Malta was our destination for our fifth wedding anniversary.
We based ourselves in Valletta for a long weekend and focused on good food, long walks, and spending time together. We stayed at Iniala Harbour House overlooking the harbor, which felt perfect for an anniversary trip.
Most of our time was spent exploring Valletta on foot. The city is compact enough that you can wander almost anywhere, and we found ourselves constantly stopping to admire the limestone buildings, harbor views, and narrow streets. One of my favorite moments was watching the sun set from the Upper Barrakka Gardens as the city began to light up for the evening.
We also spent a day visiting Mdina, the former capital of Malta. Unlike Valletta, which feels lively and connected to the sea, Mdina feels frozen in time. Wandering its medieval streets and walking along the old city walls was a completely different experience from the rest of the island. We paired it with a relaxed afternoon in neighboring Rabat before heading back to Valletta.
As with many of our trips, the food became a major part of the experience. Some of our favorite memories involved dinners overlooking the harbor, lunches tucked into historic courtyards, and lingering over coffee in the sunshine. For such a small country, Malta punches well above its weight when it comes to restaurants.
What surprised me most was how much history is packed into such a tiny place. Malta sits at the crossroads of Europe, North Africa, and the Mediterranean, and you can feel those influences everywhere—from the architecture to the food to the language itself.
Malta isn't first on most people's lists like Italy or Greece, but it's an underrated hidden gem in the Mediterranean. It's a place to wander, eat well, enjoy the views, and slow down for a few days. For an anniversary, it was perfect.