The city of Sliema, originally just a church and a fishing village, has become one of the most sought after places in Malta. There is a definite Italian feel throughout the city, with shops and cafes attracting visitors and locals throughout the year.
One of the most popular areas is known as ‘The Ferries’ or ‘Sliema Strand’; It is the busiest part of the city, as most of the shops are here, with the clothing outlets in the first places. Several international brands have chosen to make Sliema their base in Malta, and crowds flock to see what’s new and enjoy a little retail therapy. For those who are not shopping, there are many cafes overlooking the port of Marsamxett, with the capital city Valletta across the water.
The newly developed Tigne area in Sliema has taken the retail character of the city one step further, with Malta’s largest shopping center at Tigne Point. With luxury apartments and civic landscaping, Tigne is fast becoming a high-end area of the city as developers turn to wealthy European visitors eager for their own slice of the island. Tigne and neighboring Qui-Si-Sana also host some lidos and a diving center; diving in Malta is ranked among the best in the world. While it is a busy city, it is never too busy for a crowded coastline during the hot summer months, when visitors and locals cool off in the sea.
The area between Sliema Strand and the neighboring town of Ballutta, known as the Sliema Front or Tower Road, is a long boardwalk that runs all the way to St Julians. The views over the sea are beautiful all year round, with benches on the walkway so you can enjoy it all. This entire stretch of coastline is a mixture of limestone and soft sandstone and is used for swimming and sunbathing from May to late September (and often longer). Part of understanding the Maltese character is understanding the two ways of life that come with summer and winter. During the colder months, it is an island of restaurants, car rides and that avoids any trace of rain; It is during the summer months that the entire island emerges from hibernation, and for six months out of the year, people are rarely home. with the beaches turning into a kind of common living room. The division between winter and summer obviously occurs everywhere, but it is very pronounced here, with an almost completely different lifestyle and character accompanying the seasons. It’s not like northern Europe, where the summer sun is intermittent and cloudy, colder days can appear. In Malta, the sun warms up in mid-April and it is quite sunny and hot every day until September. It’s consistency that allows for such a cultural shift every summer – you’ll never think of ‘bringing a sweater in case it’s cold’.
There are many self-catering apartments and hotels in Sliema, and the cafes and restaurants are well prepared for the influx of visitors the city sees each year. Boat and ferry trips around the Grand Harbor, to the neighboring islands of Gozo and Comino, and to many other tourist destinations depart from Sliema Strand, hence its other name ‘The Ferries’. There is also a small ferry that runs through the port of Marsamxett directly to Valletta, the capital of Malta, and it is a cheap and charming crossing, taking about seven minutes and worth the cost at less than two euros per person.