Where the foodie goes: Malta & Gozo in 5 days

As you might've seen on my Instagram story - if not, feel free to give me a like on there ;) - I've been on a holiday. I didn't had any preselected location in mind, I just went with the cheapest option and that was Malta. A beautiful, small island close to Sicily with a lot of places and monuments waiting for you to be seen. Once again, I went alone and if you haven't done such thing already, I really recommend it to you. It's great to be alone for a while! The freedom, the fact that you can do whatever you want ... it's just amazing.

But back to Malta. I visited the island of Malta and Gozo in five days. I used the public transport to do so, but you can easily rent a car in the airport. Keep in mind that they drive on the left side of the road and aren't always the most 'friendly drivers'. If you want to travel cheap, I do recommend using public transport. For only €21 you'll be able to use a unlimited amount of buses which come in frequently, on time (mostly) and are available to use for a large part of the day and night. I'm going to give you an insight of my week and what I've done. In the coming week, I'll publish a compact travel guide for you to use when you want to visit Malta as well.

Day 1 - Valletta: Cultural Capital of Europe 2018

My plane arrived around 11am and the first thing I did - besides letting everyone know that I landed safely - was to buy a Tallinja Explore Card for €21 to get me everywhere on Malta and Gozo. With that taken care of, I took the bus to Valletta where my hotel for the coming days was situated. I stayed at the Vincent Boutique which is a charming, small B&B in the centre of Valletta. After I checked in, I went back to the city gates to start a walk around the city. I started at the Triton fountian from which I continued to the city gates. Right when you enter the city you'll see the new parliament building - which is a very beautiful piece of architecture if you ask me - and the Royal Opera house which has been bombed during WWII. I just walked straight ahead on Republic Street, passing the National Museum of Archeology - I didn't had the time to visit this museum, though it is said to be worth a visit - and stopped at the St John's Co-cathedral. Nothing special from the outside, but the inside is marvelous! Gold everywhere you look! You have to see it with your own eyes because words really can't describe it.

I then walked a little further down Republic street and passed the Grandmaster's Palace. Again, I didn't pay this gem a visit due to some time shortage unfortunatly. I kept walking down Republic Street until the very end where I was greeted by Fort St Elmo. This fort withstanded some wars and is really nice to walk around in. The ticket for the fort gives you access to the National War museum as well where you get insight in the very widespread war history of Valletta. Don't think it's just a regluar boring museum about war though, the museum has a very nice set-up with lots of videos to keep you entertained. I continued my walk following Mediterranean Street, alongside the water, passing the Siege Bell War Memorial and ended up in the Upper Barrakka Gardens.

I ended the day by taking the new panoramic elevator form the Upper Barrakka Gardens - going down is free, but if you want to go back up again, you'll have to pay a small fee - from where I walked to Valletta Waterfront. Exhausted from the travel and the walk, I went back to my room to get some well deserved sleep.

Day 2 - Gozo

I woke up quite early to get to the ferry on the other side of the island. It only took a bus trip of 1 hour to get there and after a boat trip of 10 minutes, I was ready to explore Gozo. Now, you can use the Explore card here as well, but I found that there are 'hop on, hop off buses' here as well. Since the bus lines on Gozo aren't that well laid out as they are in Malta, I decided to buy myself a ticket for one of these buses. In that way I would be able to see a lot more of the island, and I did! I'm not saying I saw the entire island, but it comes close. I first went to Dwerja where I sadly didn't see the Azure Window since it collapsed a few years ago. The site itself is still worth visiting though! The surroundings have an extraterrestrial vibe which makes for great pictures. From there on I went to Ta'Pinu, a church where you'll find a shrine packed with letters from people asking for help. It's really worth a stop.

I then hopped off in Victoria, the capital city of Gozo. There you'll find the citadel in which you can wander around for some time. Get ready for some stunning views as well! You'll see far and broad when you're going to the highest point of the citadel.

After that, I hopped on the bus again and hopped off at Marsalforn, a trendy beach village with salt pans closeby. I didn't have time to walk up there, but the city itself is very nice to walk around in as well. Just follow the path along the seaside and enjoy the nice views.

After Marsalforn, Ramla Bay Beach was next on my list. The sand here has a deep orange colour which makes for a fantastic landscape. If you're looking for a place to shoot some Instagram worthy pictures, this is the place to be!

Before I left Gozo, I drank a glass of wine on the terrace in Gleneagles bar which looks out over the harbour. Unfortunatly, Tmun restaurant - which is said to be the best restaurant of Gozo - was closed. I did however had a wonderfull meal in Legligin, a cosy restaurant in Valletta. They only serve a tasters menu and wine of water. The tasters menu gives you the chance to get to know the Maltese kitchen since you'll be served small portions of typical Maltese dishes. I really recommend this place if you're interested in getting to know the Maltese kitchen!

Day 3 - Mdina, Golden Bay, St Julian & Sliema

First stop of the day: Mdina! Game of Thrones fans might recognize the city gate since it has been used in the series a few times. When entering the city, you get catapulted into history. The houses and overall atmosphere are so different from what we're used to which makes it not so surprising that series such as Game of Thrones are filmed withing these city walls. I visited Palazzo Falson which gives you great insight in the lifes of those who used to live here.

A 10 minute walk takes you to the catacombs of St. Paul's. This place is great to understand why and when catacombs were used, and are great to find some refreshement during hot summer days. Before getting on my bus to Golden Bay Beach, I bought a Maltese Ftira which is a crunchy bread stuffed with tomato paste, tuna, anchovy, olives and beans. A tasty and cheap lunch you can grab on the go.

Golden Bay Beach hasn't stolen it's name. When you're walking down the road, you're greeted by a blue sea and golden sand. I can imagine it being quite crowded here during the summer. Not now though, it was very calm and peaceful. I noticed thatt there were quite a lot of washed up jellyfishes on the beach, but that is a common thing in Malta apparently. Make sure to bring a towel and a good book if the weather allows it and if you have some extra time on your hands. It's one of the nicest beaches I've seen so far.

I ended the day wandering around St Julian and Sliema. Make sure to stop at the Dragonara Casino! It used to be a grand mansion in the older days, but they transformed it into a casino later on. When it was around 7 pm, I went for a bite in Piccolo Padre. They offered me a table with sea view and if you're here, I would ask for one too since it just adds to your dining experience. I went for a pizza with maltese cheese and sausages. A little on the heavier side, but very tasty! To end my day, I drank a cocktail in the lobster experience which is located in an amazing and impressive building and not very far away from Piccolo Padre. After that, I went back to Valletta and fell asleep almost immedialty.

Day 4 - Hypogeum, Blue Grotto, Hagar Qim Temples, St. Paul's Pool & Marsaxlokk

Day 4 started with a trip to the Hypogeum, a prehistoric burial site which has been discovered during renovation works. Since the site is very sensitive to light and changing atmosphere caused by the presence of visitors, only small groups are allowed inside the caves and no pictures can be taken. It is however a must see when you're in Malta! Though the price is quite high, it is really worth it considering what they've done and still do to preserve this piece of history. Book in advance!

Next on my list was the Blue Grotto. It's adviced to visit this place in the morning/early noon since, during that time of day, the way the light falls onto the sea will give the water a deep azure colour. I was really hoping to take a boat trip there, but unfortunatly the water was a little too wild so, no boat ride for me. The panoramic point it was! It was beautiful nonetheless. Just a few minutes away from the Blue Grotto, you'll find the Hagar Qim temples. This complex of temple buldings are dating back to prehistoric times and are quite magnificant to look at. Before you're granted acces to the temples, you're asked to watch a 4D movie about the temples and their history, which is quite amusing.

From there on I headed to Marsaxlokk which is the fisher's village of Malta. This very charming place is filled with colourful, typical Maltese fisherboats that all have an eye of Osiris on their hull which is believed to give the fishermen good fortune while they're out on the sea. After wandering around there, I took a 20 minute walk to St. Peter's Pool, a small bay that's surrounded by amazing landscapes. During the summer people often come here to take a swim and chill, but now it was very calm and peaceful. The surrounding makes for some excellent pictures and was unlike anything I've seen so far. I really don't know how to describe it though, so I let the pictures speak for themselves.

I came back to Marsaxlokk and was lucky enough to witness the sunset which made the sky turn pink and purple. A marvelous sight to witness. I then went to Ir-Rizzu for Aljotta, a Maltese fish soup which was accompanied with some tasty maltese tapas. It was then time for me to head back to Valletta and pack my stuff since I had to catch my flight the day after this one.

Day 5 - Lascaris War Rooms & Birgu

My last day in Malta. Luckily my flight left at 7.30 pm so I still had a whole day to fill in. In the morning, I went to Lascaris War Rooms. This underground complex was used by the British army as their headquartes during WWII. If you are in Malta, please stop by and visit this amazing place! The guide will tell you many stories about how things went down here in such a way that you'll feel like you were actually there! After the tour, you'll get the chance to wander around the complex yourself and take as many pictures as you like.

In the afternoon, I went to Birgu to visit the Inquisitor's Palace. Apparently this is the last Inquisitor's Palace that's open for public so it's also something you must visit when you're nearby. It gives great insight in the way of life of the Inquisition which is very interesting to say the least. After this, it was time to get my stuff at the hotel and leave for the airport. I had an amazing time in Malta and I realy wish you te same if you ever decide to go there!