One day in Valletta

Day by day

1. Day 1: St John's Co-Cathedral and Upper Barrakka Gardens and Saluting Battery

   St John's Co-Cathedral, Upper Barrakka Gardens and Saluting Battery, Grandmaster's Palace and Lascaris War Rooms, then Manoel Theatre in the evening.

   1. Morning

      St John's Co-Cathedral

      Use the included audio guide and save the oratory for last, when you can sit in front of the Caravaggio. Allow 1.5 hours.

   2. Late morning

      Upper Barrakka Gardens and Saluting Battery

      Arrive about 15 minutes before noon to get a spot on the terrace for the gun salute. Allow 45 minutes.

   3. Lunch

      Lunch: Pastizzi

      Pastizzerias across Valletta and every town; the best are straight from the oven and cost very little.

   4. Afternoon

      Grandmaster's Palace

      Check Heritage Malta's site for which state rooms are open, as parts of the palace are still used for official functions. Allow 1–1.5 hours.

   5. Late afternoon

      Lascaris War Rooms

      Combine it with the Saluting Battery above; the entrance is down the steps from the gardens. Allow 1–1.5 hours.

   6. Evening

      Manoel Theatre

      If you can, see a performance rather than a tour; the acoustics and the intimate boxes are the point.

Before you go

• St John's Co-Cathedral: Queues build when cruise ships are in; arriving early or booking online saves time.

If it rains

• Swap in Fort St Elmo and National War Museum (Lower Valletta): Walk the ramparts after the museum for views over both harbours and the breakwater.
• Swap in National Museum of Archaeology (Upper Valletta): Visit before your temple day trips; the figurines make far more sense once you have seen the sites.
• Swap in MUŻA – National Community Art Museum (Upper Valletta): Look for the Preti paintings first, then compare them with his ceiling in St John's nearby.

Where to stay for this itinerary

Pace and daylight

The sights in this plan add up to roughly 5–6 hours of visiting over one day, before meals and getting between them. Daylight runs from about 9.7 hours in December to 14.6 hours in June, so in winter start early and keep museums for the afternoon.

Getting between stops: Walking. Everything in Valletta is within walking distance; Republic Street runs the length of the peninsula from City Gate to Fort St Elmo.

More or fewer days

• 2 days in Valletta
• 3 days in Valletta
• 5 days in Valletta

Questions travellers ask