Shopping in Malta

Shopping in Malta is often one of the favourite activities of holiday-makers and the island offers diverse and numerous opportunities to satisfy different tastes.

Sliema is probably one of the best places where to go shopping in Malta as it hosts a variety and abundance of different retail outlets within few square kilometres. It has also two of the largest retail malls: The Plaza Complex and The Point. Anything from high street to hot couture may be found here, in addition to bookshops and also a number of shoe-shops. Several well-known stores such as Zara, Hilfiger, Springfield, Mother care, Next and Mango may be found here.

Valletta, Malta’s capital city, is also an ideal place where to do some shopping in Malta. Most major retail outlets can be found along Merchants Street and Republic Street, which are two of the major streets in the city. There are also a number of small shopping centres just off the main streets of Valletta. Apart from the wide variety of high streets shops, Valletta also hosts a number of jewellery shops from where pieces of gold and silver, for which Malta is well known, may be purchased. Many of these traditional shops are concentrated down one particular street.

The open-air markets also provide visitors with a different experience of shopping in Malta. Markets are at the heart of Maltese village life and almost every town and village has its own version. Some of the most popular ones are the one at Marsaxlokk, on Sundays, and the one at Qormi on Saturday mornings. There is also one such market in Valletta which is open on a daily basis.

For locals, these markets are a place for socialising, catching up with friends and local news, as well as for buying any necessities. Lots of fresh, locally-grown fruit and vegetables may be purchased from here apart from a variety of traditional Maltese knitware. A large variety of freshly-caught fish is always on sale at the market in Marsaxlokk.

For those who are interested in shopping for Maltese craft such as rugs, glass, pottery and lace, Ta’Dbiegi Crafts Village is the ideal place to visit. There are regular demonstrations by local artisans, here, in addition to lots of sampling of local delights such as traditional Maltese honey and jam. Mdina Glass is also a well-known craft which has been produced for several years. It features hand-blown glass produced in a range of styles and colours: from traditional to modern – vases, bowls, paperweights and more.