Discover / Malta
Valletta, a Small City With Big Stone
Valletta · 6 min read
Valletta is one square kilometre of honey coloured limestone built by the Knights of St John and barely altered since. It is a UNESCO site, a working capital and small enough to walk end to end before lunch.
Use it as a base rather than a day trip. The evenings, once the cruise passengers leave, are the best part.
What to see
St John's Co-Cathedral is plain outside and overwhelming inside, with a marble floor of tombstones and two Caravaggios in the oratory. Take the audio guide.
The Upper Barrakka Gardens look down over the Grand Harbour and the Three Cities. Go at noon for the saluting battery, then take the lift down and the ferry across.
The Three Cities
Birgu, Senglea and Cospicua are older than Valletta and much quieter. Birgu in particular has the atmosphere people expect from the capital, with a marina, alleys and almost no crowds.
The ferry takes five minutes and costs almost nothing. It is the single best thing you can do with an afternoon here.
Beyond the harbour
Mdina, the old walled capital inland, is best in the evening when the day visitors have gone. The Hypogeum, a prehistoric underground burial complex, admits very few people daily and books out months ahead.
Gozo, the smaller island, is a ferry ride away and worth two nights for salt pans, cliffs and a slower pace.
Why it rewards curiosity
Few places pack this much history into this little ground, and almost none are this easy to reach in winter sun.
Stay inside the walls. The city changes completely at night.
