Malta packs 7,000 years of history into an island smaller than the Isle of Wight, from megalithic temples older than the pyramids to baroque Valletta and the honey-stone bastions of Mdina. English is an official language, the buses go everywhere, and the limestone coastline hides swimming spots like the Blue Grotto and Comino's Blue Lagoon.
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Quick facts
Timezone
Malta
Currency
€ EUR
Language
Maltese / English
City transfer
~20 min
Bus / Taxi / Private transfer
Best time to visit
best weatherdeals available
Don't miss
Visit the Upper Barrakka Gardens in Valletta at exactly noon for the cannon salute from the Saluting Battery below — free to watch from the gardens, and the view over the Grand Harbour and the Three Cities simultaneously is the defining Maltese image.
Book ahead for the St John's Co-Cathedral in Valletta — the plain exterior hides one of Europe's most astonishing Baroque interiors, including Caravaggio's largest surviving painting. Buy tickets online to avoid the queue; arrive at opening time (9am) before tour groups.
Take the ferry from Cirkewwa to Gozo (25 minutes, €4.65 return) and hire a bike or a jeep to find the Blue Hole at Dwejra on the west coast — a natural rock chimney diving spot with extraordinary visibility; snorkelling is free and the water colour is genuinely unreal.
Eat ftira — the Maltese bread ring stuffed with tuna, capers, olives, and tomatoes — from one of the early-morning bakeries in the Three Cities (Vittoriosa, Senglea) rather than the tourist cafes in Valletta; it costs €2–3 and is eaten standing at the counter like locals do.
Weekend itinerary · 3 days
Day 1
St John's Co-Cathedral
Book online and be at the entrance for 9am opening — the interior is a complete sensory overload of gilded Baroque stone, individual Knight's tombstones covering the entire floor, and Caravaggio's Beheading of Saint John the Baptist in its own oratory. Budget 90 minutes minimum.
Grand Harbour viewpoints
Walk the full length of Merchant Street to the Upper Barrakka Gardens and time your arrival for noon to watch the cannon salute — then stay to take in the panorama of the Three Cities, Fort St Angelo, and the creeks packed with Maltese luzzu fishing boats.
Strait Street (Il-Strada Stretta) evening
Valletta's old red-light district, once serving the British Navy's Mediterranean Fleet, is now a creative strip of bars and small music venues in a dramatically narrow alley. Come from 7pm for aperitifs and live jazz.
Noni
Modern Maltese cuisine in a beautifully restored Baroque townhouse on Republic Street — the rabbit ravjul and local fish dishes are genuinely excellent; book ahead.
Day 2
Three Cities ferry and exploration
Take the traditional dghajsa water taxi from Valletta's Lower Barrakka jetty across to Vittoriosa (Birgu) — a €3 crossing that locals still use. Spend the morning in the backstreets, visiting Fort St Angelo and the Inquisitor's Palace.
Mdina: The Silent City
Bus from Valletta takes 30 minutes to this intact medieval walled city on the island's central ridge — spend the afternoon exploring the cathedral, the narrow streets, and the bastion views; plan to stay until the tour buses leave around 5pm when the atmosphere transforms completely.
Rabat catacombs
Just outside Mdina's gate, Rabat contains St Paul's and St Agatha's catacombs — 4th-century underground burial chambers carved from limestone, largely without crowds, and an extraordinary contrast to the Baroque grandeur above ground.
De Mondion, Mdina
Rooftop restaurant in the Xara Palace Hotel on Mdina's bastion walls — the view over the island at dusk is worth the splurge on a special evening meal.
Day 3
Gozo day trip: Blue Hole and Dwejra
Early ferry from Cirkewwa (the free shuttle bus from Valletta connects) and head straight to Dwejra on the west coast — snorkel the Azure Window's fallen site and the Blue Hole chimney, then walk the Dwejra cliffs before the Gozo day-trippers arrive by coach.
Ggantija Temples, Gozo
The 5,500-year-old megalithic temple complex near Xaghra is older than the Pyramids and Stonehenge — the limestone blocks are massive and the site is genuinely humbling. Far less visited than the equivalent temples on Malta.
Victoria Citadel, Gozo
The fortified hilltop capital of Gozo has a small but excellent archaeological museum, and the bastion walk around the walls gives a complete view of the island in every direction.
Ta' Rikardu, Victoria Citadel
Inside the Citadel walls — serves local Gozo cheeslets, homemade rabbit and pork dishes, and wine from the family's own Gozitan vineyard; informal and excellent.
Travel tips
- →Book a sunrise or sunset slot for Comino — midday boat tours dump hundreds of people into the Blue Lagoon
- →St John's Co-Cathedral in Valletta is worth the ticket for the Caravaggio alone
- →Stay in Sliema or Valletta rather than Paceville unless you specifically want nightlife
Planning a trip to Valletta?
Valletta travel guide →