The capital city of Malta is definitely my new favourite place to ‘city-break’, it has everything you could possibly want. I’m going to let you know how to spend 48 hours in beautiful Valletta, see the best sights and where to eat the best food. You could quite easily lose yourself here for a week, however if you only have 48 hours in Valletta then you need to spend it wisely.
Cool Off By Tritan’s Fountain
Located by the ‘gates to Valletta’ (they don’t actually have gates, it’s more of an old bridge leading into the city through the old fort walls) you can’t miss this huge fountain. Even standing on the side I wasn’t tall enough to capture it’s magnificence. This is the area where you will enter Valletta by if you are not staying in the city itself as the bus staion is right here too.
The Upper Barracca Gardens
These old gardens are the perfect place to see over part of the city and out to the ‘3 Cities’ across the harbour. There is a cafe, toilets and areas to relax in amongst a few bedded areas of plants. The bust of Winston Churchill is located here as you can see in the image above.
The Gun Salute
Whilst you are at the Upper Gardens be aware that twice a day the guns will be fired from the terrace just below you. This is a tradition which has been going on for many years and can be heard all over the city.
Locate Britain
Proudly once part of the British ‘Empire’ Malta has little traces of British tradition dotted around, from the bright red post boxes to the equally bright red phone boxes.
The WWII Bomb Hole
The church of Our Mary The Immaculate has a very special patch in the ceiling. During World War 2 a bomb fell on the roof and into the church below, mercifully it didnt explode. The hole has been repaired however you are still able to make out where it came through.
The Lift From Upper To Lower
When there is something called an ‘Upper’ there is usually a ‘Lower’ to go with it and this is true of the Barracca gardens. Connected via a very cool lift which only costs a reasonable couple of Euros for a return journey. We took this from the Upper gardens as when you get off at the bottom you are right at the point where you can catch a boat to the 3 Cities.
The 3 Cities
Jump in a traditional wooden boat and take a trip across the harbour to the famous 3 Cities. At some point in history one of these cities was the capital of Malta and is full of stunning piazzas, beautiful buildings and has loads of lovely places to sit and eat, drink and people watch. A must-do actiitivy when you only have 48 hours in beautiful Valletta.
What To Eat During Your 48 Hours In Beautiful Valletta
Lunch
With som many lovely foods on offer it is difficult to know where to begin, however I would strongly recommend seeking out this sandwich in the most northern of the 3 Cities. It has the spicy Maltese sausage inside along with goats cheese, sundried tomatoes and spinach. It was huge but i wasn’t wasting a mouthful! I didn’t need to eat much for dinner 🙂 It washed down nicely with a cold local beer. This cafe is located outside Kalakara Parish Church in Bighi.
Dinner
For dinner I highly recommend this lovely Italian/Maltese restaurant we stumbled upon in the heart of the city. For starters we ordered aranchini balls to share…and we ended up asking for 2nds as they were sooooooo good! Just as good as the ones we eat in Lucca!
Pairing our dinner with a lovely Primitivo, up next on the menu was blue cheese and Maltese sausage spinach tortellini. it was absolutely divine! unsurprisingly I did not have room for pudding!
Snack
These delicious little ‘Patizzi’ pastries are traditionally filled with cheese and peas, however we discovered the chicken ones are delicious too. They are very reasonably priced too if you are on a budget!
How To Spend Longer Than 48 Hours In Beautiful Valletta – Go Further Afield
Visit Medina
The original capital City of Malta was Medina, a lovely old walled city. Get the bus here or do what we did and take the hop on hop off bus on a tour of the island and stop here for an hour or so. It gets busy so arrive as early as you can.
Visit The Sunday Market At Marsaxlok
Stroll along and sample the food from various stalls and restaurants along the sea front. Enjoy the hustle and bustle of a traditional market and view the colourful fishing boats moored in the harbour. There is a direct bus on sundays to get you here quickly. Like all of the transport in Malta it is reasonably priced and very reliable.