Malta in March 2017 for some early sunshine

Valletta – UNESCO World Heritage Site

I went to Malta in 2003 to take my twin daughters to swim with the dolphins and stayed in the north of the island. So revisiting Malta in 2017 was like visiting a new place altogether! To see Malta at its best, my friend and I chose Valletta as our base

Grand Hotel Excelsior

A good hotel is vital to a good holiday, and didn’t we make a good choice with Grand Hotel Excelsior right outside the UNESCO city of Valletta and within walking distance to the main bus station and all the tourist attractions. It has everything – comfortable rooms with balcony, plush interiors, great grounds, breathtaking views and really scrumptious breakfast served in a restaurant with a great view of harbour. No wonder Malta (as holder of the EU presidency) hosted a summit of EU health ministers at the hotel while we were there!

Views from the hotel

Armed with a tourist map and a block of 12 bus tickets for €15 we had fun exploring Valletta

Town Hall day and night

Upper Barrakka Gardens

The lovely views from a walk along Upper Barrakka Gardens

Lower Barrakka Gardens

The iconic WWII Siege Memorial in Lower Barrack Gardens and the spectacular views from it

Birgu (aka Città Vittoriosa)

The beautiful walled city of Vittoriosa

The Grand Harbour Marina at Birgu

Fort St Angelo

Fort St. Angelo is located at the centre of the Grand Harbour.

It affords a 360 degrees view of the Valletta Waterfront

Maltese Wooden Balconies

The colourful wooden balconies are unmistakably Maltese!

Marsaxlokk

It is a picturesque fishing village south east of Valletta, a 20-minute bus ride away.

The colourful traditional boats are a must-see in their own right!

Mdina

Bus 51/52 from Valletta bus station makes Mdina very easy to reach. It’s well worth a visit of at least half a day

They were taking down the decorations from the feast of St Stephen’s when we visited

A day trip to Gozo

We took a day tour to Gozo mainly because it would be difficult for us to make our way to the boat port at Cirkewwa. We were the first to be picked up by the coach so it was like a free tour of the rest of Malta for about an hour. What I saw reaffirmed what a good choice I made to stay in Valletta!

To be honest, Ggantija Temples, Azure Window (which collapsed the week before we arrived) and the scenery around Gozo were nothing spectacular. But Mgarr Harbour and Cittadella in Victoria made the trip worthwhile

Mgarr Harbour

The trip started and ended here. I wish we could have spent some time here