.All Trips / Europe / Malta

A Stay at the Hotel Phoenicia, Valetta, Malta

09 The Phoenicia, Valletta

My wife and I visited Malta several years ago during the winter months.  It was a nice time of year to visit as the weather was very pleasant, hotels were offering discounts, and it wasn’t hard to get a table at a restaurant.
We decided to splurge a little and stayed at the Hotel Phoenicia, a five star accommodation just outside the gate of old Valetta in Floriana, near the Triton fountain.  This was both a good and bad choice.  The location, facility and grounds were terrific.  The food and service were below par for a hotel of this quality, and I’d not stay there again if we ever return to Malta.

(The Hotel Phoenicia, Valletta)

That said, I thought I

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.All Trips / Europe / Malta

The Palace State Rooms and Armoury, Valletta

00 Royal State Rooms and Armoury

One of  Malta’s most popular tourist attractions is a combination ticket to the Presidential Palace’s State Rooms and its Armoury.

You enter the attraction through the palace’s courtyard, a lovely spot with typical Valletta balcony and lovely clock tower.  After your stroll through the courtyard, you gain entry to the palace complex. Your initial stop is the:
State Rooms
The Presidential Palace in Valletta dates to 1566 and was built following the Great Siege of Malta.  It has undergone subsequent remodeling and enlargement, but core elements of the original construction remain.  During the country’s British period it served as the Governor’s Palace and was the seat of Malta’s first constitutional parliament in 1921.  The Palace was significantly damaged during World War …

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.All Trips / Europe / Malta

A Visit to Beautiful St. John’s Co-Cathedral, Valetta

‘s Co-Cathedral, Valleta

St. John’s Co-Cathedral occupies a square block in the historic walled city of Valletta and has an unassuming plain exterior, but a beautiful ornate interior and a fascinating history (e.g. Knights of Malta) that certainly makes it well worth exploring.

St. Johns Co-Cathedral is a Roman Catholic church dedicated to St. John the Baptist.  It was built by the Order of St. John in 1572, completed in 1604 originally with a relatively plain interior, with the fancy baroque interior you see today completed in the late 17th century.  The church is considered one of the finest examples of high Baroque architecture in Europe. 

St. John’s remained the church of the Order of St. John until the Order was expelled from Malta during the French …

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