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Ninety seconds on Independence Garden
Visitor listings say there is no entrance fee, and that the garden is open to the public through the day, an easy stop to add to a walk along the coast.
Its cats, a resident colony that lives in its own shelters in the park. It also has a fountain and a children's playground beside the promenade.
Yes, in the warmer months, from the rocks at Exiles Bay just below the garden. Swimmers get in by rock ladders, and the bay is a local swimming spot on the Sliema-St Julian's border.
On the Tower Road seafront between Sliema and St Julian's, you get a bench facing the sea in a small public garden, with a swimming bay on the rocks right below.
Ġnien l-Indipendenza is a public garden on Tower Road, set beside the promenade between Sliema and St Julian's. Paths wind through the greenery past a fountain, flowers and colourful benches, with enough room to stop and sit for a while rather than simply walk on along the coast.
The garden is best known for its cats. In a shaded part of the park, local residents keep the colony in handmade shelters, with food and blankets.
The garden is a stone's throw from the water, and small fishing boats sit in Exiles Bay below. Locals stop on the paths for a chat, and families pass through with children on their way along the coast.
A visit fits into a walk along Sliema Front, the seafront promenade the garden sits beside. You can cross it in a few minutes, but it works best as a rest: find a bench and watch the boats.
Inside, there is a children's playground, with swings and space to run about.
In the warmer months, the swimming is at Exiles Bay, right below the garden. Rock ladders lead straight into clear, deep water, and there is a small sandy patch.
A kiosk inside the garden sells drinks and snacks, so you can stay on with a coffee facing the sea.
One guide to Sliema's swimming spots advises against children swimming here, as the water off the ladders is deep.
On warm summer nights the promenade outside stays busy into the early hours of the morning.
Explore the rest of Sliema
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