Valletta - A Lilliputian capital

I think it's safe to say that Valletta is the most beautiful city in Malta with a stunning view of the Three Cities. It's ridiculously small, 1 km by 600m but I had never problems spending hours there as it's "one of the most concentrated historic areas in the world".

Once my friend asked me to guess the number of the churches in the city and I thought my answer of 10 was crazy, but in reality they have over 25 including the world famous St John's Co- Cathedral where the Pope serves Mass when he comes to Malta. It was built by the Maltese Knights in the 16th century and after the plain facade you would not imagine the what an exuberant interior awaits for the visitors. Their greatest treasure is a John the Baptist painting by Caravaggio but the gold ornamentation and black marble floor and walls are just breath taking.

I've never seen anything like this before, even in Rome. Flemish tapestries based on drawings by Rubens, fresco and golden arches in every directions and rich Baroque decoration welcomed me every time time I visited.

Just outside the Cathedral, under the big white parasols at San Giovanni's I've had my very first authentic Italian pizza with proscioutto, ruccola and mozzarella balls and later on I never failed to return to this small corner of the town.

Coffee and cake time meant Caffe Cordina on Republic square where old fashioned waiters were running up and down, holding mountain size trays serving Italian flavors of this beautifully romantic palazzo surrounded by Casa del Commun Tesoro, the Bibliotecha.

Right next to the busy and lively the piazza, proudly stands the Grandmaster Palace which today is home to the Office of the President and the Palace armory. I highly recommend the Notte Bianca visit when you can wander around the entire palace freely, and the nightlights are giving such a mysterious atmosphere to the place revealing the past and history of the fighting Knights.

There were many Friday evenings when we just wanted to cut loose so we all met up in the notorious Strait street to have drinks in Tico Tico bar before heading off to Bridge bar for some wine and jazz under the stars. Strait street has a saucy history and luckily this part of the town kept it's bohemian style through decades. We would nowadays simply call it red light district, however after the mid 20th century when the American and British soldiers and sailors left there were no needs anymore for the brothels and cabarets. Yet, you can still sit under red lights, being served by sailor costume wearing waiter and pin up styled waitresses, and the fading street signs on the corner will always remind you, you're no longer in the church district. Even the public toilet is illuminated in red and a fancy dressed..well..not sure how to call him...assistant welcomes you there.

Back in 20th century when homecoming sailors were looking for entertainment:

Once a year the street celebrates the Stretta festival with re-enactments contributing towards the atmosphere of the 50-60's. Many people wears fancy dresses and the whole area reminds you of rather New Orleans than Malta with all the live jazz bands and festive mood.

The capital is also hosting international film festivals every summer when you can simply walk through the city and watch movies either on the streets or in the Royal Opera house under or just have discussions with the film makers.

The center of the film fest, the Royal Opera House. I used to sit there looking at the walking crowd, it was heavily bombed during WW II and unfortunately later on they decided not to fully restore it and instead an Italian architect redesigned it in 2013. I'm not qualified enough to criticise the restoration but sometimes modern ideas can't beat the original plans. I'll let you be the judge of it.

Old vs New:

Not more than few steps away, down Liesse street's stairs, just before the Victoria gate hides my absolute favorite place, the Bridge bar. If you pass by during the day you would never imagine the transformation of the street that awaits you every Friday night.

Once the sun set cushions and candles are covering the stairs, small tables with chairs appear, dim fairy lights light up the dark corners and the best Jazz bands are entertaining the crowds. You can sit down wherever you like, grab a glass of Rose and chat with your friends or have dinner till late. I can't begin to describe the atmosphere of this place. It's truly magical and everyone should experience it.

Valletta's nightlife was never complete without a visit to the Waterfront which is another spot I strongly recommend. Not only does it have an amazing view to the Three Cities and to the incoming cruise liners but you can find one of the best sushi places there along with wine bars and pubs occupying the old but restored warehouses under the city walls.

Many Saturday mornings I just wanted to relax and forget about the rushy life so I headed back to Valletta and spent couple of hours in the Barrakka Garden slurping my coffee and admiring the view. After the early morning hours the place is getting crowded slowly by groups of tourists waiting for the daily canon shots. But if you're fast take a bench or part of the thick wall, get a book or just listen to some music, you can actually have a great time up there ignoring the selfie sticks and noise.

The view was just as beautiful in the night as during the day.

From here I used to walk down to the Lower Garden turned back into the center to reach Hastings Garden with Manoel Island in sight to end up finally at Fort St Elmo and the Breakwater Bridge. This was the older part of the city, somehow medieval somewhat retro. Narrow alleys, stone houses, tiny corner shops where the time has stopped, Italian bistros with checkered tablecloths and quiet chapels followed me on the way. These hours were quiet, only the old merchants were opening their fruit stalls and fishing boats were returning to the harbor.

On the peek of the city stands Fort St. Elmo that witnessed one of the most intense battles the island has seen, the Great Siege. Although the fort bravely endured in excess of a month under siege from the Turks, it finally fell 1565 and then again in WW II. Today it's functioning as a War museum but my morning walk lead me away from it, towards the Breakwater bridge under the fort before I turned back to my starting point.

With the Fort behind my back, I passed by a tiny area of fisherman cottages sleeping under the big Siege Bell, wooden boats waiting to sail again with the promises of great catches. The sea was still calm and to my surprise a small girl has used this time for swimming.

By the time I got back to the center the city, it had woken up, the shops were open and freshly baked ftira smell reminded me of breakfast time. The gelatto man has already arrived with his stand trying to catch some early bird tourists.

There's no place like home, there's no place like Valletta.