Discover Marsaxlokk

A taste of Marsaxlokk

Marsaxlokk is Malta's most photogenic fishing village and the country's best one-stop introduction to traditional Maltese maritime culture. The wide harbour is filled, all year round, with hundreds of luzzi — the traditional brightly painted fishing boats with bright yellow, blue, red, and green hulls and an Eye of Horus painted prominently on each prow (a superstition with Phoenician roots, more than 2,500 years old, meant to protect fishermen at sea). Sunday morning is the magnet: the Sunday Fish Market sets up along the entire quayside from 7am, with fishermen unloading swordfish, tuna, mahi-mahi, lampuki (the local dorado), prawns, and octopus straight from the night's catch, and it's been running continuously for centuries. The accompanying general market (food stalls, lace, Maltese honey, pastries) is one of the country's most atmospheric. After lunch at one of the harbourfront restaurants (Tartarun, La Capanna, Pisces are the local favourites — simple grilled fish, fresh bread, cold local Cisk lager), walk the 30 minutes along the coast to St Peter's Pool, a magical natural saltwater rock pool cut into the limestone with cliffs perfect for jumping into the clear blue water.