What to do in Malta - Malta at Christmas

Christmas is a very important day for the people of Malta and its sister Island of Gozo. In Maltese Happy/Merry Christmas is ‘Il-Milied it-Tajjeb’.

Christmas in Malta

For a very special, spiritual evening, one should join the congregation at St. John’s Co-Cathedral in Valletta for candlelit carol singing. Other Baroque parish churches across the Maltese Islands are just as awe-inspiring during Advent. Their interiors are decked out in papal crimson and altars are adorned with flowers. All churches have a calendar of events, ranging from the procession of Mary and Joseph, to streets with groups of children carol singing. The Churches are decorated with lights and nativity cribs known as ‘Presepju’, built by the church goers. Christmas Eve’s midnight mass is the most significant holiday tradition in Malta as the country is widely Catholic, thus churches are heavily populated during this ceremony. During midnight mass, a boy or a girl, normally aged 7 to 10 years old, delivers a homily instead of the priest. This is called ‘Priedka tat-Tifel’ which means the preaching of the child.

Qaghaq tal-Ghasel

Imbuljuta tal-Qastan

Maltese traditions

Maltese people enjoy a wide range of food at Christmas. Traditionally, the Maltese house-wife kept the fattest rooster, ‘hasi’, especially for Christmas Lunch, which was roasted at the local bakery in a casserole dish full of potatoes and vegetables. The customary dessert served at Christmas was the Treacle Ring, ‘Qaghaq tal-Ghasel’. To finish it off, a hot Chestnut and Cocoa Soup, ‘Imbuljuta tal-Qastan’, which was served as a cosy night cap during the cold December days. Today the traditional Maltese menu has made way for Christmas Turkey, Christmas Cakes, Christmas Puddings and Mince Pies, all inherited during 164 years of British rule (1800 - 1964) in Malta. The Italian Panettone has also become a Christmas favourite amongst Maltese residents. Some of the Maltese are nowadays enjoying their traditional Christmas Lunch together with their families in superior Malta Restaurants.

If you would like to experience memorable Malta Holidays, then contact the team of this leading Malta Hotel.

About Malta: Valletta - The Fortress City

Valletta - a fortified city

Valletta owes its existence to the Knights of St John, who planned the city as a refuge to care for injured soldiers and pilgrims during the Crusades in the 16th century. Until the arrival of the Knights, Mount Sceberras, on which Valletta stands, lying between two natural harbours, was an arid tongue of land. No building stood on its bare rocks except for a small watch tower, called St Elmo, at its extreme end. Grand Master La Valette, the gallant hero of the Great Siege of 1565, soon realised that if the Order was to maintain its hold on Malta, it had to provide adequate defences. Therefore, he drew up a plan for a new fortified city on the Sceberras peninsula. Pope Pius V and Philip II of Spain showed interest in the project. They both promised financial aid and the Pope lent the Knights the services of Francesco Laparelli, a military engineer, who drew up the necessary plans for the new city and its defences. Work started in earnest in March 1566 - first on the bastions and, soon after, on the more important buildings. The new city was to be called Valletta in honour of La Valette. The Grand Master didn’t live to see its completion and he died in 1568. His successor, Pietro del Monte continued with the work at the same pace. By 1571, the Knights transferred their quarters from Vittoriosa (Birgu) to their new capital. Architect Laparelli left Malta in 1570. He was replaced by his assistant Gerolamo Cassar, who had spent some months in Rome, where he had observed the new style of buildings in the Italian city. Cassar designed and supervised most of the early buildings, including the Sacra Infermeria, St John’s Church, the Magisterial Palace and the seven Auberges, or Inns of Residence of the Knights.

By the 16th century, Valletta had grown into a sizeable city and people from all parts of the island flocked to live within its safe fortifications especially as Mdina, until then Malta’s capital, lost much of its lure. In the ensuing years, the serious mannerist style of Cassar’s structures gave way to the more lavish palaces and churches with graceful facades and rich sculptural motifs that we see today. The new city, with its strong bastions and deep moats, became a fortification of great strategic importance. Valletta’s street plan is unique and planned with its defence in mind. Based on a more or less uniform grid, some of the streets fall steeply as you get closer to the tip of the peninsula. The stairs in some of the streets do not conform to normal dimensions since they were constructed in a way so as to allow knights in heavy armour to be able to climb the steps.

Fast forward a few centuries and the city built by gentlemen for gentlemen came under another siege; this time in the shape of World War II which brought havoc to Malta. Valletta was badly battered by the bombing, but the city withstood the terrible blow and, within a few years, it rose again. During the postwar years, Valletta lost many of its citizens who moved out to more modern houses in other localities and its population dwindled to 9,000 inhabitants. However, in the last few years many individuals with a flair for unique architecture are trickling back into the city and investing in old properties.

Valletta, the smallest capital of the European Union, is now the island’s major commercial and financial centre and is visited daily by throngs of tourists eager to experience the city’s rich history.

Valletta Attractions

Despite measuring just 900 metres by 630 metres, Valletta boasts over 25 churches, a testament to the centuries-old ingrained Catholic faith of the Maltese. In fact, the first building that went up in the city is the church of Our Lady of Victories along South Street, which commemorates the lifting of the Great Siege. The Co-Cathedral of St John is nothing short of a gem and quite simply a must for any tourist. Described as the first complete example of high Baroque anywhere, it epitomises the spiritual and military role of its patrons. The Cathedral is a showcase to Mattia Preti who intricately carved stone wall designs, as well as the painted vaulted ceiling and side altars with scenes from the life of St John. Among the treasures found in the Cathedral are the unique Caravaggio painting depicting the beheading of St John, the extraordinary paving of more than 300 marble tomb slabs (the burial place of several former European princes), and the splendid vaulted central nave with frescoes of Mattia Preti.

If you’re looking for enjoyable Malta City Breaks, then stay in one of the leading Malta Hotels close to Valletta with its superb attractions, museums, restaurants and shops.

Malta Feasts - A Day for Victory

Il-Vitorja, as it is known in Malta or Otto Settembre, is a public holiday celebrated every year on the 8th September. This honours Malta’s two most significant sieges - in 1565 and in 1940, during the Second World War. On this day the Maltese also commemorate the birth of the Virgin Mary, known as Il-Bambina, whose feast is celebrated in Senglea, Naxxar, Mellieha and Xaghra, Gozo.

The historical prominence of this feast was initiated during the Great Siege, in which the Knights of Malta battled the Ottomans. In 1565, after three months in battle, the Ottomans retreated from Vittoriosa and Senglea. Although this was not the last battle, as fighting continued in St. Paul’s Bay for some time, it can be said that the withdrawal from the South marked the end of the Great Siege, which is renowned as one of the bloodiest sieges in the world and the longest in Malta. On the 7th September 1565, the Gran Soccorso fleet arrived from Sicily, which prompted the Turks to surrender.

In 1943, Italy joined the Allies in fighting against the Nazis, after having previously supported the Germans. This marked the end of bombing in Malta.

The Vitorja is marked by diverse activities in several Maltese villages. Moreover in Valletta, the Capital, the day starts with cultural activities in the main square, which include literature, music and art exhibitions. A parade by the Armed Forces marches down Republic Street until it arrives at the Co-Cathedral of St. John, where the Prime Minister is saluted and the national anthem is sung. A commemorative Mass is attended by the highest authorities in the country. The President later places a wreath on the Great Siege Monument. The traditional Regatta is held from mid-day at the Grand Harbour. Various teams from Cospicua, Vittoriosa, Senglea, Kalkara, Marsa, Marsamxett and Birzebbugia compete in rowing races in the main categories. The winning club is awarded the highly-coveted Shield trophy.

On the Sister Island of Gozo, celebrations include a commemorative night in Pjazza Independenza in Victoria. The event is attended by the Minister for Gozo.

If you would like to stay informed about Malta events during your holidays kindly visit the Grand Hotel Excelsior website.

72 hours in Malta

300 days of sunshine, crystal clear Mediterranean waters, 7,000 years of history, thriving local traditions and laid-back rural villages, delicious cuisine and a vibrant nightlife – Welcome to Malta!

Stay at the Grand Hotel Excelsior, two minutes away from Valletta, and relive the Knight’s of St. John legacy. Visit the medieval city of Mdina, one of Europe’s finest examples of an ancient walled city and extraordinary in its mix of medieval and baroque architecture. Head north to enjoy Mediterranean sun, sand and sea. Experience Gozo where tranquillity is still a way of life. Enjoy Malta’s religious ‘festas’, adorned churches and glittering firework displays. Discover megalithic temples, rugged countryside and dramatic cliffs or submerge into a diver’s paradise. Wine and dine in stylish surroundings and party in lively evening venues.

If you have only three days in Malta, do not attempt to see it all. Although the area covered by the Maltese Islands is just 316 km², there is plenty to see and do so we recommend you experience just a few of Malta’s highlights to get a feeling of the island’s character.

We will start by giving you information about Things to do in Malta on Day 1.

Day 1 – Valletta & Sliema

With the Grand Hotel Excelsior as your home, the Capital Valletta, is probably the most obvious place to start. With the entire city declared a UNESCO World Heritage site, walking through its streets is nothing short of walking through an open-air museum. Walk along Republic Street to St John’s Co-Cathedral, the jewel of Valletta, with its gilded interior enough to make one’s jaw drop. Look out for the Caravaggio’s only signed painting, The Beheading of St John. Exit the Catheral and dive into the open-air market in Merchants’ Street. All in all, Valletta is also a great place for shopping.

Do take the time to wander through the alleyways, up and down the lopes and stairways, and to sit under the sun with a coffee watching the pigeons. In whichever order you choose to do these, try to be at the Upper Barrakka Gardens at noon for the re-enactment and shooting of the cannon, and enjoy one of the most spectacular views in Malta, that of the Grand Harbour.

For the afternoon we recommend a Harbour Cruise which takes you to see the the Three Cities from a unique perspective and which offers an insight to the essence of Maltese History.

Tomorrow we will be giving you some tips on what to do in Malta on Day 2. So visit the Blogs of the Grand Hotel Excelsior Malta to stay updated.

Should you wish to experience one of our exclusive tours during your Holidays in Malta kindly contact our chauffeur driven service on: +356 21250520 or on transport@excelsior.com.mt.

Photos courtesy of the Malta Tourism Authority.



Valletta - the Capital City of Malta

Valletta can be described as a living experience of Baroque architecture, dotted with quaint cafes, and over 25 churches, testament to the centuries-old grained Catholic faith of the Maltese nation. With its fortifications and history-filled streets, is probably the best known place in Malta and gems such as St. John’s Co-Cathedral justify its reputation.

Malta’s majestic Grand Harbour is one of the most spectacular ports in the world separating the capital city of Valletta from the historic cities of Vittoriosa, Senglea and Cospicua. The harbour has been a hive of activity for over two thousand years. With its imposing fortifications and vast panorama, Grand Harbour is Malta’s principal maritime gateway and a popular port-of-call for ships that are cruising the Mediterranean.

The Three Cities of Cospicua, Vittoriosa and Senglea are three of the oldest towns on the island of Malta. The town of Vittoriosa played an important role in the 1565 Great Siege of Malta.

Vittoriosa was the town in which the Knights of Malta settled in on their arrival from Rhodes in 1530. Vittoriosa together with Cospicua and Senglea form three important walled cities along one side of the Grand Harbour. The town of Kalkara is located close to the Three cities. The town gets its name from the latin word calce (lime) since a lime kiln was located here during the Roman times. In Kalkara one finds the quaint hamlet of Santu Rokku and Fort Ricasoli which over the years has been used for the construction of film sets for important blockbusters like Gladiator and Troy and the recent Agora.

For information on Things to do in Malta during your holiday speak to the Transport Desk at the Grand Hotel Excelsior Malta and they will guide you with some of our popular Malta Excursions.

The Making of Malta - Excellent Malta Holidays

Day 1 - More to Malta

The tiny island of Malta, adrift in the Mediterranean like a stepping stone between Italy and Africa, has been forced to endure many injustices in its 7,000-year history - a five-month siege by Ottoman Turks, irreparable looting by Napoleon’s garrisons and 154 days of Luftwaffe bombing to name but a few. Yet, in its own way, the current affront to Malta causes equal indignation.

I am talking, of course, of the island’s reputation as a mere bucket-and-spade, fly-and-flop package destination, with little more to offer than jam-packed dive sites and beaches crowded with leathery pensioners.

It is time to explode this myth and send it scurrying for cover like the returning French football team.

Malta is in fact the perfect destination for anyone with a penchant for history, culture, stand-and-stare architecture, gin-clear water and meals that revolve around the fishermen’s catch. And if you want that wrapped in a fabulous climate then you’ll find that too - April to October sees little but sunshine, usually tempered by a cooling sea breeze.

Better still, it’s just a three-hour flight from the UK. Easyjet, Ryanair and BMI Baby all fly the route, though the national flag carrier, Air Malta, offers the more civilised flight times, operating out of Heathrow, Gatwick, Birmingham, Manchester and, in summer, Glasgow.

Transfers? Hardly an issue. The only airport is less than 45 minutes’ drive from anywhere on the island, and is just 8 km from Valletta, Malta’s Lilliputian capital (at barely a kilometre long and only 600 m wide, it may well be Europe’s smallest).

Perhaps to prove that Malta can cater as well for the discerning traveller as it can for the mass market, my friend and I choose to stay at the Grand Hotel Excelsior, Valletta’s most luxurious hotel, with an enviable position on the Marsamxett Harbour waterfront.

The lobby sets a tone of classical-inspired elegance, with a wide central staircase, freestanding statues and the smart Harbour View bar. But it’s not until you stop to take in said view that you realise you’re already on the sixth floor, with the bulk of the hotel’s far-reaching facilities focussed on the waterfront below you.

Serried ranks of sea-front rooms boast spacious balconies with magnificent views of the passing yachts and the honey-coloured buildings of Manoel Island. In fact, barely anywhere in the hotel is the water out of sight. From the moment you wake for breakfast at the glass-fronted Spice Island Restaurant (the smoked swordfish is a treat) to watching the sunset - cocktail in hand - by the freeform pool or on the small private beach, it’s almost impossible not to gaze out to sea.

Then again, such marvellous panoramas had a great deal to do with Valletta being built in the first place, though its orchestrators were thinking more about defence than impressing hotel guests.

In 1530, Malta was given to the spiritual and military order, the Knights of St John, whose origins trace back to the Christian Crusades of the 11th and 12th centuries. The Knights, however, almost lost the island to the Turks in the Great Siege of 1565 and, fearing further reprisals, set about building a new city in a more defensible position on the Sceberras Peninsula.

The result was Valletta, named after Jean Parisot de la Valette, the Grand Master of the Knights and the hero of the siege. Surrounded on three sides by the sea, Valletta was bestowed with churches, palaces, uildings tall enough to offer shade from the sun and straight streets to allow the cooling sea breezes to circulate. A great ditch was cut across the peninsula to protect the landward approach and massive walls and bastions were raised around the city’s perimeter. It remains a masterpiece of architecture and town planning, described by UNESCO as "one of the most concentrated historic areas in the world".

Among its streets, as I discover to my delight, are a number of great restaurants, cafes and wine bars. We begin with a glass of merlot at Trabuxu, a cosy spot decorated with oak barrels, musical instruments and black and white photos, before sitting down to eat in the private courtyard of Fusion Four, set into the 400-year-old bastion walls. Few restaurants exude as much charm and character; fewer back it up with either such warm-hearted service (the owner gave us a private tour of the restaurant’s museum as she filled us in on the island’s history) or such mouth-watering food: freshly caught sea bass and tender pork fillet, wrapped in pancetta and served on a bed of stewed apples.

Day 2 ­- Medieval Marvels

Valletta in daylight and my first impressions are of limestone façades fronting six- or seven-storey buildings. At street level, shopfront signs reveal Arabic and Italian influences ­- Maltese is close to colloquial Arabic and Sicily is just 90 minutes away by ferry - and on almost ever corner are the chiselled features of Catholic iconography. The Maltese claim to be one of the oldest Christian peoples in the world, having been converted by St Paul after his shipwreck on Malta in AD 60, and 98% of the island’s population remains Roman Catholic.

Fitting then that our first port of call is St John’s Co-Cathedral, the most impressive of Malta’s 359 Catholic churches. The façade may be plain, austere even, yet the interior is a celebration of Maltese baroque. The nave is long and low, with every wall, pillar and rib encrusted with ornamentation, including Maltese crosses and the arms of the Order. The floor is a patchwork of colourful marble tombs and the striking barrelled vault is divided into seven vast panels, each depicting a scene from the life of St John the Baptist.

But the headlines are held for what lies in the oratory: two original works by revolutionary painter, Caravaggio. His spine-tingling masterpiece, The Beheading of St John the Baptist, dominates the far wall (note the artist’s signature in the blood seeping from St John’s severed head), while opposite is his equally evocative work, St Jerome.

Outside, in the sunshine of Republic Square, waitresses ferry frothy cappuccinos while an enthroned statue of Queen Victoria looks on impassively. We don’t stop, however, preferring instead to take our refreshments at the Upper Barrakka Gardens, overlooking the British canons that top the bastion walls and the shimmering Grand Harbour beyond.

Once fortified, we board a yellow local bus for the short trip to Mdina. In medieval times, Mdina (from the Arabic for ’walled city’) was the favoured residence of the Maltese nobility and the seat of the governing council. But when the sea-faring Knights of St John made the Grand Harbour their base of operations, Mdina sank into the background.

This surely was its saving grace, as few old cities remain so gloriously unspoilt. This is historic Malta at its most photogenic: quiet streets and hidden lanes untouched by modern branding, wall-clinging bougainvillea and beautifully preserved palazzi (some, like Palazzo Falson, have been opened as museums, offering a rare glimpse behind aristocratic walls).

We eat lunch at the Fontanella Tea Gardens, perched on top of the bastion walls, looking out across the vineyards and dusty fields towards the ocean beyond. A pause between courses to wander the quiet streets, then dessert at Xara Palace, once a 17th century palazzo, now one of Malta’s most elegant small hotels.

Our trio of old cities concludes after dark with Vittoriosa, which faces Valletta from across the Grand Harbour. It was on this finger of land that the Knights of St John withheld the Turkish onslaught of 1565. Today, its regenerated waterfront sports open-air restaurants, a marina-cum-superyacht-parking-lot and even a casino. Yet despite the obvious flaunting of wealth, Vittoriosa remains quiet and picturesque. By day - I am told - its flower-bedecked alleys make for excellent aimless wanderings, while at night, the views of floodlit Valletta make a wonderful backdrop to the freshest of fish suppers.

Day 3 - Megalithic Magic

If seeing its walled cities had given me a sense of Malta’s last 500 years of history, I was about to be transported a lot further back in time. The temples of Hagar Qim and Mnajdra in south-east Malta were first thought to be copies of the Mycenaean temple style, yet carbon dating has since shown them to be a full millennium older.

Staggeringly, Malta’s megalithic temples are the oldest surviving free-standing structures in the world, built between 3600 and 2500 BC, more than 1,000 years before Giza’s Great Pyramid or Avebury’s Stonehenge. Hagar Qim and Mnajdra are among the best preserved and most evocative.

Tent-like structures have been erected above them to protect them from the elements and a shiny new visitors centre opened earlier this year. Walking through the monumental doorways into rounded rooms built of limestone blocks weighing up to 20 tons, erected by people who had neither metal tools nor even a written language, soon began to make my head spin.

What was needed was a walk to let history sink in. Leaving the temples, we take a coastal track towards Ghar Lapsi, where a cove in the limestone cliffs has been converted into a natural lido, with stone steps and iron ladders giving access to the limpid blue waters (such a pity about the blaring House music emanating from the waterfront restaurant).

Malta’s coastline is spectacular to behold, with layers of rock, millions of years old, forming vertical sea cliffs pocked with caves, reefs and vast limestone arches like the popular Blue Grotto. From June to October the average sea temperature is above 20°C and the water is an inviting turquoise blue.

Back by the pool at the Grand Hotel Excelsior, watching fireworks mark the start of another of Malta’s festas (a series of feast days that runs almost without stopping from June to September), I take stock of where I am. In front lies a harbour that’s played host to crusading knights and an Ottoman armada. Behind tower the walls of Europe’s first planned city. Scattered around me are contented guests and smiling staff - service alone at the Grand Hotel Excelsior is good enough to earn it its 5-star rating. I’ve found history and culture, swum in crystal-clear water and eaten like a king. But something is missing. Oh yes ... the buckets and spades and the package parades.

Writer: Pete Mathers

http://www.wexas.com/Malta/holidays/

12 July 2010