Fortified Cities of Malta

Malta is a tiny little island, nevertheless it has too many fortifications! We decided to see some of those fortified cities and towns.

Valletta: Valletta was the first site that we headed to, in Malta, for the very reason, that its not only the capital city but also a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The city was found in 1566 by Knights of St.John and its Grand Master was Jean Parisot de la Valette. The city was planned and built with the best of Renaissance style with a grid plan and fortress!

It was just a ferry-ride away from where we stayed. As soon as we reached Valletta's ferry drop-off point, we walked along the sea, outside the fortification wall. Its a wee-bit long walk, but the views of the sea is just spectacular. At some places you could get down into the sea. We went into the fortification near The Malta Experience and our first stop was at the Knight's Hospitallers which was the infirmary before the Siege of Malta which was the prime reason for the fortification to be built.

There are an abundance of churches here but the most important would be St.John's Co-Cathedral and then there are several museums here but the most important would be National Archaeological Museum, which holds all the precious find of Hal Safleni Hypogeum and Megalithic Temples. At the tip of the island, is the Fort St.Elmo which houses the National War Museum. One of the most, often missed, but 'hiding in plain sight' place is the Sundial, at St.George's Square. Don't miss it!

Three Cities (Birgu/Vittoriosa, Senglea/Isla and Cospicua/Bormla): A local informed us specifically, that its better to head to 3 cities in late evening, when the place is all for yourself without the crowds of tourists, though it may mean missing out on actually entering the museums & monuments. That's exactly what we did, as we were staying in the heart of 3 Cities.

We walked one evening till Fort St.Ange, at the tip of Birgu. It closes by 6 PM, however our idea was to just walk around the peninsulas. It was much different than the walk at Valletta. Here, you can see the richness of Malta with the sheer number of luxury yachts!!!

Kalkara: Facing Valletta are 3 tips - Birgu and Sanglea and Kalkara. Kalkara's tip has Fort Ricasoli which is in a bit dilapidated state and is not open to visitors, but guess what it was? Its was the Red Keep in Game of Thrones!!!

Mdina & Rabat: Mdina is splendid. It's called the Silent City, because no vehicles are allowed in here. The whole city is frozen in time, a few centuries ago! Mdina was perhaps the place I liked the most of all the cities. And as a Game of Thrones fan, this is one of the prime filming locations of early seasons!!! One of the most important locations within Mdina is St.Paul's Cathedral. Beside it is its museum, which should also be not missed! Close to it is the Domus Romana.

Rabat is the town next to Mdina. The only reason we headed to Rabat was for St.Paul's Catacombs. It has a museum that gives all information and then the actual catacombs are in the open area. It has a total of 23 Catacombs of which only few are open for visitors. A catacomb is a communal burial located outside of city fort.

It was probably been in existence since Roman Era and has been in use till 7th C CE. This is perhaps the most fascinating thing in the whole of Mdina & Rabat. Some of the underground chambers even have frescoes, wall art etc. This was a 2000yr newer version of Hal Safleni Hypogeum!

To Get There:
Being a tiny country whole of Malta is served by 1 airport - Malta International Airport - MTA. The national airlines is AirMalta and the airport also serves a few other airlines. The best way to reach Malta from India would be a combination of the 2 national careers, Air Malta and Air India Express booking it ideally 3 months earlier for the best prices.

Within Malta: By Public Transport: Read the 'tips' section in the upcoming post.

Official Valletta Guide Map (downloads/opens as PDF)

My entire Malta Travelogue: Hal Safleni Hypogeum, Hagar Qim and Mnajdra megalithic temples, Blue Grotto, Valletta, Three Cities, M'dina, Rabat