St Julians Holidays

St Julian’s is a bustling town on Malta’s eastern coast. It’s a small place that comes with four different areas – all within a few minutes’ walk of each other. That means you can enjoy authentic Maltese cooking at a waterfront restaurant in Spinola Bay, then move across to Paceville for the buzziest nightlife on the island. There are shops across the board, plus a little beach with a rare patch of sand.

Malta isn’t known for its sandy beaches, so it’s a bit of a bonus that you’ve got a small, Blue Flag patch at St George’s Bay, 10-minutes’ walk from Spinola Bay. It’s a hit with students, who come here from the local language schools, so it gets pretty packed. The locals tend to sunbathe on smooth rocks along the town, where they can climb down into the water. There are also a couple of busy lidos that, for a small fee, get you a swimming pool with sunloungers.

Malta’s capital, Valletta, is 20 minutes’ drive down the coast. It’s certainly earned its UNESCO status, what with the magnificent Grand Master’s Palace, now partly an armoury museum, and the 16th-century cathedral – its high-vaulted ceiling covers a mosaic-tiled floor that looks like rows of giant playing cards. Head to the Upper Barrakka Garden, meanwhile, and you’ll get widescreen views across town to the Medieval harbour.