After visiting one of the villages founded in the antiquity, the fishing village Marsaxlokk, we considered to visit one of the newest villages built in Malta, Popeye Village. It is not actually a inhabited village, but is the plateau where the 1980s music movie "Popeye" was recorded. Nowadays It is a theme park for children of all ages.
Most likely you remember the cartoons "Popeye the sailor man". Popeye swell his muscles right after eating a can with spinach and he got the strength to save his girlfriend, Olive, repeatedly kidnapped by his rival, Bluto.
From Sliema we took the bus 222 (passing through St. Julian's) to Melieha from where we continued with bus 101 that stops in front of the plateau. At the station where we got down from 222, it stops also the bus 101, but to get to Popeye Village in 5-10 minutes, we crossed the street and took the 101 bus in the other direction. From Valletta you can take 41 or 42 buses all the way to Mellieha and then change by bus 101.
The entrance ticket for the winter package cost 10.50 euro / adult (8.50 euro / child) and includes: entry to the movie platform, access to mini golf, watching a 15 minute documentary about the movie Popeye, live demos creating silver jewelry (and the opportunity to buy them), visiting Santa's workshops, a free glass of boiled wine at a terrace with a view to the golf. The ticket would also include a 15-minute boat ride, but it was not possible due to weather conditions.
The original decor on the movie set has been preserved, and most of the cottages can also be seen inside. Thus, you can visit the town hall, the school, the post office and more.
Minigolf courts overlooking another (mini) golf☺
Inside the village there are also Santa Claus workshops where you can see the elves preparig the gifts for the good kids. Some days there was even Santa Claus who shared gifts to the children.
After we visited the houses, we stopped at the terrace for the boiled wine glass included in the ticket and to admire the view.
You can also admire Popeye's village from the outside:
On the way back, we took bus 101 to Mellieha, to the bus station 222 for St. Julian's and Sliema. Bus 222 comes from Cirkewwa, and is already full of those coming back from Gozo Island, and other buses stop in the main station, which is why the station can be very crowded. We chose to go a walk (a few hundred meters) in the opposite direction where we relaxed on the beach while we waited the bus.
