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When you think of capital cities, what comes to mind?
Embassies. Bureaucrats. People in suits. Endless meetings. People so protective of their government-oriented careers that they wouldn’t dare rat out an enemy — well, unless they were Frank Underwood. Forget money. Power is the primary currency here.
That may be the case in Washington or London or Singapore or Brasilia…but not in Valletta. It is the single most un-capital-like capital I have ever visited.
Valletta is an incredibly romantic city, characterized by its brightly colored balconies and religious statues carved into street corners. It was one of the first planned cities in the world, and the gridded streets rise and fall with the hills, far more organized than the rest of the country. The city is one of Malta’s three UNESCO World Heritage Sites.
Valletta is tiny — the population is only about 6,000! And there are no embassies or consulates here. Most of them are headquartered in drool-inducing seaside mansions in nearby Ta’Xbiex.
On my first visit to Malta, I stayed in Sliema and took the 10-minute ferry to Valletta for a day trip. At the time, I declared Sliema to be the best place to be based on a trip to Malta, and Valletta lovely, but too small and quiet to be based there the whole time.
It makes sense — Sliema, along with St. Julian’s next door, is the center of the world for both the Maltese and tourists. It’s got the seafront, the hotels, the restaurants, the nightlife.
But on my second visit, I was based in Valletta, staying at the gorgeous Palazzo Prince d’Orange as part of the Blog Island campaign. Soon I learned that Valletta wasn’t as quiet as I had thought it would be — in fact, it was just the right level of noise, except on Sundays, when everything would more or less close down.
And the view of the Grand Harbour? It’s the best seafront view in all of Malta.
If I wanted to go to Sliema, it would only be a 10-minute ferry ride away from Valletta. I took advantage of that more than once!
But the best part of staying in Valletta? I would wake up in the morning, walk out the front door of the Palazzo, and see this.
There’s a lot of value in being based in a place as beautiful as this.
This time I took advantage of my location and explored Valletta more deeply. Valletta is a peninsula leading off the mainland, and its more glamorous part is the part closest to the mainland. Here you’ll find immaculate squares, beautifully painted balconies, and plenty of tourists.
But when you head further down toward the end of the peninsula, the feeling in the air changes. It becomes simpler, blue collar, a bit rougher. (I was told that this part of Valletta used to be one of the roughest neighborhoods on the island back in the day, but it has since improved.)
Malta is peculiar in that you feel like you’re living in two different decades — the present day and perhaps the sixties or seventies.
The latter manifests itself in elderly ladies who spend their days looking out their balconies and gossiping; in traditional Maltese homes with plastic-covered couches and giant portraits of the Virgin Mary hanging above beds; in the vintage bars where you almost expect to see World War II-era sailors cavorting; in the religious festas that dominate the summer months.
But more than anywhere else on the island, this outer part of Valletta feels even more so like it’s from another era. Young boys kiss their uncles on the cheek in greeting. Construction workers blast 80s power ballads as they build. Maltese is the only language you hear. Threats are scrawled on signs in tiny grocery stores.
If it weren’t for the occasional smartphone, modern car or reference to Facebook, you could assume that no time had passed at all.
While Valletta is a relic, it’s also changing rapidly, especially in the more modern part of the city. New restaurants are moving in and stay open until late. Canny investors are snapping up the older properties and converting them into modern guesthouses.
Valletta is going to be a place to watch over the next few years, and I’ll be keeping an eye on it.
By the time my second visit concluded, I had completely changed my mind — I was smitten with Valletta and I only wanted to stay here in the future.
Here’s the truth: Mario and I talk about buying property in Malta someday. Somewhere we can rent out most of the time and stay when we visit. All this time, we’ve been leaning toward Sliema or St. Julian’s — but now Valletta has jumped to the top of our list.
After all, being able to walk out and be surrounded by beauty every day is its own reward.
Kate’s Favorite Valletta Spots
Gambrinus — My favorite cafe for coffee and pastizzi in the morning. There’s no other way to start a day in Malta. You’ll probably be the only non-Maltese person in there! Their pastizzi will be gone by 11 AM and possibly before.
Cafe Ranieri — A great alternative if Gambrinus is out of pastizzi. Also has a nice selection of cakes.
Nenu the Artisan Baker — A sexy new subterranean restaurant built out of an old bakery and featuring haute Maltese specialties, including some gorgeous ftira (Maltese-style open sandwiches that are simply masterpieces here).
Luciano Restaurant — Solid Maltese specialties in an interesting space filled with vintage photos. The Maltese pizza, topped with Maltese sausage and Gozitan cheese, is nice here.
Badass Cafe — I can’t believe a city like Valletta is home to a place called Badass Cafe, but the food is delicious and the burgers are top notch. The Maltese burger is a combination of Maltese sausage and rabbit! They also have KINNIE MILKSHAKES.
Ting Tong Bar — A vintage spot on Strait Street covered with photos of cavorting sailors from the 1940s and 50s. Great tapas and cocktails.
This post was brought to you as a result of the Blog Island Malta campaign, created and managed by iambassador in partnership with the Malta Tourism Authority and the support of Air Malta. Adventurous Kate maintains full editorial control of the content published on this site.
Stunning pics! Valletta looks amazing, didn’t know much about it before reading, but looks like a gem for sure. Sounds like the time to visit may be now, as things could be changing (not a bad thing necessarily, just a reality of most special places!)
I fully expect Valletta to look different in two years or so. The time to go is soon, all right!
No, Valletta will be the same forever. The government is seeing to that, in fact ancient buildings are being restored to the original format and the city will keep on blooming… and come to that, even other towns and villages in Malta and the sister island of Gozo, that host historical buildings
Well, I must say it’s very tastefully colorful. the balconies, as you said, are so beautifully painted. The sights of Valletta look so gorgeous – in fact, so modest that it doesn’t look like a typical ‘capital’ city. You have very rightly pointed out that it’s the least capital-like capital.
Haha, love the sign and threats that guy has written and the shiny orange little wrangler looking thing! Looks great Kate.
Those pictures are dreamy. I like it!
That city looks so beautiful. I can imagine wanting to retire there. Plus the view from the water is amazing!
Also, that sign about shoplifters being outed on Facebook made me legit laugh out loud.
Great post and i love the pictures :)!
Great post! I can’t wait to check out Valletta this fall!
That CCTV sign is hilarious! You would NEVER see that in London or elsewhere in Europe for that matter.
Looks gorgeous! I nearly made it there when I was living in London (my friend pulled out on a trip). I will definitely be visiting next time I am in Europe, there always seems to be such cheap deals to get there.
It is definitely worth your time! You can fly from London on Air Malta or Easyjet.
Valletta is so beautiful. You’re right it does not have a bureaucratic feel to it.
One of my favourite places – wish I was there now, the Jazz Festival is on in a couple of days…
http://www.maltajazzfestival.org/index.php
Looks like my kind of capital!
Good luck with purchasing property in Valletta, there are good deals to be done if you find an old unconverted apartment and then fix it up. But it involves a lot of work, and they are still not exactly cheap. but could be a good investment anyway.
Yes, I’m aware that it’s quite an undertaking. Made slightly easier by the fact that Mario is a citizen and has lots of family there.
Great pictures! Beautiful 🙂 I love the CCTV sign hahah!
My grandfather was from Malta and his family still lives there. Some day I will travel to visit this beautiful country. I appreciate all the beautiful photos and your words about this lovely country. My grandfather always spoke fondly of his country and I can’t wait to visit myself.
I LOVE the architecture in this city – it’s definitely been put on my list after hearing you talk about it so much!
Valletta looks amazing. I so love the old architecture, the cobbled streets and the water view. That warning sign is hilarious too. Criminals, you’ve been warned LOL!
A great shout-out!
Kate… Of all the blogs and pictures I’ve seen of Europe, this is the first one that has actually made.me.want to go back! I didnt know much about Malta, but after this post, Im inspired to go! Well done !
All of your Malta picks have had it on the top of my Musts list for the past year!!
Malta looks and sounds amazing. I love that sign! Too funny!!
Hahah, love that CCTV sign! Precious. Thanks for the tips, Malta sure would be an interesting destination to visit. One for the list…
Our world is full of funny signs 🙂 I liked that Facebook sign pretty much.
When I lived in Malta, I came to Valletta to relax. That’s how beautiful and peaceful it is.
Some of my photos from back then: http://andreasmoser.wordpress.com/2011/12/04/valletta-capital-of-malta/
Oh my, it looks so beautiful! I must visit Malta as soon as I can!
Valletta felt very elegant and boasting, despite the small size… Still, getting around required a lot of time and energy, so on foot it felt quite large.
Loved those Maltese balconies!
I love the way the buildings in this city are created. The windows pop out giving residents a much better view to the inhabitants. I’m guessing it also provides better light overall inside.
Valetta really is one of the most amazing capitals I have visited. The historical sights together with the size and building style makes it feel like a different world in comparisson with the rest of Europe. 🙂
Love how you wrote about Malta! I lived at this place for 6 months and LOVED IT!