St Julians and Paceville

The St. Julian's area is best known for Paceville, a lively suburb where the night starts late and the party goes on until the early hours of the morning.  St Julian's is also a good place to do some late night shopping, watch a film or go to the casino.

This is the nightlife capital of Malta for the young and trendy. Situated to the north of St.Julian's, every street has a number of bars and clubs to suit every taste. During the day there is an almost sleepy quality to the area with only a few bars open for business, but all that changes at night. Paceville is very busy at the weekends with both tourists and young locals out enjoying themselves until the early hours of the morning. 

A few minutes away from Spinola Bay is the very exclusive apartment complex called Portomaso. Built round a man-made marina and with the Hilton Hotel forming part of the complex, this is elegant living at its best. Portomaso also houses a number of restaurants and bars, all with great views of the marina. The perfect place for a quiet drink or meal.

Close to the Portomaso development is the exclusive Luxe Pavilion shopping experience. With some of Malta's and Europe's most well known designer labels this is a five star shopping experience.

For those who like to gamble the Westin Dragonara Hotel has a casino. Foreign guests must be over 18 and must present a passport to enter whereupon they can enjoy the atmosphere of this glitzy casino. There is also a very nice restaurant within the complex with reasonable prices and theme nights.Recently, a Casino has also opened within the Hilton Hotel Complex providing guests with entertainment until the early hours of the morning.

Just outside the heart of Paceville is the Bay Street Complex which has everything for the tourist including a hotel, several shops, bars and restaurants. Unlike most other shops in Malta which close at 19.00h, the shops at Bay Street are open till 22.00h from Monday to Sunday. Within the complex there are a number of good restaurants including Restorante Corleone and even a McDonalds as well as designer shops such as Mexx, Adidas, Chilli, Ecco and Terranova.Close by there is a cinema complex and also a ten pin bowling venue.

There are few better sights than Spinola Bay in the evening with the lights from the restaurants and bars reflecting on the water and the local fishing boats gently bobbing at anchor. Here the nightlife is more sedate than in Paceville but no less satisfying. There are a number of good restaurants serving anything from Italian to Greek and Chinese food.

Although quieter than Spinola Bay, it is worth taking a walk round Balluta Bay. There is a lovely tree-lined square that features one of Malta's only art nouveau buildings, the magnificent apartment block called Balluta Buildings. Close by is the neo-gothic Carmelite Church featuring a rather interesting bell tower. The promenade here has a number of cafés from where you can enjoy the views out to sea or over St. Julian's. Cutting through the square will take you into a warren of narrow streets that is the residential part of old Sliema.

Literally a stone's throw from Paceville, this pretty little bay gives you a chance to sit by the sea and watch the world go by. In 2005 a man-made sandy beach was opened which is extremely popular with tourists.  However, as the shallow water here tends to stagnate it is not an ideal spot for swimming.

Date of St. Julian’s Church “Festa” - August 31