VALLETTA’S cultural awakening

Though it looks more like a Game of Thrones setting than a modern cultural hub, Valletta is Europe’s of-the-moment destination for 2018. The Maltese capital— whose winding 16th-century streets have indeed served as the backdrop for several of the HBO series’s scenes—has been named the European Capital of Culture 2018 (valletta2018.org). The smallest city yet to earn the distinction, Valletta is no doubt deserving: The UNESCO World Heritage site is a seamless combination of old and new, its baroque churches and Renaissance piazzas balanced by modern masterpieces like Renzo Piano’s Valletta City Gate and the soon-to-open MUŻA museum (muza.heritagemalta.org).

The city, along with select locations throughout Malta, will host more than

140 projects and 400 events over the next 12 months, including February’s Carnival, April’s Design and Technology Expo, and June’s Valletta Film Festival and Malta International Arts Festival.

Making way for the influx of visitors this year are a number of new high-design hotels, the most impressive of which is the historic Phoenicia (campbellgrayhotels.com), which reopened last year after a renovation by hotelier Gordon Campbell Gray. Elsewhere, the city’s baroque mansions are being converted into stylish boutique properties, including the eight-suite Casa Ellul (casaellul.com) and the ornate Palazzo Consiglia (palazzoconsiglia.com). Not to be outdone, Valletta’s longstanding luxury stalwart the Corinthia Palace Hotel (corinthia.com) recently unveiled a collection of new Signature Suites with private terraces overlooking the city. — S.R.