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Malta
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Valletta
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Tours & Activities
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Malta: The Three Cities and Wine Tasting Tour
4 h
Instant confirmation
About this activity
During the tour you will drive past Cospicua, a double fortified harbor city and the largest of the three. It was also given a title as Citta’ Cottonera, but erroneously the title is now used to define the whole region. You will then arrive in Vittoriosa.
Vittoriosa is ideally situated for safe anchorage and over time it has developed a very long history with maritime, mercantile and military activities. Prior to the establishment of Valletta as capital and main city of Malta, military powers that wanted to rule the Maltese islands would need to obtain control of Vittoriosa due to its significant position in the Grand Harbour. The third city Senglea is also called Civitas Invicta because it managed to resist the Ottoman invasion at the Great Siege of 1565. The name Senglea was given by the grandmaster who built it, Claude De La Sengle. The island on which Senglea lies was joined by a land bridge to Cospicua during the time of the Knights of St. John and as a result, it became peninsular in shape. During this tour you will walk through the various narrow streets shaded by many historic churches and buildings.
You will then drive to the Marsovin Cellars in Marsa. The wine tasting tour commences with a historical introduction amongst original artefacts, followed by an explanation about the process of how the locally grown grapes are pressed, fermented and eventually transformed into wine. A walk through the 400-year-old ‘Ageing Cellars’ is an authentic and true piece of Maltese heritage. The wine sampling is held in the Marsovin wine bar, where trained staff guide guests through a wine tasting session to sample different Marsovin wines accompanied by a selecion of local savouries like maltese bread and cheese. At the bar one also has the opportunity to purchase local Marsovin wines. At the end of this tour, you will be dropped off at your hotel.
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Vittoriosa is ideally situated for safe anchorage and over time it has developed a very long history with maritime, mercantile and military activities. Prior to the establishment of Valletta as capital and main city of Malta, military powers that wanted to rule the Maltese islands would need to obtain control of Vittoriosa due to its significant position in the Grand Harbour. The third city Senglea is also called Civitas Invicta because it managed to resist the Ottoman invasion at the Great Siege of 1565. The name Senglea was given by the grandmaster who built it, Claude De La Sengle. The island on which Senglea lies was joined by a land bridge to Cospicua during the time of the Knights of St. John and as a result, it became peninsular in shape. During this tour you will walk through the various narrow streets shaded by many historic churches and buildings.
You will then drive to the Marsovin Cellars in Marsa. The wine tasting tour commences with a historical introduction amongst original artefacts, followed by an explanation about the process of how the locally grown grapes are pressed, fermented and eventually transformed into wine. A walk through the 400-year-old ‘Ageing Cellars’ is an authentic and true piece of Maltese heritage. The wine sampling is held in the Marsovin wine bar, where trained staff guide guests through a wine tasting session to sample different Marsovin wines accompanied by a selecion of local savouries like maltese bread and cheese. At the bar one also has the opportunity to purchase local Marsovin wines. At the end of this tour, you will be dropped off at your hotel.
Included
- Snacks
- Wine tasting
- Transport by coach
- Local guide
- Local taxes
- Hotel pickup and drop-off
Not included
- Gratuities
Additional
- Confirmation will be received at time of booking
- Travelers should have a moderate physical fitness level
Features
Tourism
75%
Cultural
70%
Food
45%
Aquatic
20%
Reviews
OK, to be clear, this review relates only to this particular tour package I've added a separate comment re the wine tasting separately below. This tour was a big disappointment. Having booked a couple of weeks before our trip to Malta, I found myself spending half a day chasing the local tour operator the day before the actual tour, trying to confirm pick up arrangements. The contact number provided on the Viator ticket did not work and I was only able to get in contact with the operator after a bit of Googling. The pick up arrangements were finally confirmed at 7.50pm the evening before the tour, with a hotel pick up time of 8.55am the following morning. At 9.05am the following morning we were bundled into a a minibus that a had seen better days and deposited on a busy road junction in the middle of St Julians, along with guests from several other tours that this operator was providing. For the next 45 minutes there was a general lack of communication: no-one was told when the appropriate tour bus would arrive, leading to a large number of confused and stressed guests standing by the road. An hour after our original pick up time we were put onto a bus and the tour finally began. Our tour guide, Mark, seemed pleasant enough, but appeared to be reciting a well rehearsed script. On many occasions his comments contradicted details that we'd seen on previous tours earlier in the week, suggesting that his knowledge came from a piece of paper, rather than local experience. The tour of the three cities turned out to be a 25 minute walk through one of the cities with the other two being pointed out as there's not much to see there before being shuffled back onto the bus for the trip to the wine tasting: no time for a rest room or refreshment break in the 34 degree heat. The wine tasting took place at the Marsovin winery: a well established local producer. This part was actually very good which was a positive reflection on the team at Marsovin rather than the local tour operator. In fact, our tour was joined by a number of other guests who had booked the wine tasting independently. In summary: my recommendation would be to make your own way to Vittoriosa hop on the Valetta - Three cities ferry for around 3 return which will drop you off in the same place as this bus tour and spend some time walking around the city - take some time to grab a coffee/ Cisk and a pastizzi from one of the local side street cafes. Then arrange a separate trip to the Marsovin winery and take the wine tasting and tour separately as this really is worth it.
Trip was spoiled by heavy rain but Mark the tour guide was very infromative.
Fabulous. Walk of the three cities and fabulous wine tasting experience. Lovely cellars great wine tasty snacks
Guide was very good - easy walk - tons to see wine tour was visually great...but when the wine they served at the end the last wine was so awful, that everyone on our 20 tour gagged on it. . Why serve a terrible wine the last one served....the guys own words, this wine will take 20 years to mellow - WHY SERVE IT? The other wines served were actually really good and I purchased 5 bottles... just beware on ending your experience with that taste
Mark the tour guide was very informative. The tour was very interesting of the three cities. The winery tour was exceptional as was the wine tasting and snacks. A very enjoyable tour and the transfers were a bonus and pick up times good.
another trip really worth doing