In this article, you can find my experiences and suggestions about places to visit, historical and touristic places to see in Malta, the island country in the middle of the Mediterranean, where Turks who once wanted to learn a language, which became famous with Game of Thrones, flocked to it because it was visa-free.
Let me first start with a confession; Malta It was not a place that caught my attention until now. Last year my wife went to Malta for diving and liked it, this year it is ready for long term Visa of schengen while taking a weekend trip to Malta we said let's do it.
Is there a weekend trip to Malta?
I seem to hear those who say, "Is it possible to go that far for the weekend or to make a trip to Malta on the weekend?" However, Malta is only 2,5 hours away from Istanbul by plane. You get on the plane from Istanbul at 08:00 on Saturday morning, you are in Malta at 08:30 Malta time due to the time difference between us. On Sunday evening, the main island of Malta is as small as Istanbul in terms of surface area, and if we add the other islands, it does not make a Konya. Of course, 4-5 days would be great to travel properly, but for those who want a change of air and a pleasant time, they can also be visited at the weekend.
About Malta
Malta is an archipelago made up of 3 islands. The area of the main island of Malta is almost as much as Istanbul. It is useful to take this into account when planning your trip. Gozo is the other large island, while between Malta and Gozo is the island of Comino.
Malta, which is adjacent to Italy in the north and Libya in the south, has been seriously influenced by Italian and Arab cultures. Due to its strategic location, this island in the middle of the Mediterranean has been colonized by many countries. While the names of the cities on the island are Arabic names, the food culture has more Italian influences. With the effect of British colonialism, traffic flows in reverse for us. I love such mixed countries, it carries a piece of every culture and this unity creates a beautiful harmony.
Transport in Malta I wrote about it in detail, but to put it briefly, there is an advanced public transportation system on the island, hop-on hop-off services where you can see all the touristic spots, and car rental is also a very cheap option.
Malta is also a very attractive country for those who want to learn or improve their English. Malta EF Language Schools one of the best alternatives to learn languages here.
Places to Visit on the Island of Malta
Malta places to visit The list is longer than I anticipated. Read on for places to visit in Malta and our weekend trip route to Malta 🙂
Our Preferred Gzira for Accommodation
As soon as we landed in Malta on Saturday morning, we first came to Gzira, where our hotel is located, to leave our belongings. It took us an hour to get here from the airport. We couldn't leave our belongings at the hotel because our hotel is far from the hostel and it doesn't have a reception. We chose the Gzira region for accommodation because we found a hotel at an affordable price. Our hotel on the island of Malta Shore Bridge House It was more like an apartment converted into a hotel than a hotel on the seaside, but it did the job.
Since there is no breakfast in the hotel, the hotel is located right under the building, with coffee (4 euro) from the BLT (bagel loaf toast) and an ordinary oven. Fourts PastizeriaWe took care of our breakfast with the pastries and pastries (4.75 euro) we bought from . We have taken care of breakfast for 2 euros for 9 people. The pastries and pastries we bought from Fourts Pastizeria were really delicious. We even regretted not taking more with us.
We chose Gzira for accommodation, there was also public transportation, but it may be better to arrange accommodation in and around Valletta, which is the intersection of all transportation options. Another advantage of Gzira is St. Being close to the Julian area. If you are interested in nightlife in Malta, this place can be an economical option to stay.
Ancient Historic Capital Mdina
Even though we couldn't handle our hotel business, we went back to our main route with our bags. Fortunately, since we came for the weekend, we only had 20-liter small backpacks with us, and it was not a problem to carry them. Our first stop is the historical city of Mdina, which is indispensable for the list of places to visit in Malta. While the name of the old city within the walls is Mdina, the name of the area outside the walls is Rabat, so if you are going to take the bus on the way here, it would be useful to look at the Rabat stops. You can come to Rabat by bus number 50 and 53 from Valletta.
Mdina is one of the cities that hosted the shooting of the famous TV series Game of Thrones. Also Mdina is the former capital of Malta. It will take you a few hours at most to visit all of Mdina's old streets, but you will need more time if you want to take pictures at every corner of the streets.
It is also possible to see the sea and Valletta view from afar from the city wall where Triq is-Sur street is located. There are 4 churches and a cathedral within the small walls. You can browse all of them because the wall decorations are quite beautiful.
Things to do in Mdina; Mdina Dungeons, National History Museum, Agatha Church, Peter's Church, St. Nicolas Church, Carmelite Church and Museum, and St. Peter & Paul Cathedral. There is also a museum behind the cathedral, you cannot visit the church without buying a ticket from the museum. The city of Mdina, which is on the UNESCO World Cultural Heritage list, is considered among the most beautiful ancient fortified cities in Europe.
We were open when we completed our tour of Mdina, the one on the left after exiting the main gate. Il-Veduta RestaurantWe had our lunch in. We said that the Maltese cuisine was influenced by the Italian cuisine, so we eat pizza and salad, as well as a Maltese beer for lunch. We pay 25 euros for lunch for two people.
Trade Center Rabat
When you come out of the Mdina walls, you are now in the city of Rabat. Rabat was an important Roman city, and the ancient artifacts in this region belong to the Romans. Beautiful examples of houses made of yellow Maltese stone with blue, green and red bay windows, which you can't get enough of in Malta, adorn the streets of Rabat.
st. Paul's Cathedral is in the center of Rabat. There are cafes, restaurants and patisseries in the square where the church is located. You can drink good coffee here for 1,5 euros per person, after all, Italian influence 🙂
When you continue from this square (you will see the signs anyway), you will reach the catacombs that look like the underground cities in Cappadocia. The name of the catacombs in the city of Rabat is St. Paul Catacombs. The catacombs, which are spread over a very large area, were used as a shelter during the war, from time to time as a warehouse and animal shelter, but now they have been completely restored and brought into tourism. You can visit the catacombs by paying 5 euros per person.
Seeing the Catacomb, we return to the bus stops towards the Mdina entrance. Our next stop is Mosta.
Famous Mosta with its Rotunda
We hop on the bus and reach Mosta, which is famous for its Rotunda, after about 15 minutes. It is the most striking structure of Rotunda Mosta, the third largest church with a free-standing dome in the world. Again, this structure, made of yellow Maltese stone, attracts people like a magnet. As we reached Mosta near sunset in the evening, the light was also very good and the Rotunda shone like a golden structure.
When we started to wander the streets of Mosta, we were both tired and it was getting dark now, so we decided to go back to the hotel and have a rest.
City of Knights Valletta
The walled city of Valletta is on the UNESCO World Heritage List. Like Mdina, Rabat and Mosta, Valletta is full of yellow houses with colorful bay windows made of Maltese stone, where you can wander around each street one by one and take pictures for hours. The city is quite hilly and bumpy, which creates very beautiful landscapes for photography lovers.
We chose Valletta, the capital of the island, for dinner because we only had one evening in Malta and we wanted to see Valletta at night. nightlife Although it flows in Julian, we preferred to go to Valletta.
We had a list of places to go for dinner in Valletta, but we wanted to improvise a bit so we started wandering around the side streets. Looking a little quieter towards the end of bustling Strait Street as you wander Rocks Wine Bar We found a winery. Besides the rich wine menu, there were only 2 types of food to eat, namely the Maltese plate and the Italian plate. We ordered a Maltese plate for 1 people, as well as a bottle of Maltese wine. We paid 2 euros for 17 people, 10 euros for a plate, 1 euros for 2 bottle of wine. We were able to have a pleasant meal for the evening, much cheaper than we expected.
Certain streets of Valletta are must-see streets; Old Bakery, St.Lucia, Strait, Republic, Merkanti streets are among the must-see streets. Since Valletta's street plan is in the form of a grid, you can easily find the streets you are looking for.
One of the must-see activities in Valletta is the ball throwing ceremony held every day at 12:00 and 16:00 on the city walls. You can watch this show from Upper Barakka Gardens.
Other places to visit in Valletta include the Grand Master Palace, St. Johns Cathedral, Manoel Theater and the National Library. You can also join boat tours from the port.
After dinner, we tasted Maltese ice cream at the ice cream shop Amorino on Republic street. We ate 3,5 types of ice cream for around 3 euro.
Our day, which started in Istanbul, ended by visiting 3 cities, so we went back to our hotel and retired to rest. A busy schedule awaited us on Sunday.
Nature Beauty Blue Grotto
We got up early on Sunday morning, ate our food from the cafe and bakery under our hotel, and hit the road again before it was too late. Apart from its yellow stone buildings and bay windows, Malta's natural beauties are also remarkable. There are many beaches and diving spots on the island, which is preferred by Europeans for their summer holidays. Although we did not enjoy the sea because we went when the weather was cold, Blue Grotto, one of Malta's interesting natural structures, was on our route. Again, take the bus from Gzira to Valletta, We took the number 74 bus from Valletta to the Blue Grotto.
When you look at the sea view, a beautiful shape has been formed in the interesting crevice that the waves opened to the rocks. Apart from that, there is nothing to see here in this season. When the weather is nice, boat tours are organized here, it can be interesting to see it from the sea.
The World's Oldest Temples Hagar Qim and Mnajdra
After a half-hour walk from the Blue Grotto to the northwest with a sea view, we came to the region where there were two temples, which were the oldest temple in the world until Göbeklitepe in Turkey was found, but left its crown to Göbeklitepe. Admission is 10 euros per person.
First, they show a 4D movie show explaining the history of the temples. Then they prepared a small museum. Visiting these temples, which were designed for the sun thousands of years ago, is like a journey in history...
There is a walking distance of 500 meters between the two temples. Since they are in a windy and sunny area, they built large awnings to protect them, it was both aesthetic and protective.
After seeing the temples, we came back to Valletta again. When we came to Hagar Qim, we looked at the departure bus times and arranged our return accordingly, we recommend it to you, because the buses don't come here very often.
This time we saw the streets in Valletta, which we had visited the night before, in daylight, and watched the ball throwing ceremony. We wandered around the streets and took lots of photos again.
What to Eat in Malta
Malta doesn't have many unique dishes. Malta's famous dish for our last meal in Malta rabbit stew I wanted to eat. We went to a restaurant called Angelica (angelicamalta.com) recommended by Jamie Oliver. They have created set menus for lunch, with a main course + salad or dessert for 19,9 euros. However, if you choose rabbit as the main course, it is an extra 4,9 euros. When we ordered a beer, we got 30 euros per person. It was our most expensive meal in Malta.
Everywhere with Italian influence except rabbit pizza, meat You can find restaurants. There are different options for those who want to try different cuisines.
Pastries It is delicious and the ingredients are not spared. Halva, Turkish delight It is possible to see the flavors that we are very familiar with in many places. Also, of course, ice cream is everywhere.
Where Would I Go If I Take a 4-5 Day Trip to Malta?
When we went to Malta for the weekend, of course, we did not have the chance to see every place we wanted. Here are the places I would go if we had more time:
- I would like to get lost in the side streets of the places I have seen on the island. The houses with bay windows made of yellow Maltese stone are a great decoration for those who love to take pictures. Side streets of Valletta, Mdina and Mosta It's worth spending more time on.
- Famous for its eye-patterned boats and fish restaurants around the harbour, which have almost become the symbol of Malta. marsalox town should be added to the list.
- The set where the Popeye animation film was shot and later opened to tourism. Popeye Village near the northern tip of the island.
- St. Julian I would like to spend an evening in the region, but when it was our only evening, we preferred to spend it in Valletta.
- Gozo ve Cumin islands can be good alternatives for those who want to have a summer holiday, especially in summer.
Stay on the road…