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Valletta

VALLETTA

A must-see destination

St Catherine Valletta

UNESCO World Heritage Site and European Capital of Culture 2018, Valletta is for sure one of the grander, even if smaller, capital cities in Europe.
Named after the Grandmaster of the Knights of St John, Jean Parisot de Valette, Valletta was founded one year after the Great Siege of 1565, when the Ottoman forces tried unsuccessfully to take the island. One of the main reasons for using the hill as a foundation for the new city was to deny any future invaders such an excellent vantage point over the Grand Harbour.
Over the centuries, the city of Valletta has lost none of its charms and in the last few years it has been able to reinvent itself from “a city built by gentlemen for gentlemen” to a cosmopolitan and lively city, where magnificent ancient buildings coexist with ultramodern architecture designed by the world-renowned architect Renzo Piano.
The new City Gate, Parliament and the Opera Theatre/Pjazza Teatru Rjal, the newly restored Triton Fountain and its square, the new food Market (Is-Suq Tal-Belt) are just few examples of the deep transformation process Valletta went trough in the last few years.
Once per year, during Notte Bianca, State palaces and museums open their doors to the public free of charge.
2018 Notte Bianca will take place 6th October. This is Malta’s biggest annual arts and culture festival. From the City Gate to Fort St. Elmo, Valletta will come alive with a spectacular celebration that will encompass music, dance, theatre, visual arts, literary events, new and digital arts.

HOW TO REACH VALLETTA

You can reach Valletta by bus from anywhere in Malta, please click here to find your route.

There is also a ferry service from Sliema and Cospicua (Three Cities). Please find the planned schedule here.

WHERE TO STAY

Accommodation in Valletta is quite expensive. Indeed you will find 3 to 5 star hotels, boutique hotels and very few guest houses and almost no budget apartments. If you plan to stay in Valletta it is better to plan well in advance as it get easily fully booked, especially between April and September.

You can try to find accommodation on booking.com.

NOT TO BE MISSED

OTHER POINTS OF INTEREST

  • THE TRITON FOUNTAIN
    Commanding the area in the main square outside Valletta’s city gate, the Triton Fountain celebrates the importance of the sea upon which Malta has depended on throughout history.

  • CITY GATE
    Bieb il-Belt or Putrirjal is the Maltese way to indicate the gate to Valletta.
    What you can see today is the fifth edition of the gate rebuilt in 2011 on a design of Renzo Piano. The first gate was completed soon after the founding of Valletta, then replaced in 1632 and again in 1853 and 1964

  • PJAZZA TEATRU RJAL/THE OPERA HOUSE
    This open air theatre was part of the city gate project by Renzo Piano whose aim was to restore the ruins of the old opera house to celebrate them as a monument. Nowadays the Pjazza Teatru Rjal hosts many open air concerts.

  • OUR LADY OF VICTORIES CHAPEL
    The original structure of the Chapel of Our Lady of Victories was the first building to be erected in Valletta. Until the Co-Cathedral of St John was completed, this chapel also housed the body of Grandmaster Jean Parisot de Valette. The current structure of the chapel dates back to 1757.

  • ST CATHERINE’S CHURCH
    St Catherine’s Church once belonged to the Knights of Italy. The altarpiece portrays the Martyrdom of St Catherine by the Italian Baroque artist Mattia Preti.

  • PALAZZO PARISIO
    Palazzo Parisio was briefly the home of Napoleon Bonaparte after he came to Malta on the 13th June 1798 – effectively ending and replacing the dominance of the Knights of St John over the island. Napoleon stayed in Palazzo Parisio for a week before leaving to embark on his Egyptian campaign.

  • AUBERGE DE CASTILLE
    The Auberge de Castille was the official seat of the knights of the Langue of Castille, León and Portugal. Built by Maltese architect Girolamo Cassar in 1574, nowadays it houses the Office of the Prime Minister of Malta.

  • SAINT JAMES CAVALIER & SAINT JOHN’S CAVALIER
    St James Cavalier & St John’s Cavalier are imposing tower-like structures, once adorned with a crown of guns.
    Once connected to each other by an underground passageway, the two cavaliers were each capable of garrisoning some 200 soldiers.
    Today St James Cavalier it is a centre for creativity and is now Malta’s foremost hub for art exhibitions, musical concerts, art house cinema screenings, and theatrical performances, while St John’s Cavalier houses the embassy of the Order of the Knights of St John.

  • THE CHURCH OF SAINT PAUL’S SHIPWRECK
    One of Valletta’s oldest churches, the Church of Saint Paul’s Shipwreck traces its origins to the 1570s. Every year on the 10th of February, Valletta celebrates the Feast of St Paul, Malta’s patron saint.

  • THE MANOEL THEATRE
    The Manoel Theatre was built in 1731 under Grandmaster Manoel de Vilhena, after whom it was named, and is now the third oldest working theatre in Europe. It is is Malta’s National Theatre and home to the Malta Philharmonic Orchestra.

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