A photo shared by Louis Cardona onto Pinterest shows what taxi services were like all the way back in early 20^th century Malta.

The shot was taken at Valletta in front of the Royal Opera House and shows a number of elegant cars parked at the front.

You can even see a few horse drawn carriages at the far end as back then carriage taxi were still very much in use.

A lot of things have changed since then…

For starters, the Royal Opera House looks significantly different. This is because it was heavily hit with bombs from World War II air raids and now all that is left are the remains. Although the area is still used as an open-air theatre.

Nowadays, cars cannot pass through there as the area is strictly a pedestrian zone only and cars are only allowed to pass by for special reasons only. Today a coffee shop stands where the cars once parked.

Even the buildings next to the cars have changed although the characteristic Maltese traditional balconies are still very dominant in Valletta.