ENG -- Malta - the island of Gozo

The last place in Malta that we write about on the blog, at least until our next visit, is the island of Gozo. Being an archipelago, the country of Malta is made up of several islands, of which only 3 are inhabited: Malta (with the capital Valletta and the main tourist attractions: Mdina and Rabat, Marsaxlokk, Popeye Village), Comino (often visited for the Blue Lagoon) and Gozo, about which we will detail below.

From Sliema, where we had the accommodation, we took the bus 222 to the last station, Cirkewwa. Being a transit point for both tourists and locals, in Cirkewwa arrive buses from all over the island of Malta, even from the airport. From there we continued our journey to Gozo Island by ferry, crossing Gozo Chanel to Mgarr harbor. The price of a roundtrip ticket is 4.65 euros and is paid on return; for the first part of the boat trip you do not have to pay anything. The program can be found on the official website, and the journey takes about 15-20 minutes. Since we left Sliema and until we took the bus from the starting station in Gozo, we did less than 2 hours, which is why we were able to use on the bus in Gozo the same ticket that we used on bus 222, and that we bought  for 1.50 euros directly from the driver at the starting point in Sliema.

We wanted to spend a relaxing day here, so we decided to visit only the capital of the island, Victoria. The bus station, from Mgarr to Victoria, is easy to find, it is located just after the exit of the ferry's harbor and there are shown the bus schedule and the route of each of them.

When we arrived in Victoria, we decided to start our visit with a city walk before visiting the most important tourist point, Citadella. So we discovered a little park decorated for holidays. Actually it was the Christmas Eve and we were just glad to stay on a bench in the sun. 

The afternoon we spent strolling on the streets of the old Cittadella, a walk that gave us the chance to have a panorama of the island, to admire its houses and hills. 

In any direction you looked, you could see the margins of the island and the Mediterranean Sea that surrounds it, which shows its small size.

As in most places visited in Malta, also in Cittadella in Gozo, you can walk through the narrow streets full of history that can give you the feeling of returning back in time.

The most imposing building is the Gozo Cathedral, although it is not very photogenic because of its protective walls and its shade.

Before going to the ferry to return to Malta, we stopped at the citadel's restaurant to eat. We chose to eat traditional dishes and we were not disappointed with the choice made. We recommend you to try the traditional rabbit steak, but accompanied by the spectacular view of the restaurant within the fortress. We also received fries and salad, and the total price is a good one, around 12-13 euros per person, considering that prices in Valletta were at least 14-15 euros just for the meat.

ENG -- Malta - Popeye Village

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.

ENG -- Malta - the fishing village Marsaxlokk

After visiting some of the little cities in Malta, we decided to see the villages that attract most of the island's tourists: Marsaxlokk and Poppeye's village. Though the distance between them is not very large, about 25 km, and theoretically they could be visited in the same day, in reality to get from one location to another you must cross the whole island, losing a lot of time in traffic. We chose to visit them on different days. In both days we  were lucky to have good weather and we had the posibility to relax in the sun. In this article we will tell you something about Marsaxlokk and in the following post we will write about Popeye's village.

Marsaxlokk 

To get to Marsaxlokk, we took the bus in Sliema, where we were staying, and we changed it with another bus in Valletta. From Valletta to Marsaxlokk you can reach with buses no. 81 or 85. You can use the same 1.5 Euro ticket, which is available for 2 hours, from where you stay and to the main bus station in Valletta and from Valletta to Marsaxlokk. The bus station in Marsaxlokk is near the Mediterranean Sea; you can have a sea view even before you left the bus.

Marsaxlokk is a fishing village located in the southeast of the island, hence the name. Marsa translates to the port, and Xlokk means southeast. In this harbor you can discover the famous lively colorful fishing boats named "luzzu". Another feature of this boats is that they were painted with the Eye of Osiris in front of them in order to protect fishermen while on the sea.

You can stroll along the waterfront admiring the sea and the little boats, but also the old buildings with the Arabian style architecture along the main road and on the other streets in the village.

We visited the village during the holidays, so the village church decorated in the spirit of Christmas attracted us the attention.

After you get tired because of walking, you can sit down at one of the many terraces of the seafront restaurants where you can savor some fish or fresh seafood. Some of the owners of restaurants are proud to have fish and sea food caught by themselves or by their family members. This is one of the reasons why many tourists choose to visit Marsaxlokk. Prices start at 10 euros per person if you choose to eat only fish, but there there are plenty of menus that you can personalize. We chose for a 25 euro a menu for 2 people containing 3 fish fillets, octopus, shrimps and calamari rings, as well as fries and salad. We also took advantage of the restaurant's offer to personalize the menu and changed a fish fillet with "some mussels" but we received a more generous portion than we expected. Unfortunately, we did not think about taking pictures of the food until we had nothing to take picture of☺

The local artists wanted to attract the attention of tourists as "We all smile in the same language".

Thank you for reaching the end of the article. In order to be informed when we publish new articles on this site, but also to see posts that are only on facebook, we invite you to like our facebook page by accessing this link : Doi plimbareti.

To read about our first impressions in Malta, you can click this link : Malta in December or you can read about or visit in Valletta or Mdina and Rabat.

ENG -- Malta - Mdina and Rabat

After visiting Valletta, we thought it would be interesting to see the former capital of the island of Malta, from antiquity to the medieval period: Mdina. From Sliema, where we had the accommodation, you can go directly by bus 202, paying just 1.50 euros and about an hour of your time, while you can admire several villages and towns in the center of the island.

Before we walk into the old fortified fortress, our attention was caught by the old gate with which you can easily imagine that, once you entered, you came back hundreds of years ago.

And the feeling of returning over time will continue if you keep walking the narrow streets full of history. Mdina Fortress is also called "The Silent City", being inhabited only by a few hundred people, of whom we have not seen too many.

We continued our walk among the walls of the city, admiring the architecture of the buildings, the balconies and the colorful doors specific to Malta, which charmed us.

You can also visit the fortress using the horses drawn carriage, but the prices are quite high and the city is not very large, you can easily walk from one edge to the other.

The day we chose to visit Mdina was, for us, one of the 2 days (out of 8) where we seriously considered whether the holiday in Malta in December was a good idea or not. The strong wind and our spring clothes made us feel uncomfortable at 10-12 Celsius degrees. The good part was that we could "hide" from the wind on the narrow streets, in all the souvenir shops that got out of the way (the Maltese are proud of the products made on the island of silver or glass) and even in two cathedrals with architecture and decors which can not go unnoticed.

In order to get from Mdina to Rabat, we only had to get out on the gate of the fortress. There we continued walking along narrow streets, where we found plenty of reasons to stop to take a picture.

After visiting the Medieval Fortress of Mdina, we wanted to go back in time, to antiquity, and we went to St Paul's Catacombs. The ticket cost 5 Euro and gave us access to Christian, Jewish or pagan cemeteries. At the entrance to the archaeological complex we were informed by a poster that the ticket was valid only for the St Paul's Catacombs (in Rabat there were several catacombs that could be visited). When we thought we had finished visiting, we had a pleasant surprise: just cross the street was another area that sheltered other catacombs in the same complex.

Thank you for reaching the end of the article. In order to be informed when we publish new articles on this site, but also to see posts that are only on facebook, we invite you to like our facebook page by accessing this link : Doi plimbareti.

To read about our first impressions in Malta, you can click this link : Malta in December or you can read about or visit in Valletta.

ENG -- Malta - Valletta

The main city of the island, according to the number of tourists it attracts, and, at the same time, the capital of the country, is Valletta. We visited it in the first full day of our holiday in Malta and on Christmas Day. From Sliema, where we had the accommodation, you can easily reach Valletta by bus (No. 13, 13A, 14, 15, 16) or by ferry. Unfortunately, on the first day the wind was heavy, the waves reached the promenade, and the ferry did not work. Because of the wind, the temperature was about 12 degrees Celsius. On the other hand, on Christmas day, at least in the sunny places, it was pleasant to wear only the T-shirt, the temperature even reaching 20 degrees Celsius. We've even seen people in summer clothes on the streets on Christmas day.

Arrived in Valletta we started walking down the narrow streets with old buildings but with balconies and colorful doors.

The first touristic objective we visited was the Grand Master's Palace. The ticket costs 10 euros and includes visits to the State Rooms and to the Palace Armoury. A portable audio guide with over 100 points of interests is included in the ticket price.

The inner courtyard of the palace with oranges

Inside the palace

A group of Maltese knights

Then we walked down the main street of the tourist area of the city to Upper Barrakka Gardens, a place at a considerable height above sea level where you can enjoy a spectacular view over the Mediterranean Sea, a part of Valletta, but also of neighboring cities: Vittoriosa, Senglea and Conspicua, also known as 3 Cities.

From Barrakka's upper gardens, below the promenade, every day at 12.00 and 16.00, you can watch a cannons show.

From there you can use the panoramic elevator to go down to the harbor where you can take a walk to the Valletta Waterfront, a promenade with shops and restaurants. Going down with the elevator is free, but for going up you have to pay 1 euro. 

Other gardens which worth to be visited are Lower Barrakka Gardens. The view is not as spectacular as the view from Upper Barrakka Gardens, but it is a very good place to rest after a walk with many climbs and downhills on the narrow streets of Valletta.

Once the dark of the night came, the celebration lights in the center of the city reminded us that, despite the high temperatures, we visited Valletta during Christmas.

Thank you for reaching the end of the article. In order to be informed when we publish new articles on this site, but also to see posts that are only on facebook, we invite you to like our facebook page by accessing this link : Doi plimbareti.

To read about our first impressions in Malta, you can click this link : Malta in December.