As well as year-round sun, there are spectacular sights galore in Malta’s capital, Valletta
Protruding from Malta’s main island, Valletta, once an enclave for the Knights of St John, blends Baroque with a modern elegance.
Known as The Fortress City for good reason, it has a host of harbourside history in its ornate churches, war museums and 17th-century fortifications.
Here’s our guide to the best sightseeing, dining and activities to keep visitors happy during a sun-drenched stay in Valletta (Ryanair and Aer Lingus fly there from Dublin).
The exquisite interior of St John’s Co-Cathedral. Photo: Getty
1. Tour St John’s Co-Cathedral
Going to church is quite the experience at St John’s Co-Cathedral, with its gilded Baroque interiors, an excess of marble and paintings by Caravaggio the setting for a full Latin mass on Sundays at 9.15am.
Built by the Order of St John, this architectural masterpiece provides a lavish display of the knights’ wealth, with nine ornate chapels, a series of tombs and a crypt.
2. Visit the Upper Barrakka Gardens
A visit to the Upper Barrakka Gardens offers views over the spectacular Grand Harbour and Fort St Angelo.
A glass lift connects the gardens to the waterfront 58 metres below, and a round trip costs just €1.
In the lush gardens themselves, you’ll find fountains, monuments and a neo-classical shrine.
3. Explore Fort St Elmo and the National War Museum
Star-shaped Fort St Elmo on the tip of the peninsula guards the entrance to the Grand Harbour.
The fort houses a chapel, the resting place of knights lost in battle, and the National War Museum, with displays of military armour, the George Cross awarded to Malta in World War II and a World War I memorial to offer an educational insight into 7,000 years of Maltese history.
Take a tour of the Grand Harbour in a colourful water taxi, called a dghajsa. Photo: Getty
4. Cruise the Grand Harbour
East of the city, the Grand Harbour – a passage to the Three Cities of Vittoriosa, Senglea and Cospicua that predate neighbouring Valletta – has been an active seaport since Phoenician times.
Traditional Maltese harbour boats, the colourful wooden dghajsa, ferry holidaymakers on to the water for a view of the imposing fortifications as sailors would have seen them centuries ago.
5. Start the afternoon with a bang at the Saluting Battery
Catch the crackle and smoke plumes of cannon fire every day at noon and 4pm from the 16th-century Saluting Battery just below Barrakka Gardens.
This daily spectacle carries on the tradition of saluting visiting naval vessels, and dates from 1566.
6. Sample traditional street food on a walking tour
Culinary delights pepper the streets of this former European Capital of Culture, but back-street bites give the best taste of Malta’s fusion of unfussy cuisines.
Stuffat tal-fenek (rabbit stew, the national dish) and pastizzi (pea-filled pastries) meet seasonal fresh swordfish and timpana pastry-style lasagnas, while cultural walking tours offer the chance to sample the local antipasti.
The Tritons’ Fountain, in front of the Phoenicia Hotel. Photo: Getty
7. Take in the Tritons’ Fountain
Close to the City Gate and in front of the Phoenicia Hotel, the Tritons’ Fountain’s three bronze figures balance a basin in a spectacle of water jets and mist.
Maltese artist Vincent Apap sculpted the landmark, which was first turned on in 1959, and the grand fountain has since been restored as a sparkling welcome to the city.
Better still, the fountain’s impromptu sprays will cool you down on Malta’s scorching summer days.
8. Navigate the Lascaris War Rooms
To learn about the role Malta played in World War II, visit the underground Lascaris War Rooms, a complex of tunnels and chambers carved under the capital.
Here, military chiefs planned invasions, such as that of Sicily in 1943, and the Allies’ critical operations HQ in the Mediterranean remain kitted out with the genuine faded maps and bombing schedules.
Many of the apartments that line Valletta’s steep streets have traditional enclosed balconies. Photo: Getty
9. Stroll Republic Street
Valletta’s 1km-long backbone, Republic Street, is where you’ll find most of the walled city’s main sights.
Running from the City Gate to Fort St Elmo on the tip of the peninsula, it’s full of handsome old lunch spots such as Caffe Cordina and is home also to the National Museum of Archaeology.
10. Eat streetside
On St Lucia Street, the San Paolo Naufrago pizzeria has opened every morning, except Sundays, at 10am since 1938 to satisfy islanders’ appetites with fresh parma pizzas, charcuterie platters and glasses of wine.
Multi-coloured chairs line the steps outside for alfresco meals under the glow of fairy lights in the centre of Valletta, and pizzas cost from just €8.
PS. Catch the sunset from The Embassy rooftop restaurant
This is the place to be for cocktails come nightfall. With spectacular views of the Grand Harbour, the Basilica of Our Lady of Mount Carmel and the distant Mediterranean and a menu of seasonal culinary delights, it’s the perfect spot to kick back after a long day of sightseeing.
For more information, see visitmalta.com
