Things to do · Valletta · Malta
16 best things to do in Valletta
16 sights and experiences ranked for a first visit, with honest notes on time, cost and crowds.
Updated By the AMZBooking editorial team
Photo: C T Johansson, CC BY-SA 4.0
Quick answer
The essential sights in Valletta are St John's Co-Cathedral, Upper Barrakka Gardens and Saluting Battery and Grandmaster's Palace. Of the 16 picks below, 4 are free, 8 work on a rainy day and 4 suit children. Allow about 4 days to see the highlights without rushing.
Key facts
- Top sight
- St John's Co-Cathedral
- Free sights
- 4
- Good on a rainy day
- St John's Co-Cathedral
- Time to see the highlights
- 4 days
At a glance
| Sight | Area | Time needed | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| St John's Co-Cathedral | Upper Valletta | 1.5 hours | Mid-priced |
| Upper Barrakka Gardens and Saluting Battery | Upper Valletta | 45 minutes | Free |
| Grandmaster's Palace | Upper Valletta | 1–1.5 hours | Mid-priced |
| Fort St Elmo and National War Museum | Lower Valletta | 2 hours | Mid-priced |
| Lower Barrakka Gardens and Siege Bell | Lower Valletta | 30 minutes | Free |
| Lascaris War Rooms | Upper Valletta | 1–1.5 hours | Mid-priced |
| National Museum of Archaeology | Upper Valletta | 1 hour | Low cost |
| MUŻA – National Community Art Museum | Upper Valletta | 1–1.5 hours | Low cost |
| Casa Rocca Piccola | Lower Valletta | 1 hour | Mid-priced |
| Manoel Theatre | Lower Valletta | 45 minutes | Low cost |
| City Gate, Parliament House and Pjazza Teatru Rjal | Upper Valletta | 30 minutes | Free |
| Strait Street | Lower Valletta | 1–2 hours | Free |
| Birgu and Fort St Angelo | The Three Cities | Half a day | Low cost |
| Grand Harbour and Marsamxett cruise | Sliema | 1.5 hours | Low cost |
| Ħal Saflieni Hypogeum | Paola | 1 hour | Expensive |
| Tarxien Temples | Paola | 45 minutes | Low cost |
The 16 best things to do
Religious site · Upper Valletta
1.St John's Co-Cathedral
The Knights' conventual church looks austere outside but inside is a blaze of gilded carved stone, ceiling paintings by Mattia Preti and a floor of some 400 inlaid marble tombstones of knights. The oratory holds Caravaggio's Beheading of Saint John the Baptist, his largest painting and the only one he signed, and his Saint Jerome Writing.
Use the included audio guide and save the oratory for last, when you can sit in front of the Caravaggio.
- Time needed
- 1.5 hours
- Cost
- Mid-priced
- Book ahead
- Queues build when cruise ships are in; arriving early or booking online saves time.
- Iconic
- Art
- History
- Rainy day
- Architecture
Viewpoint · Upper Valletta
2.Upper Barrakka Gardens and Saluting Battery
The arcaded garden on the highest point of the bastions looks across the Grand Harbour to Birgu, Senglea and Fort St Angelo. Below it, the Saluting Battery's cannons are fired daily at noon, a tradition that once regulated time for ships in the harbour. The Barrakka Lift drops 58 metres from the gardens to the waterfront.
Arrive about 15 minutes before noon to get a spot on the terrace for the gun salute.
- Time needed
- 45 minutes
- Cost
- Free
- Free
- Views
- Iconic
- Kids
- Photo spot
Palace · Upper Valletta
3.Grandmaster's Palace
The seat of the Grand Masters of the Order of St John, and later of British governors and the Maltese president, faces St George's Square. Its corridors are lined with painted friezes, armorial ceilings and suits of armour, and the Armoury is one of the largest collections of its kind still in its original building.
Check Heritage Malta's site for which state rooms are open, as parts of the palace are still used for official functions.
- Time needed
- 1–1.5 hours
- Cost
- Mid-priced
- History
- Rainy day
- Architecture
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Castle · Lower Valletta
4.Fort St Elmo and National War Museum
The star-shaped fort at the tip of the peninsula held out for a month in the Great Siege of 1565 and was bombed repeatedly in the Second World War. Its National War Museum covers Malta's history from the Bronze Age to independence, and displays the George Cross awarded to the island in 1942.
Walk the ramparts after the museum for views over both harbours and the breakwater.
- Time needed
- 2 hours
- Cost
- Mid-priced
- History
- Kids
- Views
- Rainy day
Garden · Lower Valletta
5.Lower Barrakka Gardens and Siege Bell
A small, shaded garden on the eastern bastions, centred on a neoclassical monument to Sir Alexander Ball, with views over the harbour mouth and breakwater. Just below stands the Siege Bell War Memorial, commemorating the more than 7,000 people who died in the WWII siege of Malta.
Come in the late afternoon, when it is much quieter than the Upper Barrakka and the light falls on the Three Cities.
- Time needed
- 30 minutes
- Cost
- Free
- Free
- Views
- Couples
- History
Historic site · Upper Valletta
6.Lascaris War Rooms
Tunnels cut deep beneath the Upper Barrakka Gardens served as the British command centre for the defence of Malta in WWII and as a headquarters for the 1943 Allied invasion of Sicily. The operations rooms are restored with plotting tables and maps, and guides explain how the air battle over Malta was run.
Combine it with the Saluting Battery above; the entrance is down the steps from the gardens.
- Time needed
- 1–1.5 hours
- Cost
- Mid-priced
- History
- Rainy day
- Kids
Museum · Upper Valletta
7.National Museum of Archaeology
Housed in the Knights' Auberge de Provence on Republic Street, the museum displays finds from Malta's Neolithic temples, including the Sleeping Lady from the Hypogeum and the so-called Venus of Malta. It is the best introduction before visiting Ħaġar Qim, Tarxien or the Hypogeum.
Visit before your temple day trips; the figurines make far more sense once you have seen the sites.
- Time needed
- 1 hour
- Cost
- Low cost
- History
- Rainy day
- Art
Gallery · Upper Valletta
8.MUŻA – National Community Art Museum
Malta's national art museum moved into the Auberge d'Italie on Merchants Street in 2018, with works by Mattia Preti, Maltese Baroque painters and 20th-century Maltese artists, arranged around themes rather than strict chronology. The courtyard café is a quiet break from the street.
Look for the Preti paintings first, then compare them with his ceiling in St John's nearby.
- Time needed
- 1–1.5 hours
- Cost
- Low cost
- Art
- Rainy day
Palace · Lower Valletta
1.Casa Rocca Piccola
A 16th-century palazzo on Republic Street that is still the home of a Maltese noble family, shown on guided tours through period rooms, a chapel and family collections. Below the house, rock-cut WWII air-raid shelters show how residents sheltered during the bombing.
Take the guided tour rather than wandering alone; the family stories are the highlight.
- Time needed
- 1 hour
- Cost
- Mid-priced
- History
- Rainy day
- Off the beaten path
Architecture · Lower Valletta
2.Manoel Theatre
Built in 1731 by Grand Master António Manoel de Vilhena, this is one of the oldest working theatres in Europe, with a gilded oval auditorium of wooden boxes. It still stages opera, concerts and plays, and short guided tours run during the day.
If you can, see a performance rather than a tour; the acoustics and the intimate boxes are the point.
- Time needed
- 45 minutes
- Cost
- Low cost
- Architecture
- History
- After dark
- Couples
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Architecture · Upper Valletta
3.City Gate, Parliament House and Pjazza Teatru Rjal
Renzo Piano's redesign of Valletta's entrance, completed in 2015, cut a narrow stone gateway into the bastions, added a Parliament House of perforated limestone on stilts and turned the bombed ruins of the Royal Opera House, destroyed in 1942, into an open-air theatre.
Walk through the gate and look back from Republic Street to see how the new stone matches the old bastions.
- Time needed
- 30 minutes
- Cost
- Free
- Free
- Architecture
- History
Street · Lower Valletta
4.Strait Street
The narrowest long street in Valletta was once the Gut, a strip of bars and music halls frequented by British and American sailors. Many old bar signs survive, and the street now holds wine bars, small restaurants and occasional live music.
Come after dark for a glass of Maltese wine at a table set out in the narrow street.
- Time needed
- 1–2 hours
- Cost
- Free
- Free
- After dark
- Food
- History
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Neighbourhood · The Three Cities
5.Birgu and Fort St Angelo
The Knights' first base in Malta is reached by a short ferry or dgħajsa ride across the Grand Harbour. Fort St Angelo at the tip of Birgu was their headquarters during the Great Siege, and the lanes behind the marina hold the Inquisitor's Palace and the Maritime Museum.
Take a traditional dgħajsa water taxi one way and the ferry back for two different views of the harbour.
- Time needed
- Half a day
- Cost
- Low cost
- History
- Views
- Couples
- Outdoors
- Photo spot
Experience · Sliema
6.Grand Harbour and Marsamxett cruise
Boat tours from Sliema circle both natural harbours, passing the bastions of Valletta, the Three Cities, the creeks of the Grand Harbour and the dockyards. It is the easiest way to understand why the Knights and later the British prized Malta.
Choose an open-deck seat and go in the late afternoon, when the low sun lights up the bastions.
- Time needed
- 1.5 hours
- Cost
- Low cost
- Kids
- Views
- Outdoors
Historic site · Paola
7.Ħal Saflieni Hypogeum
A UNESCO-listed underground Neolithic burial complex, cut into the rock over centuries from around 4000 BC, with chambers carved to imitate built temples and red ochre spiral paintings. It lies about 5 km from Valletta, and visitor numbers are strictly limited to protect its microclimate.
Combine it with the Tarxien Temples, a 10-minute walk away.
- Time needed
- 1 hour
- Cost
- Expensive
- Book ahead
- Daily tickets are very limited and often sell out weeks ahead; book on the Heritage Malta site as soon as your dates are fixed.
- History
- Rainy day
- Off the beaten path
Historic site · Paola
8.Tarxien Temples
A complex of four megalithic temples built between about 3600 and 2500 BC, with carved spiral reliefs and the lower half of a colossal female figure. A canopy now shelters the stones, and walkways lead through the chambers.
Pair it with the Hypogeum, and see the original carvings in Valletta's archaeology museum.
- Time needed
- 45 minutes
- Cost
- Low cost
- History
- Outdoors
Pick by interest
| Interest | Best picks |
|---|---|
| Art and museums | St John's Co-Cathedral, National Museum of Archaeology and MUŻA – National Community Art Museum |
| History | St John's Co-Cathedral, Grandmaster's Palace, Fort St Elmo and National War Museum and Lower Barrakka Gardens and Siege Bell |
| Views | Upper Barrakka Gardens and Saluting Battery, Fort St Elmo and National War Museum, Lower Barrakka Gardens and Siege Bell and Birgu and Fort St Angelo |
| Outdoors and nature | Birgu and Fort St Angelo, Grand Harbour and Marsamxett cruise and Tarxien Temples |
| Food and markets | Strait Street |
| After dark | Manoel Theatre and Strait Street |
| With children | Upper Barrakka Gardens and Saluting Battery, Fort St Elmo and National War Museum, Lascaris War Rooms and Grand Harbour and Marsamxett cruise |
| On a rainy day | St John's Co-Cathedral, Grandmaster's Palace, Fort St Elmo and National War Museum and Lascaris War Rooms |
What to book ahead
- St John's Co-Cathedral: Queues build when cruise ships are in; arriving early or booking online saves time.
- Ħal Saflieni Hypogeum: Daily tickets are very limited and often sell out weeks ahead; book on the Heritage Malta site as soon as your dates are fixed.
Plan the rest of your trip
Questions travellers ask
+What is the number one thing to do in Valletta?
St John's Co-Cathedral. The Knights' conventual church looks austere outside but inside is a blaze of gilded carved stone, ceiling paintings by Mattia Preti and a floor of some 400 inlaid marble tombstones of knights.
+What can you do for free in Valletta?
Upper Barrakka Gardens and Saluting Battery, Lower Barrakka Gardens and Siege Bell, City Gate, Parliament House and Pjazza Teatru Rjal and Strait Street. More free things to do.
+What is there to do in Valletta when it rains?
Head indoors to St John's Co-Cathedral, Grandmaster's Palace, Fort St Elmo and National War Museum and Lascaris War Rooms.
+What is there to do in Valletta at night?
Manoel Theatre and Strait Street are best after dark.