Malta

Malta is a tiny country just below Sicily that is not somewhere I had ever anticipated visiting at all, let alone for two whole weeks. However, my partner, Mat, got hired at a company whose headquarters are in Malta, and when they sent him there for a month of training, I used up the rest of my vacation days and joined him for over half of it.

This resulted in a holiday that was a lot different from my usual ones. You can drive across the entire island of Malta in an hour, so with two weeks, there was really no rush to fit things in. Instead I was able to chill out, sleep in, and plan for one or two activities a day.

Unfortunately, we were there in winter, so we couldn't take advantage of some of Malta's attractions like the Blue Lagoon, water park, or beaches. It's also supposed to be the sunniest country in Europe with almost 3000 hours of sun a year, and somehow it pissed down rain the entire first week I arrived. So we may not have been the luckiest with weather, but I was still getting to wear a light jacket in December, so I can't complain too much.

Malta is part of the EU, but it only recently in the 60s gained independence from the UK, and you can still see a lot of that British influence. Everyone speaks English (along with Maltese), they drive on the left side of the road, they use the UK wall plug instead of EU, and there are even red telephone booths scattered around.

Since a daily rundown of my two leisurely paced weeks in Malta would probably not benefit anyone planning a likely much shorter trip, I'll instead break down the different places and activities I did during my time.

Valletta

Valletta is Malta's capital and the place I would recommend basing yourself for your trip. It's a UNESCO World Heritage site and has maintained a lot of old world charm. It's also incredibly easy to walk across the whole city with dedicated pedestrian streets, although be warned that there are a lot of hills (they do at least have gradual steps carved in).

When Mat's family came for a week, we stayed at an Air BnB, but he and I went back on our own for our last weekend in Malta and booked the Palazzo Ignazio Boutique Hotel. I opted for a room with a private hot tub on the balcony which was a little out of my usual price range, but I had a free night with hotels.com and wanted to surprise Mat with something special for our last two nights.

This definitely made our weekend. Along with our own hot tub, there was a free spa on the first floor which we booked a private time slot for and had another hot tub as well as a sauna. They even let us bring down our own drinks.

Cisk is the beer of Malta and our hearts

There was also free breakfast in the attached cafe, and the staff was incredibly accommodating whether it was checking on our hot tub temperatures, opening our wine bottles, giving us free mini muffins to take in the spa, or the general manager coming to chat with us at checkout about our stay.

Shame we had to complain about the hot tub view.

Valletta is also just a super cute base to be in. There are countless restaurants, bars, gelaterias, and shops on every alleyway, although you'll have to make a concentrated effort to find non-Italian food. They also had heated tents on the street for winter. One of my favorite meals was at a pizza place, San Paolo Naufrago, just because the alley it is located in is so adorable and atmospheric. It was very lively while they were showing the World Cup.

My top dining recommendation is Cafe Cordina. We liked it so much I ended up back there three different times. They have both breakfast and lunch menus, pastries, and great coffee and smoothies. You can sit out in the sun in the plaza in front of the library, or in their super charming interior.

For sightseeing, you'll want to stop by the Triton Fountain...

the Prime Minister's office...

St. John's Co-Cathedral...

...and the Barrakka Gardens. The Barrakka Gardens have both an upper and lower section which are not connected to each other. The lower seems a bit smaller, but it has a cool view to this big war memorial.

The upper gardens have great views across to the Three Cities (and lots of cats!).

Don't let the 15 euro entry fee discourage you from visiting St. John's. I have been to a multitude of famous churches, and this is easily in my top 5. Jawdropping, seriously. So much gold. There are many alcoves to the sides with different features, a free audio guide, a crypt, and a balcony at the back you can climb for views.

Also, the cathedral houses Caravaggio paintings, including the famous Beheading of John the Baptist, and you can watch a short and well-done renactment film about his life.

We also happened to be in Valletta during the Christmas market which was cute! There was a lot less shopping than most European Christmas markets, but they had wooden stalls set up all around the area near the Triton Fountain with food and drinks, plus a bar area. We rode the ferris wheel and went ice skating.

Luqa

The Malta airport is located in Luqa, which was where Mat was doing training during that time. His work had put him up in a shared apartment in the small town, which we only stayed in three nights of my visit. The place was spacious but soulless, wifi didn't reach his room at the far end, his "double bed" was actually two completely separate twins pushed together which meant we had to sleep horizontal so we didn't fall through the middle, everything in there kept somehow ending up damp, and of course, we had to share with a roommate.

As an alternative, we booked a very cute and cheap Air BnB a few blocks away in Luqa, and that was much better. It was still only for a few nights, as despite being centrally located on the island, Luqa doesn't have much to offer on its own. Most of the food joints are just streetfront takeaways, the bars are a bit odd and tiny and very much full of locals who all seem to know one another, and there's no sightseeing to be had.

Here's one of the two sights worth photographing in Luqa.

Also, the local cat gang hangs out on a particular street with cathouses and NONE of them wanted to be friends.

The look you get when infringing on rival turf.

I even tried to walk to Tarxien one day, being a reasonable distance, but the walking directions took me straight into a huge and busy roundabout that was impossible to cross, and I ended up going 10 minutes off track until I hit another series of impassable highways and had to wait in an industrial park for a Bolt to come get me instead (Malta's version of Uber). You will definitely want to download the Bolt app - quick, very reliable even in out of the way spots, and most of my trips were only $9-15.

Tarxien

So I did make it Tarxien with Bolt and saw the Tarxien Temples there. Malta has a few of these ancient (like BC ancient) temple sites scattered around the island. The sites are small and covered with a protective canopy, and you can walk around and through them on a metal path. A lot of it is just ruins, but some pieces are still fairly intact including carvings, large vases or jugs, and most famously, the bottom half of a sculpture of a large woman. It's not even known exactly what the temple was used for, but burnt bones of animals were found in pots, so they've theorized it could have been for feasts or ritual sacrifices.

It will take less than a half hour to see the Tarxien Temple even if you read all of the placards, so I fit a couple of other spots into my day. Nearby, there's the Church of All Souls which is a modern building (I didn't see a way inside) with a pretty cool little cemetery out front.

I also really enjoyed the Chinese Garden of Serenity I stopped at about midway between Tarxien and Luqa. It had a pretty fountain you can sit in the middle of on the rocks, sculptures depicting traditional aspects of Chinese life, a lion gate, and a big pond surrounded by pretty Chinese buildings. My only complaint is that it's not very serene to place a busy highway right next to your Garden of Serenity.

It was the incessant noise of traffic that really set the vibe.

Blue Grotto

On the southwest coast of Malta, you can find the Blue Grotto which was a nice little day trip. There are boats running from the shore all day which are just 8 euro (cash only) and will take you through the series of caves in the cliffside.

There are also a bunch of little cafes and restaurants up above on land. I had originally planned to make this a two part trip and go up the coast to the Dingli Cliffs afterwards, but the data on my cell phone decided to give out for a full day or two shortly after I got to the Grotto (this happened a couple times on my Malta trip for no good reason - I usually had full bar 4G). I was able to get a Bolt by using a cafe's wifi, but I was afraid I may not find an option for that in Dingli so chose to skip it.

Gozo

I cannot recommend enough taking the ferry to Gozo for a weekend! It's the smaller island right above Malta, and it's less developed (which means longer stretches of gorgeous green countryside).

I spent my 34th birthday weekend here and loved it. The ferry is cheap and only takes about 20 minutes. They also run all day and night, so it's super easy to go back and forth. From the Gozo ferry terminal, you can get a bus or a Bolt up to Victoria or further north.

We stayed at Ta'Pinu B&B about one bus stop above Victoria, and it was the coolest place! The walls were all stone, making it feel like a cave, and it had a circular underground pool that was so neat.

There was a rooftop patio with green hilly views surrounding it, and we also happened to be the only people there that weekend since they'd just reopened after renovations. The owners were so nice, and they cook you a personalized hot meal for breakfast (as well as providing a bowl of amazing breads).

It was only about a 20 minute walk to Ta'Pinu Shrine from the B&B, so that was our first stop after checking in. It's really striking because it's in the middle of a totally vast country landscape. The inside isn't quite as impressive, but out front there are some cool mosaic stations of the cross.

Down near Victoria, we took a trip to the Lord Chambray Brewery, the only brewery in Gozo. It was tiny, but they offered flights with plenty of IPA and sour options, and you'll find their beers around Malta.

Also quite close to our B&B was the Tal-Massar winery which is where we went for the evening. It was chilly, so the outdoor introduction to the grounds was cut very short to let us get inside, warm up, and start drinking (no complaints). There was a pretty large group of about a dozen people, and we were spaced out between a couple tables. Everyone got their own charcuterie board, and each group (whoever you came with) had breads and dips to share.

This was amazing value for money. About $40 but the charcuterie was top notch (omg the array of cheeses), and the owner will get you drunk. We tried 5-6 wines going from white to rose to red to port, and each group gets a whole carafe that gets continually refilled. He even gave me a mostly full bottle to take with me for my birthday.

We were both fairly hammered by the time we got home and took a tipsy night swim in the cave pool.

I had to cut a few things out of my Gozo trip because of weather as it rained ALL weekend. We were worried they might stop the ferry at some point on Sunday because of the intensity of the winds, so we made sure to get on it by noon. Our patio door in our bathroom had been banging all night, and that morning we went for a walk on the old walls of Victoria and were being literally pushed off our feet by the wind.

Beautiful place to die.

I'd really wanted to go to the Tal-Mixta Cave and Ramla Beach on the east coast of the island, but the rain killed that plan, and I also would have definitely stopped on Comino to swim in the Blue Lagoon on the way back if we'd been there in summer.

Marsaxlokk

On the south coast of Malta, there's a port town called Marsaxlokk that is worth a visit. I had lovely sunny weather while I was down and enjoyed all the colorful boats docked there. They have an open air market with souvenir shopping, and there are a couple of streetside bars where you can sit in the sun for a drink.

I also took a Bolt to St Peter's Pool nearby, and that was a nice natural swimming area surrounded by cliffs. I thought the water was way too chilly to get in, but there were still people swimming in December.

It's 60 degrees out. What are you, a penguin?

Popeye Village

I don't know how to properly express my sheer delight with Popeye Village on Malta's northwest coast, but if you too share a love of campy theme attractions, you must put this at the top of your list. I was new to the fact that Robin Williams starred in a live-action Popeye movie back in the 80s, but it was filmed in Malta, and they turned the set into a theme park afterwards.

The whole place is so cartooney and even has character actors who do songs throughout the day.

You can walk through the Oyl house, mayor's office, and other set buildings, get food or beers and enjoy them on the wooden docks, pick up a free postcard in the gift shop, and enjoy a complimentary popcorn in the old-fashioned movie theater where you watch a film about the making of the movie.

There was a big sundeck, although since we went in winter, all the loungers were pushed against the walls. There were also game areas that included mini golf, wooden "air" hockey, an illusion room, and other lawn games. Plus they do a seasonal display, which in our case was a Christmas walkthrough with multiple detailed rooms showing Santa's workshops.

But best of all are the views! All these staggered houses with their sloping roofs are right on the most beautiful turquoise water. It's worth at least stopping at the viewpoint.

Ugh, it was wonderful. One of my favorite days in Malta.

Mdina

The walled city that used to be Malta's capital is one of the main sights to see on the island. The only people allowed to drive inside are city residents which helps retain its medieval feel.

The main attraction is St Paul's Cathedral, and entry also gets you access to the adjacent museum which contains a bunch of art.

Along with that, we hopped into the gorgeous little Carmelite Priory, had drinks at the Fontanella Tea Garden and the medieval tavern, and took in the views from the walls. There's a museum in the city too.

Just outside the walls in Rabat, you can also visit St. Paul's Catacombs. There are dozens of underground tombs you can walk through. Probably not for the claustrophobic.

And more cats!!

St Julian's

If you want a big night out, St. Julian's is the place. This is the more modern and developed part of the city (also lacking charm and full of hotels). I only spent one night here barhopping, and take into account that I was out on a Tuesday night in winter. The Thirsty Barber was a throwback style cocktail bar I enjoyed, then we stopped in The Long Hall Irish pub which was very busy with a World Cup match on. They had my favorite scotch for cheap, so I was happy.

Thirsty Barber

We then attempted to try out a club or two, but that was a failure. Footloose was absolutely vacant - even the bartenders looked apologetic when we walked into an empty dancefloor and then walked right back out. Havana Club next door was not much better. There were maybe ten people, but they all looked 18, and the alcohol selection sucked.

Instead, we hit up Nordic Bar which we had passed on our walk and looked bumping. This was a blast and where we spent the rest of the night. Great vibe, free drink ticket on entry, good music, and everyone on their feet dancing. Also more of a party bar vibe than a club.

Overall, I had a fun night out but didn't feel too pressed that I never spent more time in St Julian's.

Three Cities

Across the water from Valletta are the Three Cities, Birgu/Vittoriosa, Senglea, and Cospicua. They're fortified cities where you visit the old military forts and museums, and if you don't feel like walking between them, you can do a boat tour from Valletta.

I had my best meal in Malta at Hammett's Macina in Cospicua, a Michelin restaurant, and also tried some excellent street vendor coffee nearby.

Birgu across the bridge was great to wander as well with pretty views over the harbor and lunch in a picturesque courtyard at BeBirgu.

Malta has scooters scattered around that you can rent by downloading an app, and Mat and I rented one for an hour and zoomed around the area.

Weekend in Sicily

Sicily and Malta are so close to each other that it's the perfect combination for a holiday. Direct flights between Malta and Catania are only 40 minutes long and very cheap on Air Malta. You can see Mt Etna as soon as you land! There's also a ferry that runs between the islands.

We spent two nights in Catania and included a day trip to Taormina. You can read about that separately here.

So should you visit Malta? Not for two weeks, but yes. This would be a great spot for a long weekend if you're based in Europe or for a combination trip with Italy if you're doing a longer vacation. Say hi to the cats and drink a Cisk for me!