All roads lead to Victoria
One of the reasons why it is difficult to get lost in Gozo (difficult – not impossible!) is the fact that sooner or later you’ll find yourself on a road leading to Victoria, no matter where you are on the island. And if you happen to be a guest at the Kempinski Hotel San Lawrenz, our courtesy bus takes you there in no time; the distance between San Lawrenz and Victoria is about 2.5 km.
Victoria – or Rabat as practically all Gozitans call it – is well worth a few visits in itself. It is Gozo’s main shopping centre, which is why traffic can get intimidating especially during morning and late afternoon hours. However, it only takes a very short stroll off Republic Street to enter a different, quieter world.
There is hardly any motor traffic at all in these alleys, making for a pleasant stroll at any time of the day. Many of the old houses have been restored while others are still waiting to awake after a hundred years of sleep. It’s easy to think you’ve stepped into another time. The centuries old labyrinth-like street plan of the city’s oldest part – il-mandragg – includes numerous dead-end alleys. In ancient times of frequent invasions by pirates, these dead ends allowed for hidden escape routes that only the locals knew about: they would enter a house through its backdoor at an alley’s end and leave the dwelling on the opposite side – leaving their pursuers non the wiser.
Once you’ve had enough of wandering around in the past, get back to the present at Independence Square (the locals call it it-tokk). There is a market in the mornings selling all kinds of knickknacks, green-grocers are found alongside the square and fishermen sell their fresh catch.
Have a rest at one of the cafés on the square and watch the world go by. Here, among the noisy hawkers, the world is as modern as it gets: wireless internet is available (albeit at a charge)!
Of course, there is much more to Victoria – or Rabat – than the mandragg and the market square. We’ll bring you more about it in the near future, so stay tuned!
