Victoria (Rabat)

Address Victoria, Gozo

Victoria — locals still call it Rabat — is Gozo's capital and the closest thing the island has to a city. Two squares anchor it: Pjazza San Ġorġ, with the heavily gilded interior of St George's Basilica, and It-Tokk (Independence Square), the main market square, busy from early morning when the fruit and vegetable vendors set up.

A web of narrow lanes runs between the two and climbs uphill to the Citadel. The streets between are lined with old townhouses, small bakeries (try pastizzi — flaky pastries filled with ricotta or peas — at any pastizzeria), antique shops, and a handful of decent restaurants. Walk a couple of blocks back from the squares and you're in residential Gozo, with knockers on the doors and washing strung between the balconies.

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