Paceville anyone? No? Then what better than vino and friends in Malta's growing number of wine bars

Ever since Facebook became a part of our lives, it has become our primary source of reference to what to do on a Friday or Saturday night out. This, along with copious SMS adverts, radio spots, and the word on the ground in the Maltese social scene, generally point to the best night outs being at bigger, more advertised social events.

Most people will often go to a certain club or bar just because ‘people’ are going (i.e. acquaintances within the same social circle who you would walk past on the street but who, on the other hand, could contribute to a good ‘night out’ out given their ‘attending’ status indicated on Facebook). Of course, there could be other motives that draw crowds to a particular place, such as cheap drinks and more often than not, cheesy radio-friendly music. Not your thing? Then find out…

What do the rest of us do?
If you take a look around, there are loads of different events that contribute to a good, if not better, night out. The popularity of such events isn’t necessarily assessed by the people who attend, but by the level of satisfaction attained by the people that do actually attend.

Let’s face it, Malta is small, so if you look hard enough you’re bound to find something that although unappealing to the general public, is ten times as fun. Here are some clues and tips on what to look for…

First of all, look as far away as possible from Paceville.
If you don’t want to waste your Friday/Saturday night looking for parking or faced by throngs of teenagers binge-drinking on streets, Paceville is definitely not the place for you. A walk through the streets of Valletta, for instance, will uncover quite a number of quaint little spots advertising jazz nights or acoustic gigs.

For the older crowd, the last few years has seen the surge of quite a few wine bars in Malta, often found in Valletta, or in ‘faraway’ old towns; some of the most popular are in Mdina, Balzan, Attard and Birgu, and are venues for a good night whether you’re spending it with a few friends over a few bottles of wine with accompanying cheese and meat platters, or as a quick getaway with your loved one.

For a younger crowd that have still not tucked away their dancing shoes but can’t face the commercialism found in major bars in Paceville, there are plenty of alternatives. Summer months give non-Paceville goers plenty of options, although in winter you may have to look around a bit and be in the know about gigs. However, whether it’s reggae, electronic music, or techno that you like to follow, there are people out there who strive to make it happen. Whether you prefer donning your mum’s hippie clothes for a reggae party to covering your face in face paint for a rave somewhere remote, there’s something out there for everyone.

And what’s more, Maltese people can make good music. There are plenty of live gigs every weekend. Even though the more popular bands are the ones the general public often talks about (Winter Moods, Ira Losco etc), there are other small bands and acts out there that are just as good, often playing in smaller bars setting the backdrop for a more intimate setting.

A good point of reference, as much as we love to hate it, always remains Facebook. Do your research well, add a few influential people, and you’ve a recipe for fun to guide you through the ‘colder’ Maltese nights.

Photo: Therese Debono

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For many, a night in Paceville is just a blur

Love it, hate it, wait eagerly to go there weekends, or wince at the thought of it, we all have a reaction to Paceville (pronounced ‘parch-i-ville’) Routinely billed as the heart of Malta’s nightlife, it’s either the place to be seen, or a place to avoid, depending largely on your age and taste in night life. It has everything from clubs to a casino, and an atmosphere ranging from tacky to cool.

Want to know why people go to Paceville? We give you the raw, (almost) unedited viewpoints of people in the know. Here, the 15 – 25 year olds give their verdict. Older ages in future articles. Note: to 16-25s, Paceville is “PV’ (text lingo).

Robyn (18)
1. Fun to meet friends
2. Out of habit
3. Convenient, because everything is close together
4. Like listening to music
5. To meet new people, but hate that there are so many people (editor’s. note: last point may contradict the earlier one).

C.P (16)
1. When I go there, I get a later (parental) curfew.
2. I love ‘Remedy’ (bar with live music)

J.Lo (16) goes to PV to:
1. Listen to the music he likes
2. Socialise with different people
3. To drink
4. To smoke…(editor’s note: …not sure what though).

Charlie (21) says people go to PV to:
1. Get wasted
2. Meet the same people over and over again. No interesting conversations take place there.. just useless, drunken chat.
3. Pull anything of the opposite sex
4. Because ‘there is nothing better to do’.
5. The weekend shows up and people simply feel like clubbing. There are still many who love the place because of that.

(Afterthought): It’s still very cheap to go out (especially if you’re a girl). There are no entrance fees to many of the clubs. It’s drawing ever younger people in: 14 year-olds go there supposedly accompanying their elder siblings.. and end up getting wasted themselves. By the time you get to 21, you’ve done it all and want to move on. Also, if you’ve done any serious travel yourself, you know that there is life beyond Paceville.

What and where is Paceville?

It’s a compact, urban peninsula between St George’s Bay and Spinola Bay and facing the inland residential area of Swieqi. It also has a large number of five-star hotels on its fringes. The St George’s Bay (newly-made) beach is considered Paceville’s local beach. Paceville life centres on Dragonara Road, Wilga Street, St. Georges Road and St. Rita Steps where clubs, bars, restaurants, snack outlets, discos and more spill out into paved streets. It isn’t that attractive a place by day, but at night, it’s like Malta’s mini version of London’s Soho, Leicester Square and Piccadilly Circus – loud, brash and in your face.

Facilities: police are present; taxi ranks in main square; Wembley’s, a well-known taxi & mini-bus firm, is just five minutes walk from central Paceville. Minibus services to most outlying towns and villages operate till the early hours. Taxi sharing also possible.

How to get there:

Buses 62, 64, 66, 67, 68, 662, 667 and 671 all pass very frequently through St. Julian’s (stops on main road on fringes of Paceville) from 5.30 till 11.00pm.

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