Malta
Valletta
A whole baroque capital built by knights in a few decades, small enough to cross on foot in twenty minutes.
Valletta is Malta's walled capital, a grid of honey-coloured limestone streets on a narrow peninsula between two deep harbours, laid out by the Knights of St John straight after they beat off the Ottoman siege of 1565. Its icon is St John's Co-Cathedral, plain outside and blazing with gilded baroque inside, home to Caravaggio's Beheading of Saint John the Baptist. Across the Grand Harbour sit the fortified Three Cities, and the whole main island, from Mdina to the prehistoric temples, is within an hour by bus.
Suggested stay
2–4 days
Language
Maltese, English
Currency
EUR
Timezone
UTC+2
Why you'll love Valletta
The Co-Cathedral marble tombstones of the Knights carpet the floor, and Caravaggio's largest painting hangs in the oratory
Grand Harbour the view from the Barrakka gardens over bastions, creeks and the Three Cities is one of the great harbour views of Europe
A city in stone balconied streets dropping steeply to the water, every one of them built within a few generations
An island at hand Mdina, the temples, Marsaxlokk and the Gozo fast ferry all start from the city's edge
Best time to visit
all year
16-32° days
35.899° N, 14.514° E
UTC+2 · Europe/Malta
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Weather & when to go to Valletta
Month by month: typical highs and lows, rainfall and rain days.
✓ Best all year
Cards tinted by calculated verdict · big number = typical daily high, small = low · hover for conditions
When to avoid Valletta
No bad season for weather. Midsummer is hot in the stone streets and crowded when several cruise ships are in, and the sea is too cool for most swimmers through the winter months, which is otherwise a quiet, mild and rewarding time to see the city.
Top things to do in Valletta
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St John's Co-Cathedral - Caravaggio and the Knights' tombstones
culture arts history ⭐ Highly recommendedThe Knights' conventual church, austere outside and covered inside in gilded carving and Mattia Preti's ceiling paintings. The floor is a patchwork of inlaid marble tombstones, and the oratory holds Caravaggio's Beheading of Saint John the Baptist, the only work he signed.
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Upper Barrakka Gardens - the Saluting Battery and the harbour view
scenic history 👍 PopularArcaded gardens on top of the bastions with the finest view over the Grand Harbour to the Three Cities. The cannons of the Saluting Battery below still fire at noon. A lift drops from here to the waterfront.
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Hal Saflieni Hypogeum - the underground prehistoric necropolis
history ⭐ Highly recommendedA multi-level burial complex cut into the rock in Paola, a short bus ride from Valletta, with carved chambers that mimic the island's temple architecture. Visitor numbers are tightly capped to protect it, so book well ahead.
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The Three Cities - cross the Grand Harbour to Birgu and Senglea
history scenic 👍 PopularTake the ferry or a traditional dghajsa water taxi from below the bastions to Birgu, where the Knights first based themselves. Walk the quiet lanes, Fort St Angelo and the Inquisitor's Palace, then the Senglea point for the view back to Valletta.
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Grand Master's Palace - state rooms and the armoury
history culture arts 👍 PopularThe seat of the Knights' Grand Masters, later the British governors and now the President, with painted corridors, frescoed state rooms and the Knights' armour collection.
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Fort St Elmo and the National War Museum
historyThe star-shaped fort at the peninsula's tip, which held out for weeks in the 1565 siege, now houses the war museum, running from prehistory to the Second World War and the George Cross awarded to the island.
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Lascaris War Rooms - the WWII command bunker
historyTunnels cut deep beneath the Upper Barrakka Gardens, from which the island's air defence was run during the siege of the Second World War, and later used as a NATO operations centre.
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National Museum of Archaeology - the Sleeping Lady
history culture artsHoused in a Knights' auberge on Republic Street, the museum gathers finds from Malta's temple period, including the Sleeping Lady from the Hypogeum and the full-figured fertility statues from the temple sites.
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Manoel Theatre and Pjazza Teatru Rjal - a night of performance
culture arts nightlife musicThe Manoel, built by the Knights in the 1730s, is one of the oldest working theatres in Europe, with a jewel-box gilded interior. By City Gate, the bombed ruins of the old Royal Opera House are now an open-air stage.
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Strait Street - evening drinks in the old Gut
nightlife musicA narrow lane once notorious as the sailors' bar strip, now lined with small wine bars and live music spilling onto the steps after dark.
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Maltese food - pastizzi, ftira and rabbit stew
foodFlaky pastizzi filled with ricotta or peas from a hole-in-the-wall bakery, ftira bread stuffed with tuna, capers and tomato, and stuffat tal-fenek, slow-cooked rabbit, the national dish, at a family restaurant.
Best areas to stay in Valletta
$ Budget $$ Mid-range $$$ Premium
Valletta (inside the walls)
First-time visitors $$$Baroque streets and boutique palazzo hotels
Explore hotels in Valletta (inside the walls) →
Floriana
Bus-trip explorers $$Quieter suburb just outside City Gate
Explore hotels in Floriana →
Birgu (the Three Cities)
Quiet couples $$Old harbour town facing Valletta
Explore hotels in Birgu (the Three Cities) →
Sliema
Seaside base $$Seafront promenade and modern hotels
Explore hotels in Sliema →
Live nightly prices from Booking.com, Agoda and others, centred on Valletta
Getting to & around Valletta
Getting there
Fly into Malta International (MLA), about 20-30 min by bus or taxi to Valletta
Flight
Malta International (MLA)
Malta International at Luqa is about 8 km south of the city. An express airport bus runs to the Valletta terminus just outside City Gate in around 25 min, and taxis or ride-hailing cars take about 20 min.
Ferry
Valletta Grand Harbour
Car and passenger ferries from Sicily dock in the Grand Harbour below the city walls.
Cruise
Valletta Waterfront
Cruise ships berth at the waterfront below Floriana, a short walk or lift ride up to the city.
Getting around
Walking
Valletta is small and largely car-free; the grid is easy, but streets are steep and stepped towards the harbours.
Free
Bus
Routes from the terminus at City Gate reach almost everywhere on the island, though traffic slows them at busy times.
TBC
Harbour ferry
Short crossings to Sliema across Marsamxett and to the Three Cities across the Grand Harbour, quicker than any road.
TBC
Taxi and ride-hailing
Ride-hailing apps work across the island and are the easy way back late at night.
TBC
Day trips from Valletta
Mdina and Rabat
Half dayWalled hilltop city
Malta's old capital, the hushed 'Silent City', with palaces, a cathedral and ramparts looking over the whole island. Rabat next door has St Paul's Catacombs and the grotto where the apostle is said to have sheltered.
Getting there
bus
About 30 min by bus
Gozo
Full daySister island
Greener and slower than Malta, with the Citadel in Victoria, the Ggantija temples and dramatic cliffs and inlets on the west coast. Worth more than a day if you can spare it.
Getting there
ferry | bus | tour
About 45 min by fast ferry from Valletta, or bus to Cirkewwa and the car ferry
Marsaxlokk
Half dayFishing village
A harbour packed with brightly painted luzzu boats with eyes on their bows, waterfront fish restaurants and a large Sunday fish market.
Getting there
bus
About 30 min by bus
Blue Grotto, Hagar Qim and Mnajdra
Half daySea caves and temples
Small boats nose into the sea caves at Wied iz-Zurrieq, where the water glows blue in morning light, and the clifftop megalithic temples of Hagar Qim and Mnajdra are a short hop along the coast.
Getting there
bus | car
About 40 min by bus or car
Comino and the Blue Lagoon
Full dayIsland swim stop
The tiny island between Malta and Gozo, famous for its lagoon of startlingly clear turquoise water. Very busy at midday in summer; go early or late.
Getting there
ferry | bus | tour
Boat trips from Sliema, or bus to Cirkewwa and a short ferry
A little history of Valletta
Malta was home to temple builders more than five thousand years ago, and passed through Phoenician, Roman, Arab and Norman hands before the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V granted it to the Knights of St John in 1530. In 1565 the Knights and the Maltese held out against a vast Ottoman fleet in the Great Siege, and the next year Grand Master Jean de la Valette laid the first stone of a new fortified city on the bare Sciberras peninsula.
Valletta was built fast, to a planned grid, and stayed the Knights' capital until Napoleon took the island in 1798. Britain ruled from 1800 and made the Grand Harbour a naval base. Heavy bombing in the Second World War earned the island the George Cross in 1942, and Malta became independent in 1964 with Valletta as its capital.
Malta's megalithic temple-building era begins
Charles V grants Malta to the Knights of St John
The Knights and the Maltese withstand the Ottoman Great Siege
Grand Master Jean de la Valette lays the foundation stone of Valletta
Napoleon takes Malta and the Knights leave the island
The French garrison surrenders and Malta comes under British rule
King George VI awards the George Cross to the island of Malta
Malta becomes independent
Malta becomes a republic
Know before you go
Payment
Cards & cash mixed
English
Everywhere
Wifi
Reliable
Power
Type G
230 V, 50 Hz
Dialing
+356
FAQs about Valletta
▸ When is the best time to visit Valletta?
There is no bad month for weather. Spring and autumn are the sweet spot for walking the city and swimming, midsummer is hot and busy, and winter is mild and quiet, with a cool sea but uncrowded museums.
▸ Is Valletta a good base for exploring Malta?
Yes. The main bus terminus sits at City Gate, ferries cross to Sliema and the Three Cities, and most of the island is within an hour. The trade-off is a smaller, pricier choice of hotels than in Sliema or St Julian's.
▸ Do I need to book the Hypogeum in advance?
Yes, well in advance. Entry to the Hal Saflieni Hypogeum is limited to small timed groups to protect the site, and slots often sell out weeks ahead, especially in the busier months.
▸ Do I need a car in Valletta?
No. The city is walkable and mostly closed to traffic, and parking is scarce. Buses, harbour ferries and ride-hailing cover day trips on the main island; a car only helps for roaming remote corners or Gozo at your own pace.
▸ Can you swim in Valletta?
There is no sandy beach in the city. Locals swim off the rocks and ladders along the harbour edges, and Sliema's rocky lidos are a ferry ride away; the nearest sandy beaches are in the north of the island.
▸ Is Valletta expensive?
Mid-range by Western European standards. Staying inside the walls costs more than in Sliema or the Three Cities, while bakery snacks and buses keep everyday spending modest.