Malta/Sicily Day 2: Valletta pre-tour

Monday, July 15, 2026

Our “official” pre-tour began today. We met our tour guide at 9 am in the hotel lobby for a half-day walking tour of Valletta. This covered some of the same territory as our do-it-yourself pre-pre-tour yesterday, but had the benefit of informed commentary from our local guide. There were about 12 of us on the tour; it was a nice sized group.

Along the way, we got our first glimpse of the Sea Cloud II. It is a gorgeous ship, and we are now looking forward to our cruise even more.

The tour then took us on a boat ride around the Grand Harbour that dropped us off in Birgu, on the opposite side. We toured Fort St. Angelo, guarding the harbor from the opposite side, and learned quite a bit about the Knights of the Order of St. John, who played an important historical role and who continue to manage the fort.

We were served an extensive and tasty lunch at a restaurant close by. After returning by bus to our hotel, we had a free afternoon.

Following the pre-tour, Kenna and I again set out walking and visited the St. John’s Co-Cathedral. It’s described as a “co-cathedral” because Valletta shares an archbishop with Mdina, the former capital of Malta. The co-cathedral was very elaborately decorated, and included an extensive display of Caravaggio’s art, including his “Beheading of St. John the Baptist”, an enormous painting for which he is best known.

We weren’t especially hungry after our big lunch. Kenna noticed a notable sandwich shop we had encountered in Florence last year, All’Antico Vinaio, on the main street in Valletta. We shared one of their large and delicious sandwiches on the plaza opposite the Triton Fountain just outside the main Valletta gate.

This article is part of a series about our recent trip to Malta and Sicily. To see the introductory article in the series, click here.