16th April 2026

After our wonderful week in Gozo we took the ferry back to Malta’s main island and transferred to a hotel in its capital, Valletta. As you can see from the map above, Valletta forms a peninsula. What is not quite so obvious is that it is also on a ridge and our hotel was right at the top with streets falling steeply away to the waterside on either side. Not usually a problem – but with my sprained ankle I found it quite difficult. Adding to that the fact that it was cool and drizzly when we arrived sent my mood plummeting downwards. But did it last? No! The rain quickly cleared and by the end of the afternoon we were cheerfully sitting in the sun drinking beer.

First a little more disappointment when our initial destination, Lower Barrakka Gardens, was under reconstruction and the nearby Siege Bell Memorial was completely closed.

Undaunted we carried on towards the Valletta Waterfront, technically in neighbouring Floriana, where beautiful 18th century warehouses have been converted to restaurants and shops with a small chapel dedicated to the flight of the Holy Family to Egypt in the centre. It’s also where many of the cruise ships berth.

From here we retraced our steps and climbed to the Upper Barrakka Gardens – there is a lift, but even with my dodgy ankle I felt that was cheating. I wonder how many people’s photographs the man enjoying a glass of wine on his balcony appeared in that day?

Suitably revived by cold beer we continued to Castille Place where there were several statues to Maltese politicians. Dom Mintoff (1916-1912) was the only one I recognised, but I liked the sound of Manwel Dimech (1860-1921) described as an outstanding social reformer who was excommunicated by the Catholic Church and exiled by the British.

In the eponymous Jean de Valette Place we found a statue of the man who founded Valletta in 1566 and two churches, neither of which were open.

We didn’t mind too much because we were footsore by that time and ready to head back to the hotel. However, we had only scraped the surface of Valletta and were looking forward to more explorations the next day.