Valletta is the capital of the country, but actually it is a part of a bigger aglomeration that binds a few nearby cities together like Sliema or the Three Cities. The Three Cities is a collective description of the three fortified cities of Birgu, Senglea and Cospicua in Malta, with Birgu being the oldest one existing even before the middle ages. The aglomeration is located on three peninsulas. Sliema on the north, Valletta in the middle and the Three Cities on the south. It is actually the easiest to move between cities using ferries that depart every 15 minutes, but buses are convenient too. The whole country is connected by a network of public buses what allows moving around with ease and relatively low budget. Well, the ferry crossing is not covered by public busses, but they stop at terminals in Cirkewwa (Malta) and Mgarr (Gozo).

 I titled this post "Valletta", but in fact I am talking about the whole area of Valletta, Sliema and Three Cities because it was so hard to distinguish one from another. Initially, I considered puting the whole island in one post, but it would be too long to handle. Besides, it is its seperate story in a way!

Valletta is the historic heart of Malta, but its area is merely 0,8 km2 what makes it the smallest capital in Europe. It is a city with the highest concentration of historic sights on a square kilometer. Nearly every building has a historic value. It is Baroque in character, with elements of Mannerist, Neo-Classical and Modern architecture, though the Second World War left major scars on the city, particularly the destruction of the Royal Opera House. The city was officially recognised as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1980.

Malta was a great getaway destination for one week, and our journey around the capital started in Sliema, a city located a ferry-ride-away from the centre.

Sliema was indeed a different story than Valletta, shots above were taken there during the first walk of the trip. It was much more resort-like, with a number of large hotels on its waterfront and a ton of tours and attractions agents on the promenade. It seemed everything, but historic and monumental but once going deeper in its alleys it looked much nicer and also had a sense of how typical maltese life would look like. 

Sliema was more like a bedroom for us and probably for most visitors, and the real Valletta began with boarding the ferry. 

Even seen from afar it is noticible that Valletta is insanely packed with historic structures. I noticed a number of forts of fort-like structures on the terraces surrounding the main city, and I haven't really had the time to properly see any of them. Well, their presence is quite understandable knowing Malta's dynamic history. But not only the forts were catching my attention, but numerous belltowers or pinnacles too.

My first impressions were - oh wow how elegant and consistiently monumental this city is, but also how quirky and colourful! The overall view of wide streets with limestone building was quite impressive on its own, but the colourful details were completing the full image - mostly doors, windows, doorknobs, sculptures, plants or plant-pots or very typical wooden bay windows. But some streets or venues had absolutely gorgeous and quirky decorum, for example with retro lampshades as street lanterns

Most streets were on ortogonal plan, making it very easy to navigate. Only some of them were accessible for cars, as a general rule the centre is designed for walking. The maltese just love festives, and streets are additionally decorated.

The city is elevated higher than I would have expected, it was hard to imagine even with seeing all the terraces from afar. The whole central area is elevated and from numerous spots a fantastic panorama can be seen. Specially at Upper Barrakka Gardens and Lower Barrakka Gardens. Higher Barrakka Gardens are easily accessible from the centre, or from the ferry terminal by a... lift! And after a whole day of walking you will appreciate this lift, believe me. The gardens are decorated with massive arches and open up to a fantastic panorama to the Three Cities. The gardens are located on the upper tier of St. Peter & Paul Bastion, which was built in the 1560s. The bastion's lower tier contains the Saluting Battery.

The Barrakka gardens are a perfect spot to flee from the midday heat, by hiding in the shade of its trees.

When tired of walking around we found ourselves at the tip of vallettan peninsula, in a totally different world, on a tiny rocky beach just by some fishermen's cabins. 

And back to the centre.

On the way to the ferry terminal, we also went into the lower Barrakka gardens, but it was closed off due to come private celebration, a wedding probably. We did manage to sneak in and see the main memoria, but that was basically it. The garden looked spendid, though.

Malta is really, really British. It is feelable that they were under strong british influence and that it is still a part of their culture. Well, I am not necessairly talking about the iconic phone booths standing in random places, but also in architecture and urban structures, the roads have the same markings, driving on the left side of the road, love for terraced houses and colourful doors. 

The afternoon we walked around the Three Cities, Birgu mostly, without any proper destination - just the alleys and harbour, but in the end we found a way to walk around fort St. Angelo through a hole in the fort wall, where a bunch of locals enjoyed their beach day.

Birgu, also known as "Victorious City" used to be the capital for some time, it was built before Valletta. Birgu is ideally situated for safe anchorage, and over time it has developed a very long history with maritime, mercantile and military activities.

By accident, we managed to catch the sunset from Higer Barrakka Gardens. That was one good coincidence!

Now, lets take a dive into Valletta's nightlife!

Finally, before renting a car and leaving the capital, we walked through central Sliema. Local houses were co adorably colourful, that it was a pleasure to do.