A Fascinating Day in the City of Knights

Chronicles of Valletta: A Day Filled With Heritage and Marvels

Which is the southernmost capital in Europe?

Looking at the map, it’s not easy to determine this.

So, I did some research, and the winner is the capital of Cyprus, Nicosia.

I always thought that Valletta, the capital of Malta, was the southernmost capital in Europe.

I was mistaken as Nicosia is at latitude 35.17 while Valletta is at latitude 35.88.

I have been many times in Nicosia in recent years due to my work, where I managed a multi-year IT project. But, I had not yet visited Malta.

So, my wife and I decided to explore the island of Malta in December, during which the discovery of Valletta was a must.

A Day-trip in History

UNESCO described Valletta as “one of the most concentrated historic areas in the world” when it named Valletta a World Heritage Site.

Due to this, it was not easy for us to make the most of our city visit in one day.

As our accommodation was in St. Paul’s Bay, a splendid sea-view hotel, after a hearty breakfast, we boarded a local bus. We arrived at Valletta’s central bus station in about half an hour.

The bustling bus terminal did not seem very interesting. Orienting ourselves with the help of modern technology, we headed towards the city gate.

Passing through a modern square, we noticed a sizable fountain featuring three bronze tritons on a stone base.

To our greatest surprise, the gate of city was not classical but modern.

The City Gate project by Renzo Piano was a complex operation to reconfigure the entrance to the city of Valletta, finished in 2015.

After passing through the city gate, we aimed for the furthest point of the historical city. “The Malta Experience,” which was a tourist attraction. A short guided tour combined with a film screening at the Holy Infirmary of the Knights of St John.

I had to check my phone to see where we were and which direction to take to arrive on time for the soon-to-start program. The rush did not allow us to admire the buildings, squares, and the hustle and bustle, as our attention was dedicated to the correct direction and pace.

Finally, we arrived on time. The film summarized the history of Malta, reaching back to ancient times. After the film, a fantastic tour guide presented in detail The Sacra Infermeria, the Holy Infirmary of the Knights of St John. We could explore restored, over 400-year-old, massive and long hospital rooms.

Next, we viewed the famous St. Elmo’s Fort from the outside, housing the National War Museum within its walls. We spared ourselves from visiting it. Given the current troubles in the world, we did not want to further evoke historical conflicts.

Leaving the fort’s walls, we admired the fantastic buildings. The colorful wooden balconies were particularly special.

Then, we immersed ourselves in the narrow streets of Valletta, which, due to the city’s topography, ran up and down.

We returned to the southern part of the city. We visited the free-to-enter Lower Barrakka Gardens, offering a magnificent view of the harbor and the sea.

Sitting on a bench in the park, we enjoyed the sparkling sunlight peeking through the clouds.

We then realized we were hungry and decided it was time to find a good place for our late lunch.

Valletta offers many culinary delights, but the options were somewhat limited for us as vegetarians. Still, managed to find a highly-rated vegetarian restaurant a few minutes away, with a tempting name: Soul Food.

Lunch was excellent, and we were ready for more experiences.

Our next destination was The Grand Master’s Palace. The most visited site in Heritage Malta’s portfolio, welcoming around 200,000 visitors each year.

To our greatest surprise, the palace was closed due to renovation work!

This was a major disappointment, as we wanted to visit it. In late September, we visited the Grand Master’s Palace in Rhodes, which the Order of the Knights had to abandon in the 16th century and move to Valletta.

So, we had to settle for admiring this grandiose building block from the outside.

We continued our exploration in the city center.

After much effort, we resisted the sweets offered by Caffe Cordina, although we eyed the mouth-watering pastries for a long time.

Then, we proceeded along Republic Street, which we identified as a kind of promenade, full of shops and bustling activity.

Here, the entrance to St. John’s Cathedral opened on the right, but it was about to close. Since there were only 20 minutes until closing time, and the entrance fee was not cheap, we decided to visit the cathedral on another occasion.

The conventual church built by the Order of the Knights of St John was completed in 1577, soon after the Great Siege of Valletta. The Order dedicated this church to St John the Baptist.

By the way, the cathedral houses two masterpieces by Caravaggio. The monumental ‘The Beheading of St John the Baptist,’ and another less-known work, ‘St Jerome Writing.’ Viewing these paintings alone justifies a visit to the cathedral.

As the afternoon turned late, and we had more or less visited Valletta’s landmarks. As a final highlight, we wanted to admire this unique medieval city from the water. So, we headed to the ferry terminal to Sliema, which operates quite frequently.

We arrived just in time for departure. We went to the upper deck of the boat, where a marvelous view of the impressive historical city unfolded before us. Valletta presented itself in all its glory, and the cloud cover made the city’s appearance even more mysterious.

Docking in Sliema, we took a stroll along the long promenade, then decided it was time to head back to our hotel as it was getting dark.

We spent a wonderful and memorable day in Valletta. I’m sure we will return to visit the Grand Master’s Palace and see the Caravaggio paintings in St. John’s Cathedral.

I hope I managed to inspire you to explore the city, which I highly recommend!

Thank you for taking the time to read my story.

If you enjoyed it and are interested in my Maltese adventures, I recommend reading the following travelogues as well.

Hello, I’m Jozsef Kovacs. I’m writing about leadership, project management and traveling. Click here if you would like to be notified when I publish.