geocalia
Day itinerary · 35.90° N · 14.51° E
The co-cathedral at opening time, the Grand Master's armoury, the midday cannon at Upper Barrakka, ftira and rabbit at Ta' Nenu and the afternoon at St Elmo.
Part of Valletta
The plan
Any part can be swapped for another without spoiling the day.
At opening time · €15 · closed Sundays
€12 · start with the armoury
Cannon at 12:00 · battery €3
€10 · National War Museum
Along Republic Street to City Gate, or via Lower Barrakka
Adds up the activities and meals in the plan at their published prices; travel and accommodation not included.
The route
Valletta fits into a day on foot. It is a walled peninsula of 0.61 km², and from City Gate to the tip at St Elmo it is about fifteen minutes' walk along Republic Street. This plan brings together what you must not miss, in the order that avoids queues and makes use of the midday cannon. It is done Monday to Saturday: on Sunday the co-cathedral is closed to visitors.
From Spain there is a direct flight to Malta from several cities; the airport is at Luqa, in the middle of the island. From the airport to Valletta, a direct bus to the City Gate terminal, or a fixed-fare taxi. If you sleep inside the walls, as at the Osborne or at Casa Ellul, you start the day at the hotel door.
9:00 · St John's Co-Cathedral. Go in at opening time, before the cruise groups. The gilded interior, the 400 marble gravestones of the knights and, in the oratory, Caravaggio's Beheading of St John the Baptist, the only painting he signed. €15.
10:45 · Grand Master's Palace. Two streets away. The Order's armoury, with the armour of Wignacourt and Valette, and the State Rooms with the Great Siege cycle. €12. Check beforehand whether there is a partial closure for an official event.
11:45 · Upper Barrakka. Take a place at the garden railing above the Grand Harbour: at 12:00 the Saluting Battery cannon fire. Watching from the garden is free; going down to the battery, €3.
13:00 · Lunch at Ta' Nenu. On St Dominic Street, Maltese cooking: a ftira to share, the fried rabbit with garlic or the fish soup, and imqaret for dessert. Open every day.
15:00 · Fort St Elmo. At the tip of the peninsula: the fort that held out for a month in the Great Siege and the National War Museum, with the biplane Faith and the George Cross. €10.
17:00 · Return. Go down to the Lower Barrakka gardens and come back along Republic Street when the city empties of cruise passengers.
Where to eat
Lunch is half the plan: book before you set off.
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
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
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
Map
With where to park at each one.
Getting there
When to go
All year, Monday to Saturday: the co-cathedral is closed to visitors on Sunday and the Saluting Battery does not publish Sunday hours. In July and August, midday in the street is hard; save Upper Barrakka for the 16:00 cannon.
Tips
The floor of the co-cathedral is marble gravestones, and the streets are polished sloping stone.
To enter St John's.
Some days it closes rooms for Presidency events.
Questions
Yes, on foot. With this plan you see the cathedral, the palace, the cannon and St Elmo without rushing.
€37 for an adult: €15 the co-cathedral, €12 the palace and €10 St Elmo, plus €3 if you go down to the battery.
Not quite: the co-cathedral is closed to visitors on Sundays. Swap it for the boat to the Three Cities.
More plans like this
geocalia.com/en/malta/valletta/itineraries/valletta-on-foot-in-a-day
Prices, opening hours and times are approximate: check them before you go. Each place has its own page on Geocalia.
Geocaliahttps://www.geocalia.com/en/malta/valletta/itineraries/valletta-on-foot-in-a-day
