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Hotel Class: 
3 Stars - 69 Opinions
Castille Square, c/w St. Paul's Street, Valletta, Island of Malta, VLT 07, Malta
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of people enjoy staying here
69 Opinions
Port of Valletta
Valletta skyline from Sliema
At St John's Co-Cathedral
ferry landing, Valletta, Malta 2010
Hello all
We are arriving into Valetta at the end of Jan on a cruise ship and was hoping we might be able to do our own little self guided tour??? Any tips on how to get into town and what to see, would be awesome. We have only 7 hrs though so not much time.
Cheers
Nik and Geoff.
We did the same on our cruise port top. There is plenty to see within walking distance of the pier. Just grab a port map onboard and walk.
Heh thanks, we didn't even know you could get such maps onboard! Cruise virgins!
Central historical Valetta is very small indeed...7 hours will be ample time to explore.
You can simply walk from your cruise dock up into the town centre. Must-sees are St John's co-cathedral and the magnificent city walls. The Upper and Lower Barakka Gardens are small but pleasant (perhaps not so pleasant in January). You'll you'll get good views of the Three Cities from there.
Apart from those places, just wander the streets looking at the balconies 9a feature of the city's architecture) and walk the walls a bit...good views of Sliema and the harbour from the other side to where your ship will dock.
Crossing the width of the city will only take you 15 minutes or so...its length maybe 25 minutes (although it is a bit hilly in parts0. So you'll have ample time.
You might even want to take a bus or taxi out to Cospicuaa (the most interesting of the 3 Cities, imo).
Have a look at my VT Valletta pages for info and tips about what to see and do.
From the cruise ship dock to the Old City center is a very steep climb uphill- something to take into account if you have any health issues. I think there are mini buses that can take you there, and of course taxis- but they will probably want to try to talk you into taking a half day tour. Besides the sights already mentioned there is a unique place to visit outside of the downtown area, the Hypogeum. I have info on my pages if it's of any interest. But they only allow 10 people per hour to take the tour- tickets have to be prebooked on their website.
Also, make sure you are up on deck at the time when the ship is pulling into Valetta harbor. It will be the highlight of your cruise!
The Hypogeum is indeed wonderful though some way out of Valletta in Paoloa (you'll need a taxi, probably, because you won't really have time to get your had round the excellent Maltese bus system).
And you most definitely do have to book online, and well in advance. Here's the official booking website:
http://www.heritagemalta.org/hmshop/hmshop.html
Best thing to do when you disembark from the ship is to take one of the open top buses (north tour is the best) and you can see half of Malta in three hours. Then you'll have enough time to tour Valletta - St John's co Cathedral is a must, the upper Barrakka, Hastings and the Palace.
Here's the website for the bus tours:
http://www.maltasightseeing.com/tours.html
Unfortunately the website does not give the route details so you will need to contact the company to find out whether the tours run in January and, if so, where the stopping point in Valletta is.
Exploring the town was a pleasant experience .
The views are wonderful and the building are interesting.
Everyplace, I went was very tidy and extremely clean.
The people were very helpful, nice and friendly. I went to a art shop that had several different sellers of the most beautiful handmade glass items.
I bought several peices that were from several different vendors.
The all the craftmanship was exceptional and the variety of the peices is extraordinary.
While visiting the Upper Barrakka Gardens of Valletta, I happened upon this statue which reminded me greatly of a similar statue of Winston Churchill in London. The statue in Valletta is dedicated to Sir Paul Boffa who I learned was indeed once a Prime Minister as was Churchill himself.
Sir Paul Boffa, born in Vittoriosa in June, 1890, was quite a man and an important part of Malta's history in the early to mid-20th century. He graduated from the University of Malta with a medical degree in 1912. He later served during WWI in the Royal Medical Corp, afterwich he opened a medical practice. He entered the political arena when Malta was granted self-government by Britain in 1921.
Mr. Boffa became an important figure in Maltese history because as the elected leader of the Labour Party in 1927 he brought recognition to the need for workers to have equal representation in government. His political activities temporarily became secondary to medicine again during his service in WWII and he was awarded the Order of the British Empire in 1941. Following the war, he was elected the first Labour Party Prime Minister in 1947, and was subsequently awarded many honors.
Prime Minister Boffa will be remembered not only as a physician and Prime Minister, but for founding and leading the Maltese Workers' Party, his work in gaining recognition of the Maltese language in Courts of Law, and for compulsory primary education and establishment of old-age pensions for Maltese citizenry.
Sir Paul Boffa died in July, 1962, and is buried in Tarxien. Fittingly, a hospital in Floriana has been named after him.
The Tourist Information Office in Valletta is on your right as soon as you enter the main gate. You can get some really good leaflets of walking tours around Malta from there. These leaflets all have a map with the places of interest indicated, really good.
The Office is open everyday from 09.00 to 17.30 and also on Sundays from 09.00 to 12.30. Closed on Public Holidays. Tel : 21237747, 21255844
Chill out and relax with a cool drink and people watch. At lunchtime this quare with different outdoor cafe's etc., gets pretty busy.
I did not put this under the restaurant tip, as there were many establishments within, so put it here under a general tip.
It is in the area of Republic Square (Misrah Ir-Repubblika)
Valletta took its name by French Jean Parisot de la Vallette, who was the leader of the famous Knights of Malta. They arrived in the country in 1530, having been forced by Suleiman II to leave their former home in Rhodes (I lived at this wonderful greek island the first three years of my life). Having resisted a further attack by the Turks (for many months!), they started to build the city after 1565.
Grand Harbour is next to Fort St. Elmo (the War Museum is in this fort), it is the best physical port in Europe. For centuries, conquerors and pirates were trying to occupy it...
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Q: Day trip from Gozo to Valletta by seaplane "My girlfriend, my 14yr old son and I have a week's holiday in Gozo in August. We're thinking of taking the seaplane to Valetta for..."
A: "I think a full day in Valletta would do to explore the town quite well. You could add a second visit to Malta to go to Mdina."
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Address: Castille Square, c/w St. Paul's Street, Valletta, Island of Malta, VLT 07, Malta
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