Old walled city of the center

We have enjoyed the morning down at the harbor of Marsaxlokk but the harbor is small and the town only got limited points of interest so we head for the center of the island. Like always on this island it involves a change of bus at the main bus terminal at Valetta – we manage to find the right bus and we are off for the center of the island.

The drive doesn’t take too long – there really aren’t any major distances on the Malta no matter where you want to go. We get out of the bus and walk up to the walled city of Mdina. We head inside the walls of the city and start to explore the town. The old town is really tiny so even though I have never been here before it is pretty difficult to get lost. We walk around the small streets looking at the nice old buildings and then head to the main cathedral to have a look at that from the outside. There are also a spot where you can get a decent view of the area around Mdina and all the way to the buildup north coast where you can see the white cities which follow the northern coastline. If you didn’t realize it already it becomes apparent the north coast is pretty build up for a long stretch at both sides of Valetta.

We have an extra look around inside the walls at the old town and pretty fast I get a feeling we have walked on all the streets inside the old town – it really isn’t a huge town so it doesn’t take very long. We walk back out across the bridge to the old town and then we decide to walk to another city.

The city of Mdina is defined by what is inside the walls. Just outside the wall you reach another city – the town of Rabat. Rabat looks like it is an old town more or less the same age as Mdina. There seem to have been a lot going on in the city today – apparently St. Patricks Day is huge on Malta and there had been some sort of religious parades in the morning. When we arrived the parades were finished but there were still some decorations in the streets which I assume was only out for the day and would be taken down late in the afternoon or possibly tomorrow.

We have a look around the town – we don’t spend very long – but if you have the time and are interested there apparently are some sights in the area called the St. Paul’s cave where St. Paul lived for a while when he shipwrecked at Malta. We decide to skip the cave and museum next to it and just head back searching for the bus to take us back to the main bus terminal of Valetta. When taking public transport around here you really get to know the bus terminal in Valetta.