Walking through the streets of Mdina, my husband commented, “Where did you take me? A dead city?” Compared to the party crowds of St Julian’s and the musical nightlife of Valletta, I had to admit that Mdina was very quiet, and much less crowded. Turns out we aren’t the only ones who notice this as the cities nickname is “The Silent City.”
The Silent City
It may be silent to the ears but the city is magical to the eyes. Surrounded by fortified walls and sitting on top of one of the highest hills of Malta, I knew this city was going to be worth the stop. It felt like we were driving into a scene from Game of Thrones (which makes sense as now that I research the city a bit more it turns out it WAS used for the filming of Kings Landing!!). Built in Medieval times, much of the original architecture has been preserved and every narrow alley felt like it was calling me to walk down it and take in the beauty.
We actually didn’t go inside a single museum or cathedral as everything closes at 5pm, which means last entry is at 4:30 or sooner, and we parked at 4:30. While I would have liked to walk through the catacombs, I wasn’t too disappointed about missing everything else since the city itself is a sight to enjoy.
If you wanted to spend the whole day in Mdina, you could easily fill it with different museums and exhibits. Just walking up and down the narrow streets you find beautiful homes, cathedrals, and shops.
Glass blowing is a major artisan craft in Mdina and for good reason. I have seen glass blowing in many other cities and have never felt compelled to buy anything in the past but something about the city and the colors in the glass just called to me. We ended up purchasing a beautiful water pitcher that I hope to use for years to come.
When you reach the end of the city you have the best views of Malta. You can see all the way to the sea and we were able to identify St Julien’s and Valletta, two other cities we had spent some time in. Revealing it’s British influence, there were several terrace spots advertising tea which would have been perfect if we weren’t about to head back to the hotel to prepare for dinner.
Mdina was a spot we almost didn’t make it to but knowing now what we would have missed out on, I can’t recommend a trip to Malta without a visit to this gorgeous Silent City.
Xx
Kali