5 Reasons to Visit the Malta Classic Car Museum
There’s so much to do in St. Paul’s Bay, figuring out where to go first might take the most of your holiday, and we wouldn’t want that! How do you pick between one of the stunning tour sites, the water-side walks, the innumerable restaurants dotting the island? Should you visit one of the towers first, or go for something completely different in one of the modern museums? Or should you explore St. Paul’s Bay first, winding through the side-streets and peering down the alleyways to get a taste of the way the other side lives? St. Paul’s Bay is rife with attractions and food, and separating the interesting must-see-immediately sites from the ones which can wait a while can be difficult.
If you’re hemming and hawing on where to go, what to do, and how to get there first, here’s an idea: why not visit the Malta Classic Car Museum, conveniently located less than 15 minutes away from the Topaz Hotel?
The Malta Classic Car Museum is a labour of love, started by petrol-head Mr Galea, who wanted a place to showcase his passion: high-end vintage cars, painstakingly and lovingly restored to their former glory. Initially, the Malta Classic Car Museum wasn’t anything but a hobby: Mr Galea would build and customise cars to take part in local hill-climbing competitions. From there, it blossomed into a location where like-minded people could go and enjoy the sight of beautiful cars rarely seen on the islands. Classic cars are actually pretty typical to the Maltese islands; it’s common to see them driving around on Sunday, or parked in one of the narrow side-streets of Valletta, and the Malta Classic Car Museum brings that thrill and makes an entire concept out of it.
Not sure about it? Here are five reasons why the Malta Classic Car Museum should be at the top of your list.
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1. Watch a car being restored – in person!
The Malta Classic Car Museum isn’t static; chances are, your first visit there will be bookended by a quick before-and-after break-and-build of one of the world’s most premiere vintage cars. These cars have been through a lot; some of them have survived world wars, rust, the Maltese atmosphere, and more, and so the Malta Classic Car Museum sources and rebuilds these horse-powered beauties to their former glory. Besides, aren’t you curious to know what pumps beneath the bonnet of an E-type Jaguar from the 1960s or the 1970s? With the classic car museum, there’s the chance to witness that, and even more; considering that Mr Galea leaves, breathes, and loves cars, the only thing that you won’t find in the Malta Classic Car Museum is a boring afternoon.
Restoration of any kind is a supremely niche skill, with a very small subset of people specialising in the intricacies of rebuilding to completely overhaul an object which has withstood, in some cases, nearly 70 years of atmosphere and abuse. Restoration of cars is especially particular, as it also requires sourcing parts for the cars from the same or equivalent models, within the same era, which makes it a hobby only for those who can afford the massive price-tags to justify restoring the car to its former glory.
However, at the Malta Classic Car Museum, you aren’t shelling out a single penny but for the price of admission, and watching someone else do all the hard, fiddly, frustrating work, while you get to see the finished result, and the finished result only, fast-forwarding through months of frustration.
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2. Get the inside scoop from people who live, breathe, and dream of cars.
So looking is fine and dandy, but what about actually learning? The Malta Classic Car Museum caters to everyone by providing intricate displays on everything from the dates manufactured, the production runs, and the history of these era masterpieces. Have a question or desperately want more information? If you find someone who works there, they’ll be more than happy to talk to you about the model of your eye.
Furthermore, while a lot has been written about some of these specific car models, more than a few of them have gone underneath the radar of the automotive world, especially ones that were used and enjoyed in Malta. Mr Galea and his team combine a wealth of knowledge over fifty years in the making, ready to detail the ins and outs of any vehicle in the showroom. Additionally, undivided attention means that if you have incredibly niche questions, or just want to learn more about the vehicle of your choice, it’s as easy as going up to Mr Galea or one of his staff members, and asking – you’re bound to get the life-story of the vehicle from A to Z!
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3. See cars live
Let’s be honest: when else are you going to get the opportunity to see a glowingly-restored vintage 1950 Jaguar C-type or a Datsun 260z from the 1960s? These cars aren’t being manufactured anymore – and taking round trips around the world could get really, really, really experience – so make your wallet thank you by visiting the Malta Classic Car Museum, which showcases vintage cars from around the world, not just Europe, and definitely not just Malta!
This is especially true for the cars imported from further and further away – vintage models from Japan, in particular, are difficult to see in Malta in mint condition, as the changing pace and upgrading of the automotive industry in Malta changed the pattern of which cars were imported into the country. Add to that the general wear and tear on cars, and you can imagine the state that most of these cars would normally be seen in: covered in rust, cracking down the middle, paint-peeling, and not a pretty site.
At the Malta Classic Car Museum, that isn’t a reality. The cars are from the 40s, 50s, 60s, and 70s, but they’re impeccably maintained, restored to a perfect finish, and an ideal representation of what it must have been like to drive at the time when it was new.
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4. Not interested in cars? There’s more!
Cars is the Malta Classic Car Museum’s bread-and-butter – but don’t be fooled into thinking that that’s all that they have! Secreted in and around the museum are relics from a golden era: gramophone records, gramophones, board games, fashion, television sets: it’s a pocket history of Malta between the 1940s and the 1970s.
Very few museums in Malta talk about what Malta was like during the 1940s and up to the 1970s; it’s an era that’s considered as being relatively ‘recent’, and therefore very little attention and resources is given to it. Retro repositories such as restaurants do exist on the island, but museums which cater to the nostalgia of everyday living are few and far between, which makes the Malta Car Museum perfect for people who want to dream of simpler times. Its collection of board-game and toys is especially poignant, as quite a few toys were passed down throughout families, making the Malta Car Museum a time-transcending experience, even for people who aren’t interested in history or nostalgia.
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5. It’s unique!
Where else in St Paul’s Bay are you going to be able to walk among the displays, and see how Maltese people lived during and after the Second World War? We’ll tell you: nowhere! The Maltese Classic Car Museum is the first and only of its kind in St. Paul’s Bay; doesn’t that make it worth a visit? While you might get lucky and spot a vintage car somewhere around the island, it’s much better to just stop by the Malta Classic Car Museum on one of your days out, and enjoy the cars in peace and quiet, maybe with a chat with Mr Galea and his team on the side.
Classic cars in Malta are a niche interest, and unless you’re lucky enough to be in the country when the Classic Car show is held, difficult to see in person. However, the Malta Classic Car Museum has completely omitted that difficulty and make it as easy as one, two, three to see cars which should belong in period films. If nothing else, they’ll make interesting photographs to keep as a memory of the islands, and a memory of the times when automobiles were made to last and made to look good.
If you’re not sold on the Malta Classic Car Museum, don’t worry! There’s a lot of other things to do around St. Paul’s Bay, and we’ve put some suggestions in our blog to make it easier for you, so look through our blog, and see if you can find something worth your while around the Topaz Hotel! Its central location makes it the perfect place to stay if you want to be in the heart of the action, but not at the heart of the noise. Furthermore, the Topaz Hotel is highly equipped with all amenities for an easy, enjoyable stay in one of the most amazing locations on the Maltese islands, so don’t miss out on a stay here.
