Good to know
Good to Know
- Bay Street is the only large enclosed-style mall in St. Julian's proper and is open every day including Sundays, which is unusual for Malta — useful if you need to shop on a weekend when smaller local shops are closed.
- Shopping in St. Julian's is spread across a few distinct pockets rather than one giant district: Bay Street for mainstream/high-street brands, Mercury and Portomaso for more upscale fashion and boutiques, and Spinola Bay/Park Towers for smaller independent and gift shops.
- Bay Street sits right next to Paceville, so the area gets noticeably livelier (and louder) at night due to nearby nightlife — worth knowing if you're shopping in the evening.
- Some visitor reviews note Bay Street's retail prices can run high for certain brands, though its rooftop terrace and dining are frequently called good value.
- There is no official Apple Store anywhere in Malta — the closest thing is iCentre, the country's sole Apple Premium Reseller and only Apple Authorised Service Provider, with a sales outlet in Sliema (walkable from St Julian's) but the actual repair/warranty centre is inland in Birkirkara.
- If your device needs an in-warranty repair, budget extra travel time to Birkirkara rather than assuming it can be handled locally in St Julian's or Sliema.
- Cross-border EU online orders (Amazon.de/.it/.co.uk etc.) reach Malta without customs charges but typically take longer to arrive than they would on the European mainland, so build in buffer time for anything urgent.
Apple Service And Retail
- Official Apple Store Present
- No
- Note
- Malta has no company-owned Apple Store. All authorized Apple sales and service in the country run through a single operator, iCentre (SG Solutions Ltd, part of the VJ Salomone Group).
Key Facts
- iCentre is described on its own site as Malta's only Apple Authorised Service Provider, meaning any in-warranty repair on the island funnels through its Birkirkara service centre.
- iCentre also opened Malta's first Apple Premium Partner outlet at QUAD Central in Mriehel in June 2024, which includes an additional Apple-certified repair workshop.
Nearest Locations To St Julians
iCentre – Apple Premium Reseller (APR)
- Type
- Apple Premium Reseller (sales) — Apple products and accessories
- Location
- Tagliaferro Centre, Sliema
- Distance From St Julians
- Adjacent neighborhood; roughly a 15–20 minute walk or under 10 minutes by car/taxi along the seafront from central St Julian's/Paceville.
iCentre – The Point
- Type
- Retail outlet — Apple products and accessories
- Location
- The Point Shopping Mall (Tigne Point), Sliema
- Distance From St Julians
- A few minutes' drive or a walk of about 20–25 minutes from St Julian's along the coast; also reachable by local bus.
iCentre Sales & Service Centre (Apple Authorised Service Provider)
- Type
- Apple Authorised Service Provider (AASP) — this is the only AASP in the entire country, handling warranty repairs and Mac/iPhone/iPad service
- Location
- Dun Karm Street / Birkirkara By-Pass, Birkirkara
- Distance From St Julians
- Not within the immediate area — around a 15–20 minute drive inland; this is the closest genuine repair/warranty option since it is Malta's sole authorized service center.
Online Shopping Reliability
- Major Platforms Available
- As an EU member state, Malta-based shoppers can order from Amazon (typically via Amazon.de, Amazon.it or Amazon.co.uk with EU shipping) and other pan-EU retailers without customs duties, though Malta is not a native Amazon marketplace and delivery times to the islands generally run longer than mainland Europe due to inter-island freight/ferry logistics.
- Local Delivery Infrastructure
- MaltaPost is the national postal operator, supplemented by private couriers (DHL, GPO/Aramex-affiliated partners, and local last-mile delivery firms) for parcel delivery; short-term rental addresses in St Julian's/Sliema/Paceville are well served since this is one of the most densely serviced tourist-and-expat corridors on the island.
Practical Notes
- Expect parcels from mainland Europe to take noticeably longer and cost more in shipping than the EU average, since everything has to cross by sea or air freight to the islands.
- Building/apartment access (buzzer systems, no doorman in many blocks) is the more common source of delivery friction in this area rather than courier unreliability itself.
- Cash-on-delivery is uncommon; card payment and prepaid online orders are standard.
Malls And Districts
Bay Street Shopping Complex
- Type
- Large-scale shopping mall / entertainment complex
- Hours
- Open 10:00–22:00, seven days a week, which sources note makes it one of the only Maltese malls open on Sundays.
- Parking
- Indoor parking available, priced at roughly €1.10/hour according to listings.
- Location
- St. George's Bay, St. Julian's (adjacent to Paceville)
- Atmosphere
- Mixes indoor and outdoor shopping with a multi-level, open-street layout; described by some visitors as touristy with mixed price points and a livelier, younger crowd at night given its location next to Paceville's nightlife strip.
- Size And Tenants
- Sources vary on exact outlet count over time, but the complex is generally described as having roughly 65 to over 80 retail and dining outlets, including international brand-name shops, cafes, restaurants, bars, a casino, a hotel, an arcade, and a children's play area. Named tenants include Tommy Hilfiger, M&S Foods, Adidas, Swarovski, Guess, Skechers, Lindex, Stefanel, The Model Shop, Franks, L'Occitane, Exotique, and Hard Rock Cafe.
- Description
- Bay Street is a hotel, commercial, and entertainment complex in St. Julian's, built in 2000 as part of a large investment in the Paceville area, and is described as incorporating the largest shopping complex on the island.
Portomaso
- Type
- Upscale marina district / mixed shopping-and-leisure development
- Location
- Portomaso Marina, St. Julian's, within walking distance of Paceville and Spinola Bay
- Atmosphere
- Positioned as the more luxury-leaning shopping and leisure pocket of St. Julian's, contrasted with Bay Street's mass-market mall feel and Paceville's nightlife focus.
- Highlights
- The wider Portomaso area combines upscale boutiques and jewellers with the marina's restaurants, a leisure center, a beach club, the Hilton Malta hotel, and Portomaso Casino. The large Arkadia Foodstore supermarket (around 3,500 square meters) is also located here.
- Description
- A luxury marina development anchored by the Portomaso Business Tower, Malta's only skyscraper at 98 meters, which itself contains a shopping center on its main floor alongside offices and a nightclub.
Mercury Shopping District
- Type
- Dense shopping street / fashion district
- Location
- St George's Road, St. Julian's (Mercury House)
- Atmosphere
- Marketed as a stylish, fashion-forward hub distinct from the family-oriented Bay Street complex, geared toward higher-end and international clothing brands.
- Description
- A concentrated retail stretch along St George's Road featuring fashion outlets such as Armani Exchange, Tommy Hilfiger, Mango, and BOSS, alongside jewellers like Sterling Jewellers.
Park Towers Mall
- Type
- Small shopping mall
- Location
- George Borg Olivier Street, St. Julian's
- Atmosphere
- A lower-key, smaller-scale alternative to the larger Bay Street complex.
- Description
- A smaller shopping mall referenced alongside Bay Street and Mercury among St. Julian's named shopping destinations, housing boutiques and gift shops such as souvenir and accessory stores.
Spinola Bay
- Type
- Scenic dining-and-boutique waterfront district
- Location
- Central St. Julian's, between Paceville and the town center
- Atmosphere
- More of a picturesque café-and-boutique strip than a dense shopping zone — best for browsing small independent shops between meals rather than a full shopping trip.
- Description
- Described as the gastronomic heart of St. Julian's, Spinola Bay is lined with restaurants overlooking traditional fishing boats, and hosts a handful of independent gift, jewelry, and home-goods boutiques (e.g. shops selling handbags, teas, and local home decor) rather than chain retail.
AI-generated estimateData refreshed July 2026
This section has no cited sources.
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Data last updated July 2026 · Verify anything important.