Can't help with days out etc but we do have reviews for the hotel here http://www.holidaytruths.co.uk/reviews/malta/sliema/bayview-hotel/

(Would be grateful if you'd update on your return)

There maybe some info in the resort reports (click on banner at the top) for Sliema which may help until someone gets back to you with personal recommendations

At some point over the next month, I'll be writing a review of our recent trip to Malta so keep an eye out for that. In the meantime, let me know what sort of things you like to do as day trips and I'll see if i can suggest anything.

We like to see the sights so to speak...as cheaply as possible!!

Any organised trips - that sort of thing.

Any information would be appreciated!

Hi

Sliema is very handy for local buses which will take you all over the island, for some locations you may have to go in to Valletta to get a bus. The local buses are cheap, if you are going to use the local buses regularly it might be worth considering a 1,3 or 5 day pass.

Take a look at the Arriva website http://www.arriva.com.mt for a lot of information including bus routes and timetables.

You are close to Valletta and you can easily get there on a small ferry or take the bus.
If going to Valletta by bus get off at the main bus terminus at the fountain and enter Valletta through City Gate, there is a major new development being built there at the moment.

I would recommend a visit to the Upper Barrakka Gardens which are only a few minutes from the City Gate, great views and well worth a visit, you can buy a small map in one of the small shops on the left as you enter Valletta or ask for directions.

There are an an amazing variety of attractions to see in Valletta, too many to list and the link at the bottom of the page will help choose, I would recommend going in to St John's Co-Cathedral which is very ornate, there is a charge to visit this particular church.

If you want to visit a market there is a daily market held until midday in Merchant St, if you want to visit a large market then take a trip to the small fishing village of Marsaxlokk on a Sunday where there is a large market held, this market sells everything and has a large fish market area.

Other places that I would suggest include getting a bus to Rabat / Mdina.
In Rabat you can go and visit the Catacombs then take a wander in to the 'Silent City' of Mdina. Mdina is a lovely old city that has many small streets and alleys, well worth taking a leisurely stroll around.
There are many fine places to have a bight to eat, for lunch I can recommend a small wine bar called Don Mesquita which is located in Mesquita Square next to the Mdina Experience, lovely local food and wine.

While there you might want to visit the Mdina Experience http://www.themdinaexperience.com/ The trailer will give you a taster.

Make sure when in Mdina you go to the top of the city and experience the lovely panoramic views of Malta.

Close to Rabat / Mdina is the Ta' Qali Crafts Village, this can be done on the same day as a trip to Mdina, you can see glassware and many types of craft ware being made and sold here, including lace, pottery, silver filigree jewellery, ironwork, woodwork and leatherwork.

When at Ta' Qali a visit to the Malta Aviation Museum is well worth a visit, you might have to ask for direction as it is a bit of a hidden gem http://www.maltaaviationmuseum.com/

There are 365 churches in Malta so a visit to a couple of them is worth doing, St John's Co-Cathedral mentioned above is very ornate and most churches are very lovely inside, you may wish to visit the The Church of the Assumption of Our Lady, commonly known as the Rotunda of Mosta or what most tourists call The Mosta Dome.
This church has one of the largest unsupported domes in the world however it is more famous for the bomb that fell through it during the war, the church was full and fortunately the bomb failed to explode.

If the weather is nice and you want to go to a beach you can get a bus up to Mellieha which has a nice beach, don't get off in the town of Mellieha wait until the bus reaches the beach at the bottom or you will have a long walk down

Another nice day out is to get the bus up to Cirkewwa at the North of the island and take the ferry across to Gozo.
Foot passengers pay € 4.65 return, when you arrive in Gozo you can either take a taxi or get on the very cheap local bus which will take you in to the capital Victoria (Rabat) you can then get other busses to have a tour around the island, a trip to Xlendi for some lunch over looking the pretty bay maybe?
In Victoria you can take a stroll around the Citadel and the Rabat and also view the lovely countryside in Gozo, also worth going in to the Cathedral of St. Mary, inside the Citadel, this church didn't have a dome duilt so an illusion of a dome was painted on the flat ceiling.

I don't know if you have children with you but just in case I will mention Popeye Village http://www.popeyemalta.com/
There is sooo much more I could mention so I will finally tell you about about the Hop On, Hop Off bus tours.

Starting in Sliema you can get hop on / off bus tours that take you around the island, there are several tours available, each tour costs € 15 and you get on / off at whatever attraction you wish. An added bonus of this tour is that you get a free harbour cruise included in the price, the cruise doesn't have to be taken on the same day as long as you keep your ticket you can do it anytime and is well worth doing. http://www.exploremalta.com.mt/TourTypeList.aspx?ttid=1
You don't have to book online to get the cruise it is included in your ticket when buying on board the bus.

If you are looking for some nightlife you are not very far from Paceville (pronounced Patchy Ville] which has plenty of pubs / clubs to keep you happy for a week or two, if you want it slightly less lively St Julian's although only a couple of streets away is much more sedate and mature than Paceville.

Take a look at this website for a whole lot more information

http://www.visitmalta.com/main?l=1

Anything else you want to know just ask
Graham

WOW!!

So much information!! The hop on/hop off trips sound just the ticket (pardon the pun!)!!

Thank you Graham!

Hello, there is a saying, if you are looking for trouble you've come to the right place. But they also say if its history you want better go to Malta, there are few places so small that have as much history as Malta and if you go to the right places not only is it cheap it is free to see.
The first thing you should get is a good guide book these not only give you a good insight to the place you want to go, but let you know most of the sites to see and some give restaurants as well.
Places to see for free other than transport costs, the place I would put at the top of any list to see has to be Valletta over 400 years of history in one go. The bus drops you of outside the main gate, alass built in the 50s to make entree better, from here look at the walls and the ditch try getting in there in 1580, once inside notice the old Opera house now a car park bombed in the war never rebuilt, turn to your right and see the first building to be built in Valletta a church Our Lady of Victorty, were Grand Master De la Valette was inturned before being moved to the crypt in the Co Cathedral. next to the church is church of St Catherine of Italy, and then on to Auberge de Castile et Leon (Spain) after that you can walk to the Upper Barracca Gardens to see the views of the Grand Harbour ( Great) if you are there about 12 o clock you can see the 12 o colck guns go of ( put your finger in your ear) then go back on yourself to see the post office that was once the Auberge d'Italie and look above the door way at the baroque art work, opposite is the Palazzo Parisio only famous because Napoleon stayed here in 1798. From here you should make your way to Republic Street and walk all the way down to Fort St Elmo site of the siege of 1565 and the saying St Elmo's fire. If you see some big round slabs on the floor here they are were the Knights of St John kept there wheat back in the old days. From here you can then walk round to your left and walk up the road past the French Curtain ( if you have seen the film Midnight Express this is the road he walks up in the last scene) as you walk up here you get a good view over to Sliema and Fort Manoel and Marsamxatt harbour Look out for the Gun Point Cafe around here. further up from here is St Pauls Anglican Cathedral with its tall 63m spire also near here is the church of the Carmelites with its huge dome, then on to Strait Street that was once the red light area for the British Forces, further up from here are Hastings Gardens with great views. Taking in shopping and meals this could take all day, next time I will put up places to visit that you have to pay.
Dave.

That's brilliant information Dave for someone who hasn't visited Malta before. Keep it going.

So things you have to pay for, again this is Valletta, take your pick from this lot. as you enter Valletta you walk down Repuplic Street a few block down on the left is the old Auberge de Provence (France) now the Museum of Archaeology, most of the stuff in here is from the old Temples some of these are the oldest standing building in the world so if you want to see them this will give a good insight to them. across the street is the church of St James( free ) it holds a secret, then on to the best thing in my view, The Co Cathedral of St John. There is so much to see it would take me a week to put it all down, but some of the highlights are, the floor is covered with graves of some of the Knights of St John each one a work of art, then there is the roof painted by the artist Mattia Preti's in 1660/80 showing the life of John the Babtist, then there is the 8 side chaples more works of art along with some of the Grand Masters who were buried here with fine Baroque mausolea, look out for the Crypt were there are more Grand Masters buried. St John's Museum and Oratory hold the world famous painting of the beheading of St John by Carravaggio who was a bit of a lad. From here a short walk takes you to the Grand Masters Palace ( look out on your right for the church of St Paul's Shipwreck another fine place to see and its free ) you can have a drink on the way there in Republic Square (notice the statue of Queen Victoria in what is said to be dressed in Maltese Lace and at the back of this is the Bibliotheca or Library you will need your Passport to go in here) in the Grand Masters Palace they let you see some of the state rooms and the Armoury. Over from the Palace is the The Wartime Experience ( shows what Malta went throw in the second world war) further down the street is the Casa Rocca Piccola a private house were the Marquis Nicholas de Piro shows you round his home, then on to the fort of St Elmo (best to go on a Sunday when there is a renactment of the Knight of St John with Muskets and Cannons great fun) also here is the War Museum on show is the George Cross Malta won again in WW11. You can then go to the Sacra Infermeria to see how the Knight used to heal the sick in the days of old. also here is a big bell this is to remember the dead of the war open by Queen Elizabeth11 in 1992 next to this is the Lower Barracca Gardens, part of St Christophers Bastion there is also a cafe to get a cool drink with views over the Grand Harbour, notice the big Fort acroos the water this will be the next day out.
Dave.

It was said after the fall of Fort St Elmo, if a small fort cost so dear what of its big brother, in fact the small fort built only 3 years before the Great Siege of 1565 had cost the Turks 8000 men and now there was the Fort of St Angelo at the time the strongest fort on the island and headquarters of the Knights. Along with the land fronts of Birgu and L'Isla this was that all that stood in the way of a victory for Turks but alass they lost and this area now forms the area known as, The Three Cities of Vittoriosa (Birgu) Senglea (L'Isla) and Cospicua (Bormla)
Of the three only Vittoriosa is worth a visit for the day, the outer walls date from around 1535 built by the Knights with the Cavaliers of St John and St James jutting out from the Curtain walls along with Massive Post of Castile, you enter throw three main gates into Main Gate Street pass the church of the Annunciation and on to Victory Square to see the Victory Monument 1705 note how the sword in the shape of a cross pins down the Turkish Crescent, turn to St Josephs Chapel (free, but leave a Donation) this is now a very good small Museuem full of all sorts of things from all over the island. The Church of St Lawrence is just round the bend this church is said to have been built by the Norman Count Roger in 1090, later rebuilt by the Knights and bombed in WW11 (free) near the water front is the Freedom Monument, this shows the end of 179 years Maltese/British relationship, (the last White Ensign from this time is in St Josephs Chapel) from here you could go to the Maritime Museum that used to be the old Naval Bakery full of old models of boats and painting showing the Knight at war. You could then go up to the Fort of St Angelo (You may get, in I have been in it when the door was open) but it is worth a look even if it is only from the outside.The only other main thing to see is the Inquistors Palace but there is not much in here.
Get the bus from Valletta bus Station, there are lots of cafes for a cold one.

Dave.

I was just about to start a thread asking how far Valetta & Mdina are from where we'll be staying in Sliema, when I came across this thread. Graham & Dave - thanks for the wealth of information- brilliant. I'll be printing all that out before we go next Easter

Thanks Helen - but unless I'm blind or it has another name, I can't see Sliema listed on the drop down departure section

Hi Helen

If you look at for example Mainline Routes you will see that the numbers 11, 12 13, 21, 22, 23, 32.

Direct Routes (click on route number) the 116, 202.

Tas-Sliema is what you re looking for.

Graham

Denny & Graham - thanks You can see I like to be organised - not going until next April

Hope you enjoy Malta Helen we've been there over 20 times and love it, in fact we're going the end of January.

Hi Northantsj - that's a lot of visits - it must be a nice place!

We think so Helen have made so many Maltese friends and visit them each time we go. Don't know whether we'll get round them all next year as we're only going for one week.