St John's Co-Cathedral and the Caravaggios
1 h 30All ages; with small children, the visit feels longAll year, Monday to Saturday
Visit · 1 h 30 · All ages · €15 · Closed Sundays
Stay3–4 nights
Best timeApril, May, June, September, October
Area0.61 km², on foot
World HeritageSince 1980
What to do
What to do in Valletta
Each plan says how long it takes, who it's for and whether you can book.
Grand Master's Palace and the Order's armoury
1 h 30All ages; the armoury appeals to children and teenagersAll year
Museum · 1 h 30 · All ages · €12 · Open daily
Upper Barrakka and the Saluting Battery gun salute
1 hAll agesDog-friendlyAll year; the battery, Monday to Saturday
Viewpoint and battery · 1 h · All ages · Garden free · Battery €3
From €3
See the activity
Itineraries
Itineraries that pass through
Days and weekends already planned out, with how to get between each stop and who to book with.
Getaways from Valletta
Plan the trip
Valletta, step by step
Each choice narrows the next: the season shapes how best to travel, and how you travel decides where you stay and where you eat.
When to go
When to go to Valletta
In spring and in September and October: pleasant warmth, sea already warm in autumn and fewer cruise ships than in summer. In July and August temperatures often exceed 30 °C and the city's stones give the heat back. In winter there are good days, but some tourist boats stop running.
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Best timeGood timeLow season
How you travel
Valletta your way
The ways of travelling that suit Valletta. We are writing a guide to each one: where to stay, how to get around and which services you will need.
Car-freeLuxuryBackpacking
Where to stay
Where to stay in Valletta
Casa Ellul
Why we like it: Nine suites in a Victorian townhouse on Old Theatre Street, opposite the Carmelite church, with wooden balconies, a courtyard and terraces with jacuzzis.
Osborne Hotel
Why we like it: A three-star hotel on South Street, inside the walls, in a knights' palace: 63 rooms, a terrace pool and buffet breakfast.
The Phoenicia Malta
Why we like it: Malta's first five-star, opened in 1947 beside City Gate: 132 rooms, seven acres of garden, a pool above the harbour and a spa in a bastion.
Where to eat
Where to eat in Valletta
From set lunch menus to Michelin stars. We mark the price level and what to order at each place.
Caffe Cordina
What to order: a coffee with a pistachio or ricotta cannolo, or a Maltese sweet from the house such as the honey ring, sitting on the square terrace
Open every day of the year, public holidays too, from 8:00. Closing time is not fully published and in summer it is extended.
Ta' Nenu
What to order: a ftira to share, such as the Ta' Nenu or the pork one with Maltese sausage, and the fried rabbit with garlic (fenek moqli); for dessert, imqaret with ice cream
Open every day at midday and in the evening. The booking on the website is a request that they confirm by phone or email; for the same day, call.
Rubino
What to order: the fenek moqli, the fried rabbit in red wine with a bittersweet finish, and for dessert the Sicilian cassata; let them tell you about the blackboard of the day
Lunches only Monday to Friday; dinners Monday to Saturday. Closed on Sunday. The Michelin Guide includes it with a Bib Gourmand.
Nearby
Near Valletta
The closest places, whichever country they are in.
Tips
Worth knowing first
- 1Go to Upper Barrakka at midday
Arrive a quarter of an hour before twelve to see the Saluting Battery fire from the garden, and then go down in the lift to the Three Cities boat.
- 2Go into St John's first thing
The cruise groups arrive by mid-morning. At opening time you see the oratory in peace.
- 3Use the boats as transport
The crossing to Sliema or the Three Cities costs €3, takes little time and saves you the jams on the road round the harbour.
- 4Sleep inside the walls
At night, when the cruise ships leave, the city falls silent and the lit-up streets are something else.
- 5Wear comfortable shoes
The streets are polished stone and sloping, with stretches of steps. They are slippery in the rain.
We'd skip it
Taking the car to get around inside Valletta or between the capital and Sliema. There is very little parking and a lot of traffic on the harbour road; the boat and the bus get you there sooner.
What is Valletta like?
A city of honey-coloured stone built in one go on the Sceberras peninsula, between two natural harbours: the Grand Harbour to the east and Marsamxett to the west. It was founded by the Order of St John in 1566, a year after surviving the Ottoman Great Siege, and named after its grand master, Jean de Valette. It has been the capital of Malta since 1571.
It was laid out with straight streets in a grid, something new on the island, and almost all of it is Baroque. It covers only 0.61 km², is the smallest capital in the European Union and has about 320 monuments in that space. That is why you see it on foot: from the city gate to the tip of Fort St Elmo it is about fifteen minutes' walk along Republic Street. What tires you is the slopes: the cross streets drop with steps towards the water.
What to see on foot?
A one-day route, from the entrance to the tip:
- The city gate and Parliament. On entering through City Gate, Renzo Piano's building of stone and openings, where Parliament has met since 2015, and next to it the ruins of the Royal Opera House, destroyed by Second World War bombs.
- The Upper Barrakka Gardens. A terrace with arches above the Grand Harbour, with the Three Cities opposite. Below is the Saluting Battery, the battery of cannon that fires every day at 12:00 and 16:00. From the garden you see it free; to go down to the battery, the ticket costs €3. A public lift goes down from here to the boat quay.
- St John's Co-Cathedral. Plain outside; inside, covered in gold, marble and about 400 gravestones of knights of the Order in the floor. It was built between 1573 and 1578, designed by Girolamo Cassar. In the oratory hang two Caravaggios: the Beheading of St John the Baptist, from 1608, the largest canvas he painted and the only one he signed, and St Jerome Writing. The visit is paid.
- The Grand Master's Palace. It was the first building in the city and is today the seat of the Presidency of the Republic. You visit the State Rooms and the Order's armoury, with the suits of armour of the grand masters Wignacourt and Valette. General admission costs €12. It sometimes closes for official events: check the notice for the day.
- The National Museum of Archaeology, on Republic Street, with the figures from the megalithic temples.
- Fort St Elmo, at the tip of the peninsula. A star-shaped fort from 1552 that held out for a month of siege in 1565. Today it houses the National War Museum, with the George Cross awarded to the island and the Gloster Sea Gladiator biplane Faith, one of those that defended the island in 1940. The ticket costs €10.
- Lower Barrakka, the other garden above the harbour, smaller and quieter, halfway back.
For the evening, Strait Street, narrow and in shade, which was the street of the sailors' bars and today has bars and restaurants.
The Three Cities and the rest of Malta
Opposite, across the Grand Harbour, are Birgu, Senglea and Cospicua, the Three Cities, where the Order settled before founding Valletta. The Valletta Ferry Services boat leaves from the quay below Upper Barrakka about every 15 minutes during the day and costs €3 each way. Another boat crosses to Sliema from Marsamxett harbour, at the same fare: it is the fastest way to go to and from the hotel area.
From Valletta, almost all bus routes leave from the terminal beside City Gate. With them you reach Mdina, the old walled capital in the interior, and the temples of Ħaġar Qim and Mnajdra, over 5,000 years old, a World Heritage Site since 1992, with a €10 ticket and the stop three minutes' walk away. For Gozo, a fast passenger-only ferry leaves the Grand Harbour for Mġarr.
How do you get there and get around?
There are direct flights all year from Madrid and Barcelona, and in summer also from Palma, Málaga, Valencia, Seville and Bilbao. There is no boat from Spain: by sea, you have to go via Italy. A valid national ID card is enough.
From the airport to Valletta there are direct buses. The ticket costs €2.50 in summer and €2 in winter, is paid to the driver in cash, by contactless card or phone, and is valid for two hours with transfers. If you are going to use the bus a lot, the Explore cards work out better: twelve journeys for €19, shareable. The official white taxis often do not use the meter: agree the price beforehand or buy the journey at the fixed-price booths at the airport. Uber, Bolt and eCabs also work.
Within Valletta you do not need a car, and parking is difficult. In Malta you drive on the left, on narrow roads with few signs; if you hire, do it for Gozo or the south, not for the city.
What to do, where to eat and where to sleep
- What to do: St John's Co-Cathedral, the Grand Master's Palace, Fort St Elmo, Upper Barrakka and the cannon salute and the boat to the Three Cities.
- Where to eat: Caffe Cordina, the historic café on Republic Street; Ta' Nenu, Maltese cooking open every day, and Rubino, the old confectioner's from 1906.
- Where to sleep: the Osborne, a three-star with a pool inside the walls; Casa Ellul, nine suites in a small palace, and The Phoenicia, a five-star with gardens beside City Gate.
- Plans: Valletta on foot in a day, the Three Cities by boat and the three nights in Valletta getaway.
Questions
Frequently asked questions
How many days do I need in Valletta?
One day for the city, half for the Three Cities and another for Mdina and the southern temples. Three or four nights as a base for seeing Malta, and one or two more if you go to Gozo.
Can you go to Malta with a national ID card?
Yes. Malta is in the European Union and in Schengen: a valid national ID card or passport is enough on entry and exit.
How do I get from the airport to Valletta?
By direct bus to the City Gate terminal, with a €2.50 ticket in summer. By taxi, agree the price beforehand or buy it at the fixed-price booth.
Which Caravaggios are in St John's Cathedral?
Two, in the oratory: the Beheading of St John the Baptist, the only painting he signed, and St Jerome Writing.
Is there a beach in Valletta?
There is no sandy beach. People swim from the rocks on the Sliema coast, a boat ride away. The few sandy beaches are in the north of Malta and in Gozo.
Is English spoken?
Yes. English is an official language alongside Maltese, and is used everywhere.
How do I get to Gozo from Valletta?
On the fast passenger ferry that leaves the Grand Harbour for Mġarr, or by bus to Ċirkewwa, in the north, and then the Gozo Channel ferry, about 25 minutes.