Cathedral (Pjazza San Pawl, in the centre) with its baroque cathedral, bastions, and palaces, is an imposing landmark visible throughout central Malta, The Cathedral is the architectural heart of this elegant, walled city, and ties on the site of a much earlier Norman church destroyed by a violent earthquake in 1693.
Palazzo Gatto Murina
Palazzo Gatto Murina, one of the earliest ‘Siculo-Norman’ structures (i.e. built between 1100 and 1530), was erected during the latter part of the 14th century. An audiovisual show “Tales of the Silent City” is housed inside the Palazzo.
And many another places!
Then — go back to the hotel and eat a dinner. In the evening it is possible to look around the hotel and go for a walk. There is a lot of intresting in Sliema too!
Day 2
We start a new day from breakfast in hotel (it’ll cost about 5 Euros) and go to use Valletta Ferry Sevices. Ticket price is 1.50 Euros at day. First, we go to St. John’s Co-Cathedral in Valletta.
Built between 1573 and 1577, this cathedral contains two masterpieces by Caravaggio. St John’s Co-Cathedral is a gem of Baroque art and architecture. It was built as the conventual church for the Knights of St John. This church is till this very day an important shrine and a sacred place of worship. It is also a venue for cultural events.
After visiting this place, we go to Upper Barrakka Gardens.
Stunning views of the grand harbour and the three cities.And sidewards views of it’s own capital.Monuments recording historic visits.A saluting battery below with demonstration of canon fire.A lift accessing the lower city.A beautiful garden with benches and a belvedere converted into a kiosk cafe, where you can get a lunch at a price of 4–6 Euros. Except for this, visiting this place will be costless.
After this, you can walk around the city too and see following places:
It’s about dinnertime and our point of visit is Sally Port — Caffe & Pizzeria.
There you’ll have a good meal and it will cost you from 3 to 10 Euros. Local residents really love this place, it’s like a ritual to visit it even a couple times a week. Great service and pizza!
Then go to use go to use Valletta Ferry Sevices (yes, again). It will cost you 1.75 Euros at night, but a beatitiful view from another bank deserves it.
Go to the hotel and be ready for the last day!
Day 3
Take a full breakfast, because we are going to visit another part of the island. I’m talking about Ghajn Tuffieha Bay. It would be strange to visit Matla and not to go swimming even once!
Ghan Tuffieha is an unspoilt area. It is flanked by 2 of the most beautiful beaches here. Golden bay and Singita beach. The area in between these two because it is so picturesque and perfect for a photo shoot. It has a red sand, wonderful views of surroundings and rocks, a stone tower and it is possible to do an excursion to other bays. A wonderful place to come in summer to the beach and in winter to do a hikking.
You can spend there even the whole day, but you can also visit Malta National Aquarium in the near city Bugibba.
Buy tickets online and you get a 10% discount on day tickets. Adult ticket costs €13.90.
Then you can visit Cactus Bar & Diner for diiner. It’s a nice restaurant that is not so expensive (from 4 to 25 Euros by meal)
Then let’s go to the hotel and pack your baggage — you are leaving tommorrow morning!
The total cost of this tour will consist about 80–120 Euros per person. It doesn’t include flight, accomodation and souvenirs.
