September 2 2024

5 Reasons Why You Should Visit Mdina in Malta

around.the.world.in.flip.flops Europe, Malta 0

I arrived in Malta 5 days ago and I’ve already fallen in love with it way more than I expected, so if Malta has been on your bucket list for a while, you should definitely make that trip happen! But if Malta hasn’t been on your radar, I get it. Somehow I didn’t really think much of it and ended up here purely thanks to a cheap flight I found. I’m glad I did, because it has quickly become one of my favorite European countries and I’m sure the same will happen to you too if you decide to give it a chance sometime!

If you do come here, there is so much to see and explore. The nature here is amazing and there are some of the best beaches I‘ve ever seen, but so much of what Malta has to offer is in its unique cities: one of them being Mdina.

Here are 5 reasons why I think you should add this city to your travel bucket list 👇🏼

📜 It‘s older than you think

There is evidence that the area where the city is located has been inhabited since prehistoric times. The city that we now know as Mdina was founded by the Phoenicians around the 8th century BC. Romans and Arabs came after and the city changed throughout the times, having actually been way bigger than it is today at one point in History.

This unique city has seen so much History during its 4000 years of existence and it‘s actually the oldest city in the whole country, which makes it an absolute must see on your trip to Malta if you are interested in History.

You can feel the History of Mdina just by walking around the streets

Learn more about Mdina's History on this tour with a local guide 🎫

📍 It was the capital of Malta until about 500 years ago

Nowadays Valetta is the capital of Malta and it has owned that title for precisely 506 years, but for almost two millennia the capital city was actually Mdina. It only stopped serving that function when the Order of St John arrived in Malta and started using Birgu as the capital instead.

Nowadays, Mdina is such a sleepy little town where you can walk around the streets and feel a sense of peace that is hard to describe. It‘s hard to imagine that some centuries ago it was the center of power of Malta but that constrast just makes it an even more interesting place to explore.

Explore Malta's highlights and the Old Capital of Mdina on this tour 🎫

🏰 It’s a great example of a very well-preserved fortified medieval city

As unbelievable as it sounds, Mdina is not considered a UNESCO World Heritage Site yet, even though it‘s on the waiting list to become one. I believe it must be a matter of time before this unique city is protected by UNESCO, as it‘s considered by many as one of the best-preserved fortified medieval cities in Europe or even in the whole World.

Walking around the city will allow you to see the perfectly preserved walls that surround it and the priviledged view they provide, but seeing Mdina from the outside, perked on top of a hill and protected by its wall, is an amazing sight as well.

Mdina seen from above (photo by Joshua Kettle)

🤫 It’s often nicknamed “The Silent City”

Even though Mdina was a very important city in Malta for a long time and even served as the capital city as mentioned above, the city was largely abandoned when the Order of St John arrived in Malta during the 16th century. They moved the capital city away from Mdina and slowly it became a ghost town, thus the nickname through which is commonly known nowadays: “The Silent City”.

Mdina never recovered its full glory and importance within Malta after that and it become practically uninhabited, but the city that we now know and love is definitely not abandoned anymore. Nowadays there around around 250 people living in Mdina and many of them are actually descendents of nobels who had a connection to Mdina throughout History.

Visit "The Silent City" by night on this tour ✨

🎬 Game Of Thrones was filmed there

If you have watched Game Of Thrones, you might already know that there are filming locations in Malta. I‘m sure you‘ll be excited to know, if you didn‘t already, that Mdina is one of them!

Seeing filming locations are such a cool part of traveling and Mdina is definitely one of those places that makes you feel like you‘re inside the movie itself. Here are the places you should add to your Mdina itinerary if you wanna recognize some Game of Thrones scenes 👇🏼

📍 Mdina Gate

📍 Mesquite Square

📍 St. Dominic’s Priory, Rabat (not technically in Mdina but Rabat is right next to the city)

Game of Thrones filming location in Mdina & GOT merchandise

Did you like this blog post? I hope I managed to show you how unique and interesting Mdina is and that you add it to your list of places to visit when you come to Malta!