When you stand on the south-facing fortified walls of Valletta, Malta’s capital city, Fort St Angelo is what captures your attention. A little to the West, across the creek, the city of Senglea is just as noteworthy.

Senglea was originally an island, linked to the main land through a bridge but successive developments over the centuries joined the two permanently. It was fortified by the Knights – and originally called Fort St Michael – the buildings there developed once people realised that it was safer to live inside a fort than outside.

Grand Master Claude de la Sengle declared this locality a city which is why it bears his name, although it is still called Isla (stemming from the Italian ‘Isola’ or ‘island’) by many locals. Heavily bombarded by the Axis powers during World War II, due to its proximity to the British Naval bases in the harbour, the city’s inhabitants fled the city for safer locations and this has left Senglea with the title of the smallest locality in Malta by size; just under 3,000 people live in this tiny city.

The city is just about 1 square kilometre in area so you can easily walk all around it. This guided tour of Senglea is meant to start right by the fortified entrance and will take you around the whole city.

• With the fortified St Anne’s Gate behind you, turn right and head down the steps to the water line. Once you reach the sea, on your right, you will be able to see the large crane that the Knights of Malta built. Known as the Macina, this mechanism was built to hoist and fit ships’ masts.
  

• Walk along the promenade, with the Birgu yacht marina on your right, heading towards the very tip of Senglea. French creek is very rarely quiet and there always is some traffic passing to and from the safety of this harbour.

• At the very tip, with the view of Valletta in front of you, the more eagle-eyed of you may notice the marking showing the cave the Knights used to store chains in. These chains would be linked to Fort St Angelo to close the harbour and prevent the enemy from entering.

There is a ghost in Fort St Angelo so keep your eyes peeled as walk by!

• Above you the watch tower looms over the harbour. Known as a Gardjola, this was a crucial point to keep watch for invaders. We’ll take a closer look at this soon enough.

• Walk along the shore and start climbing the hill back into the city itself. Dockyard creek, not as busy as it once was, can prove to be quite a site, especially if one of the dry docks is empty.

• At the end of the fortified walls, turn left into Old Prison Street (Triq il-Habs Antik) and you’ll find yourself back where you started. This time, turn left into the main road, only metres away from the grand Basilica that is this city’s main church dedicated to Our Lady of Victories. The facade contains the names of the Knights who fell whilst defending the island from attack.

• Continue walking to the tip of the peninsula, along winding streets and make sure to look up and to look back to catch every detail.

• The end of the city contains a small garden with the watch tower as the centre of attention.

• Head back to St Anne’s gate, this time taking one of the side streets and don’t forget to admire the architecture, the designs and the small touches of Maltese history.

This walk is a short one, despite the description. The city is 823 metres long so walking its length 4 times as I suggest, is easily doable.

Enjoy your tour of the city!