Luxury hotels, high-end entertainment and services are the niche of St Julians, Malta’s hospitality hub. With the Hilton, Corinthia, Intercontinental and Westin Dragonara hotels all located within walking distance of each other, St Julians caters to the more affluent business travelers and those looking for a bit of luxury.
The oldest part of the city is the Spinola Bay area, home to the city’s original church and the Spinola Palace. It’s a lovely little area, lined with waterfront cafes and some beautifully renovated old fisherman’s houses, now restaurants and cafes serving many visitors to this popular spot. The redeveloped quayside walkway is a great place to sit back, relax and enjoy the atmosphere overlooking the small fishing bay of Spinola with its traditional Maltese boats. There are restaurants lining the spinola hill which leads to the center of St Julians and the Portomasso area. During the day, they serve food and drinks, and at night, they also act as bars and popular areas for the more relaxed end to the character of St Julians nightlife.
Central St Julians is home to the Spinola Palace Gardens, a small, well-kept garden that acts as a good landmark for the city centre. Close by, the Portomasso Marina is a beautifully man-made yacht marina, complete with cafes and restaurants. A walk past the marina leads to the small rocky beach of St Julians on the left and turns onto the Spinola Quayside walkway if you head right. The Hilton hotel is in the heart of the Portomasso area, next to the Portomasso Tower (hard to miss) and the cafe located just below. There are a few shops in this area, but it’s mostly reserved for high-end apartments, as well as the marina’s cafes and restaurants.
Perhaps the best known and most visited area of St Julians is known as Paceville. It is the nightlife capital of Malta with bars and clubs open all night throughout the year, although it is during the summer months when it is most hectic. It’s a mass of lights, music and people spilling out of the clubs and bars onto the streets as the locals and the flood of summer visitors flock here to dance and party the night away. It is very crowded and designed for young adults rather than families, with an often rowdy atmosphere as parties go on until the early hours of the morning.
Adjacent to Paceville, the area known as Bay Street is home to Malta’s largest cinema complex, a bowling alley, the Bay Street shopping center and a small man-made sandy beach known as St George’s Bay. There are a couple of restaurants here as well, as well as cafes in the Bay Street shopping center along with various fashion stores.
In general, St Julians is definitely designed for visitors, hospitality and entertainment and is one of the most visited cities in Malta. It is connected to Sliema via a promenade starting at ‘The Love Sign’, a sculpture in Spinola Bay, and leading to Sliema and beyond. The promenade is popular with both locals and visitors who jog and walk regularly, enjoying the cafes, restaurants and views along the way.
