Valletta
The walled capital the Knights built, twenty minutes from the runway, small enough to cross on foot and listed from end to end.
- Arrival
- Malta International · MLA
- To the city
- About 20 minutes by car
- Private jets
- Own terminal on the field
- Best time
- April to October
The city
A fortress city, still lived in.
Built by the Knights of St John after the Great Siege of 1565 and named for their Grand Master, Jean de Valette, the city fits inside its walls in well under a square kilometre. The whole of it has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1980.
It is meant to be walked: down the stepped streets to the water, under the enclosed wooden balconies, from one bastion garden to the next.
Arriving
One airport, two doors.
Malta International at Luqa is the only airport on the islands. Scheduled cabins and private aircraft share the runway and use separate terminals.
- Tunis 55 min
- Nice 1 h 45
- Amman 3 h 00
- Nairobi 6 h 25 long-range jet
- Hong Kong 12 h 25 long-range jet
When to go
April to October.
Warm and dry from spring to autumn, with the sea warm enough to swim from June to October. July and August are the hottest and busiest months, just above thirty degrees; from November to March the air stays mild but most of the year's rain falls.
- 16° J 79 15°
- 16° F 73 15°
- 17° M 45 15°
- 20° A 21 16°
- 24° M 11 18°
- 29° J 6 21°
- 32° J 0 24°
- 32° A 17 26°
- 29° S 61 25°
- 25° O 82 23°
- 21° N 91 21°
- 17° D 94 17°
What to see and do
Days in and around Valletta.
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Landmark
St John's Co-Cathedral
The Knights' own church, and Caravaggio's Beheading of Saint John the Baptist.
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Landmark
Upper Barrakka Gardens
The view over the Grand Harbour, and the Saluting Battery firing below.
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Landmark
The Grand Harbour
Crossed by the old wooden water taxis to Birgu and the Three Cities.
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Culture
Grand Master's Palace
Suits of armour worn by Grand Masters de Valette and Wignacourt hang in the Armoury, and the State Rooms show Perez d'Aleccio's paintings of the Great Siege.
Official site -
Opera & music
Manoel Theatre
Grand Master Manoel de Vilhena commissioned this Baroque playhouse in 1731, and it still holds performances as well as guided tours backstage.
Official site -
Culture
MUŻA
Housed since 2018 in the Auberge d'Italie, Malta's national art museum holds the largest collection of paintings by Mattia Preti.
Official site -
Culture
National War Museum
Inside Fort St Elmo, the displays run from the Bronze Age to 2004 and include the George Cross awarded to Malta in 1942.
Official site -
Culture
Ħal Saflieni Hypogeum
Only ten people at a time may enter this underground burial complex, used from 4000 to 1500 BC and listed by UNESCO in 1981.
Official site -
Culture
Mdina
Malta's walled capital until 1530 keeps fewer than 300 residents, limited cars and the Baroque cathedral rebuilt by Lorenzo Gafà after the 1693 earthquake.
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On the water
Blue Grotto
Small boats leave Wied iż-Żurrieq every day the sea allows for the sea caverns of the south coast, facing the islet of Filfla.
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Golf
Royal Malta Golf Club
Laid out in 1888 and extended to 18 holes in the 1950s, the par 68 course at Marsa is the club's home within the Marsa Sports Club.
Official site
Where to stay
Inside the walls, or at their foot.
Shown for information. We have no arrangement with any of these hotels.
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Iniala Valletta
Thirty-three rooms and suites in houses on the bastion over the Grand Harbour, with ION Harbour on the roof.
- Rosselli – AX Privilege A seventeenth-century palazzo on Merchants Street, home to Under Grain.
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The Phoenicia Malta The 1930s grand hotel just outside City Gate, in its own gardens on the bastions.
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Grand Hotel Excelsior On the water below the walls, with pools and a view across Marsamxett.
- Casa Ellul A Victorian palazzo turned into a handful of suites, a member of Small Luxury Hotels of the World.
- AX The Saint John Nineteen rooms on Merchants Street, inside the grid.
- Palazzo Consiglia A restored townhouse palazzo, now a small boutique hotel.
- The Embassy Valletta On Strait Street, with a rooftop pool and a cinema of its own.
- 66 Saint Paul's & Spa A seventeenth-century palazzo with a rooftop pool.
- Domus Zamittello On Republic Street, the city's main axis.
Where to dine
Tables the guides rate.
Distinctions as published by the MICHELIN Guide and the other guides named, shown for information. We have no arrangement with any of these restaurants.
- ION Harbour by Simon Rogan Two Michelin stars Contemporary €€€€ Iniala Harbour House
- Noni One Michelin star Modern Mediterranean €€€€ 211 Republic Street
- Under Grain One Michelin star Modern €€€ Rosselli, Merchants Street
- 59 Republic Michelin Guide Classic €€€ Republic Street
- Risette Michelin Guide Modern €€€
- The Harbour Club Michelin Guide Modern €€€
- Grain Street Bib Gourmand Modern €€ Rosselli, Merchants Street
- Rubino Bib Gourmand Traditional Maltese €€
Flying to Valletta?
Choose how you arrive.
A Business or First Class seat on a scheduled airline, or an aircraft of your own. Tell us the date and how many are travelling, and we reply with one final price, our margin included.