BirguFest, the candlelit heritage weekend in Birgu, runs from Friday 11 to Sunday 13 October.
The festival is organised with the Birgu Local Council, and this year’s dates have taken a while to settle: earlier listings gave three different weekends. The published programme now agrees on 11 to 13 October.
The programme
- Friday 11 October, 09:00 to 23:00: guided tours of the Inquisitor’s Palace and Fort St Angelo. An evening event at the Malta Maritime Museum covers the French blockade of 1798 to 1800.
- Saturday 12 October, 09:00 to midnight: Fort St Angelo lit with fjakkoli, traditional oil lamps. The same guided tours and museum event run again.
- Sunday 13 October, 09:00 to 17:00, Fort St Angelo until 18:00: a historical re-enactment set in the year 1400. Food and drink stalls run all day.
Saturday night, when the fort is lit by lamplight rather than electric light, is the one most people come for.
Where
Everything is within walking distance in Birgu (Vittoriosa): the Inquisitor’s Palace, Fort St Angelo and the Malta Maritime Museum.
It is a five-minute harbour ferry from Valletta, which avoids parking in the Three Cities on a busy weekend.
