Visiting Valletta

Exploring the capital

The capital city of Malta, Valletta, is hands down one of my favourite cities to visit. The beautiful history and culture that is prevalent within Valletta is one to be awed at. A lot.

There are many bus routes that will take you directly into Valletta, meaning that travelling there is never really a problem, unless you are travelling at a peak time, which means that commuting there can actually be quite stressful.

Never the less, upon arriving into Valletta for the first time, I was absolutely stunned. The drive through into the city itself means views of wonderful light stoned walls and arches, which makes for lovely scenery during the commute there.

When walking towards the centre, one is greeted by the architectural wonder that is the Triton Fountain. The Triton fountain features three bronzed Tritons holding up a basin which is balanced on a concentric base made out of concrete.

Above: Triton Fountain, Valletta

I was expecting this fountain to be steeped in history, but actually came to find that it was actually created in the 1950’s.

The fountain sits at the site of the previous keeper of the city, which was once home to the St Madeleine lunette, which was erected in the 16thcentury, but deconstructed in the 19thcentury, where the space where it once sat was filled with rubble.

The government then launched a competition in 1953 which saw a request for designers to create a new fountain that would sit at the gate of Valetta. The winner of such competition was sculptor Vincent Apap, who won £100 for his design.

Beneath the structure of the fountain are a series of chambers and passageways that allow for the maintenance and connectivity to the water and electrical services.

The fountain at night is illuminated which makes the piece look even more spectacular.

Once you have spent a sufficient amount of time exploring the wonder of the fountain, the bridge aside it will lead you into the city. There are normally the lovely peaceful sounds of buskers that accompany your walk. I always like to show my support for buskers and live music performers as I have some friends who do similar work and they have told me about the struggle of maintaining an income from such work.

These people are simply trying to make a living which can often be difficult when there is a lot of competition in the surrounding area, particularly seen as though Malta has such a prevalent musical and artistic front.

As we strolled past the beautiful monuments and restaurant fronts, we were then greeted by the bustling main street, which houses Valletta’s shops, eateries and other retailers. Here I purchased one of the best ice creams I had ever encountered, from the lovely shop named Amorino. Here the prices are slightly hefty for an ice cream, but I can tell you now, it is entirely worth the price. The quality, aesthetic, taste and service meant that I would have paid double what I had done, as the entire experience was simply that good.

The range of flavours that were on offer at this small gelato in the heart of Valletta was astounding and we were even told that you could choose as many flavours as you desired. I opted for the sorbet route, as it was incredibly hot that day, so something refreshing such as a sorbet would do the trick nicely. I more often than not prefer sorbet to ice cream anyway as it is not as heavy on the stomach. I opted for a collection of Mango, Passionfruit, Lemon and Mandarin sorbets, which were delicately manipulated into the shape of a rose. Needless to say, the shape of the rose did not last for very long as the sweltering temperature outside was melting the beautiful concoction.

Above: The beautiful ice cream from Amorino

You have to work very quickly with your ice cream when in Malta, as the temperatures have reached up to 36 degrees since I have been here.

After indulging in a small treat, we then headed for a walk around the beautiful centre, taking numerous photos whilst on our exploration. The city is entirely photogenic, making it perfect for those Instagram shots that every traveller loves to get.

We stumbled across the beautiful St John Co-Cathedral, which is definitely a sight to behold. The aesthetic of the building is awe inspiring, as its grandeur is a spectacle. The Roman Catholic Co-Cathedral was dedicated to Saint John the Baptist and built by the Order of St John somewhere between 1572 and 1577.

The exterior of the cathedral was built in Mannerist style, which was typical of the cathedral’s architect Girolamo Cassar, who designed many other buildings throughout Malta and Valletta. We did not get the chance to go inside the cathedral as it was quite late on in the evening, however, we did find many other buildings and places that we could admire.

Above: Exterior of the St John Co-Cathedral

After a peaceful stroll around the city centre we decided that it would be nice to have a break and grab a beverage from a nearby restaurant. We could some soft jazz coming from a certain direction, which we obviously had to follow. We stumbled upon a beautiful outdoor bar that had some live music playing in the evening. Entirely atmospheric, we felt completely relaxed and at one with Malta as we were surrounded by locals who had also come to enjoy the melancholic sounds.

The band played a series of songs that were local to the area, some British classics and other instrumental works of their own, which made for enjoyment by all those there during the evening. The bar here was also very reasonably priced for a city such as Valletta. I opted for a glass of Merlot, which would cost you €3.75 for a full glass. Although, I am pretty certain that the quantity I was given was not marked at the correct price range, but never the less, it was a nice little treat to be given a full glass of wine.

We then moved on down to the wonderful fort St Elmo. This building is one that is a must see when visiting Valletta. Just the walk down towards the site is something very special. Here, you really see the typical rustic houses that you associate with Malta and to our surprise, a lot of cats for us to make friends with too. We spent the rest of our night here, surrounded by a beautiful sunset.

Above: The sunset from Fort St Elmo

(For more information on Fort St Elmo, then please visit my post on my trip there during the Lunar Eclipse.)

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