Natural Crafts Valette

Its colorful, swaying boats, ducks and cats are the recurring themes of every tourist calendar in the country. You'll also notice the small statue of Saint Julian that gives the town its name. At the water's edge, still at the end of the bay, new modern buildings have recently appeared. You'll understand what they mean when their shadows on the ground form the word "Love". In Spinola Bay, the local brass band's bar makes sure you don't forget that the pleasure town was once a peaceful village. But it's not so easy to notice. Every facade, every building is occupied by restaurants. They all try to make their terraces look bigger or better than their neighbors', but they're all a good option if you're in the mood for a romantic dinner. This is a very lively area in the evenings, especially on weekends. The atmosphere is family-friendly and chic, and most of the restaurants are quite expensive. As you walk up rue Saint-George, you'll pass the Palazzo Spinola. Its name and that of the bay come from an Italian knight who had this beautiful residence built in 1688. Half a century later, his grand-nephew remodeled it to give it its current appearance, that of an interesting and graceful building that today houses a business center. It was this same Spinola who built the small Church of the Immaculate Conception, to provide a nearby place of worship.

Behind Paceville, this bay has a beautiful beach, unfortunately very dirty in summer: the gossip is all over the sand, even if the place is monitored and large panels encourage to keep the place clean. The swimming pool is moderately pleasant, especially since the beach is small and quickly crowded in summer. It is also the trend beach where we must be seen: Pretty girls and beautiful boys at sight.

You access St George's Bay on foot through the discotheques, then descending the stairs to Baystreet, the big shopping mall that transformed the bay. A leisure complex recently added to the shopping center (cinemas, IMAX, rink, bowling) and the very large and luxurious Intercontinental Hotel. If the replacement of this hotel by another large emirati hotel complex is now forgotten, another hotel project is now being debated: the construction of a concept of rock coffee which would come to the place occupied by the building of the school of tourism. The project still divides many but the fate of the school of tourism is already sealed, she will join Smartville.

This is the first bay from Sliema. There are a few hotels on the seafront, and at the back of the bay there are small restaurants that spread their terraces on the square in summer. You will of course notice the swimming pool of the local water polo club. You will not be surprised to see sometimes a huge Belgian flag which colours the bay with its three colours. It is not that of a Belgian protectorate but the colours of the St Julian Aquatic Club. It is dominated by the church of the Carmelites and by a superb building with vast niches on the façade.

The coastline along the districts of Sliema and St Julian's offers many rocky walls that have been built to allow you to take a dip. Sometimes with Valletta as a backdrop, just a stone's throw from the traffic. This beach has the peculiarity of being watched over by lifeguards and the great originality of this rocky part is that it preserves old saltworks that have been converted into natural swimming pools. It is really worth the detour and the photo. Other spots in Sliema: Fort Tigné, Qui si-Sana, Għar id-Dud and Exiles.

The new district of Portomaso is easily recognizable, thanks to its high tower that dominates the city. It is the concrete part of the city. The project proposed by the architects was so delirious that its execution was postponed for a long time, as this development project from Portomaso to Saint Julian has been the subject of multiple disputes since its inception in the mid-1990s. This huge and incredible complex, emerging from a previously unexploited stretch of rocky beach, has seen the construction of this thirty-storey tower, which you will see very clearly when you land in Malta, itself surrounded by a shopping centre, three giant marinas around which luxury apartment buildings are set up, the new Hilton Hotel with its countless swimming pools, a congress centre and numerous shopping malls. The purpose of these marinas was simple: it gave you the possibility to disembark there by boat and go directly to your apartment or hotel room. You will find the only restaurants worthy of a star on the spot. The church of Notre-Dame-de-Bon-Conseil, once high and modern, is now barely visible near the big tower. But in the end it fits in well with the whole. Continuing along Triq il-Knisjia (Church Street), where the church is located, you will come to the Westin Dragonara, a superb hotel with a casino and many leisure facilities.