Around the 1850s Sliema became a summer resort for the well-to-do and, before long, the resort grew into a town.

The rich built their villas on the ridge, away from the slummy end where the fisher folk lived. As the British servicemen left, the tourists moved in, and the houses of Sliema: the villas and the hovels, were pulled down and blocks of flats and hotels rose up in their stead.

A fort built by the British in 1872 is now an excellent pizzeria.

The promenade is probably the most densely populated area in the Island as strollers enjoy the sea-breezes in the cool of the summer evenings. St. Julians, its suburb, can claim an older ancestry.

Originally this hamlet sprang up around the old chapel dedicated to Saint Julian, patron of hunting (first built in 1580, but many times rebuilt). The hunting lodges of the Knights have all disappeared except for that of Bali’ Spinola who gave his name to the environs of the fishing harbour of St. Julians. Where the old hunting lodges once were are now the large number of hotels, restaurants and pubs that make of St. Julians the most bustling and popular tourist resort in Malta, especially with the younger set.