Best Things to Do in Valletta, Malta

In this blog post you can read about all the best things to do in Valletta, Malta’s beautiful capital city. If you’re visiting Malta for your next trip, you really can’t skip spending some time in Valletta. The city is filled with many attractions, cafes, and restaurants. Plus, it has some of the most charming cobblestone streets surrounded by limestone buildings and colourful balconies.

During our week in Malta, we spent an entire day trying to see the best of Valletta. So below we’ve collected a list of places you can consider adding to your itinerary.

Malta Travel Tips – Read This Before Your Visit

If you’re looking for answers to common questions such as where to stay in Malta, when to visit the country and how to get around, then make sure to check out my detailed blog post below. It also contains a one week itinerary for visiting the country.

The blog post includes answers to the following questions:

• Where to stay in Malta?
• Best Time to Visit Malta.
• How to Get Around Malta.

Introducing Valletta, the Capital City of Malta

The fortified city is located between Marsamxett Harbour and the Grand Harbour. Valletta wasn’t the first capital city of Malta and actually not even the second. Before Valletta, Malta’s capital was Mdina and then Vittoriosa.

The city was founded by the Knights of St John after the Great Siege of 1565. It is the first ever planned city in Europe and it was constructed on a completely new site unlike most cities that evolved over old ones through the decades.

Covering about 0.61 sq km (0.24 sq miles), Valletta is pretty tiny, ranking as one of the smallest capital cities in the EU. Although Valletta is small, the city has 320 monuments which makes it one of the highest concentrations in a city in the world. With over 300 sunny days, it’s also one of the sunniest capitals in Europe. Oh and did I mention that it’s also the southernmost capital city in Europe?

Since 1980 it’s been designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. In addition, it was the European Capital of Culture in 2018.

Best Things to Do in Valletta, Malta

1. St John’s Co-Cathedral

Possibly the No.1 tourist attraction in Valletta is St John’s Co-Cathedral. The church was built by the Order of the Knights of St John and was completed in 1577. It is dedicated to St John the Baptist.

When we arrived outside we had no idea why this church would be such a popular place to visit for tourists. Until we went inside. Yes, the cathedral’s absolutely stunning interior is why we also recommend you visit.

Apparently, over the centuries, grand masters and knights donated high value gifts and made huge contributions to enrich the church. So, it’s no wonder that the inside of this church is considered one of the best examples of high Baroque architecture in Europe.

Entry fee – 15 EUR per person including an audio guide. You have to dress respectfully and if you have a backpack you will have to carry it on your front.

2. Upper Barrakka Gardens

For a bit of greenery and some impressive views, you should head over to the Upper Barrakka Gardens in Valletta. The gardens were created in 1661 and were only opened to the public in 1824. From the terrace you can have an undisturbed view of the Grand Harbour and the Three Cities.

Below the gardens you can also visit the Saluting Battery from where they used to fire a cannon to salute visiting vessels. From the 1820’s the cannon was also fired at midday to let people and ship captain’s know the exact time of the day. They’ve carried on this tradition and today it takes place every day at 12PM and 4PM. We highly recommend witnessing this if you’re in Valletta. Since it attracts a lot of tourists we recommend you get there at least 15 to 20 minutes before so you can secure a front row spot for the best view.

You can also use the Upper Barrakka Lift which will take you down to the ferry terminals for only 1EUR.

The garden is really beautiful and definitely worth a visit. The only downside is that it tends to get very busy. There are big tour groups arriving here to watch the cannon fire as well as every other tourist in Valletta. If you don’t want to miss the action then you can just put up with the crowds for a short time, but try to visit the garden earlier in the morning. It is also a great sunset spot, so you can consider returning later especially if you’re staying in Valletta.

3. Lower Barrakka Gardens

Just a little bit further north from the Upper Gardens is the Lower Barrakka Gardens. Sitting on top of the Valletta bastions, it also provides some lovely views of the Grand Harbour, Fort St. Angelo and the Siege Bell Memorial.

Our favourite feature of this park was the Roman temple in the middle, which is a neoclassical monument built in 1810. Just like at the Upper Gardens, there’s a fountain in front of it with some greenery.

The views won’t be as impressive as at the Upper Gardens. However, we personally preferred the Lower Barrakka Gardens purely for the fact that it was less busy. It just felt a lot quieter as there weren’t any big tour groups and guides shouting facts over the general noise. If you’re after a few minutes of peace and quiet, then definitely visit the Lower Barrakka Gardens.

4. Siege Bell Memorial

Just across from the Lower Barrakka Gardens is the Siege Bell Memorial. It is a bell tower constructed in the form of a neoclassical temple housing a massive bronze bell. Unsurprisingly, it is the largest bell in Malta. The bell tower was built in 1992 to commemorate the 7,000 people who lost their lives during World War II. If you happen to be there at noon and not at the cannon firing, you can hear the bell chime in their memory.

Although you can get a great view of the bell tower from the Lower Gardens, you can definitely walk over the road and get up close to the bell.

5. Republic Street

Republic Street runs from the City Gate all the way down to Fort St Elmo. The nearly 1km long main street is lined with typical Maltese buildings and has countless shops and restaurants. You will also find quite a few features and attractions along this stretch of pedestrianised street:

• City Gate
• Parliament of Malta
• The remains of the Royal Opera house
• Palazzo Ferreria
• The Church of St. Barbara 
• St. Francis of Assisi Church
• National Museum of Archaeology
• National Library of Malta
• The House of the National Treasury
• Grandmaster’s Palace
• Casa Rossa Piccola

We walked down here perhaps once or twice to see some of the features but after that we tried to avoid the crowds and instead explored the side streets of Valletta.

6. Grandmaster’s Palace

Originally built by the Knights of the Order of St. John, today the Grandmaster’s Palace houses the Office of the President of Malta.

Whilst the Palace building is lovely from the outside, just like with St. John’s Co-Cathedral the inside looks a lot more interesting. There are a few state rooms with paintings and tapestries, and you can also learn more about the political history of Malta.

Note – Unfortunately the Grandmaster’s Palace has been closed for restoration since 2020. Based on our research, a few sections have been completed and they are planning to be reopened to the public later in 2023. Hopefully by the time of your visit you can enter the interior, as of course we couldn’t go in during our visit at the end of February.

7. Casa Rocca Piccola

As you make your way through Republic Street, you can definitely stop by at Casa Rocca Piccola. It is a beautiful 16th-century palace and museum. What’s interesting about this place is that it’s still owned and lived in by the de Piro family.

During your visit you can definitely get a peek into how noble families in Malta lived. As you would expect, the home contains a lot of beautiful rooms and historical objects. In addition, it also has a large bomb shelter underneath the building.

Entry Fee – 10 EUR per person.

8. Church of Our Lady of Victory (Knisja tal-Vittorja)

The Church of Our Lady of Victory is the oldest building in Valletta, so definitely a must see. It stands on the spot where they held the religious ceremony to lay the foundation stone of Valletta. Apparently, Grand Master La Valette – the founder of Valletta – was originally buried here. Later, his remains were transferred to St John’s Co-Cathedral.

After World War Il, the church was dedicated to Our Lady of Victory.

9. Visit a Museum

Valletta has some great museums you can consider visiting. After all, it was named as the European Capital of Culture in 2018. Depending on your interest, here are a few great options:

• The National War Museum – As the name suggests it features exhibitions from World War I & II.
• National Museum of Archaeology – Contains the world’s oldest archaeological findings dating back to 4000 BCE.
• National Museum of Fine Arts (MUZA) – It is an art exhibition featuring collections from both Maltese and foreign artists.

10. The Streets and Balconies of Malta

Our absolute favourite thing to do in Valletta was definitely getting lost in its narrow, cobblestone streets and admiring the colourful balconies. Luckily, the majority of the streets are pedestrian friendly so you can walk around freely. You’ll find that it’s very easy to navigate around Valletta due to the grid design. Some believe that this design helped sea breeze to flow through the city easily. Others say that it helped to introduce the water and sanitation systems.

Another thing you’ll notice across every town and city in Malta are the balconies. Towards the end of the 17th century the influence of the baroque movement resulted in a wide spread of balconies in Valletta. As expected, balconies also played an important sociological role and determined differences in classes. Whilst you’ll see a lot of different designs, they are mainly in two categories: open and closed. The closed style balconies actually reminded us of the balconies we saw in the Historic Centre of Lima, Peru.

Final Thoughts on Things to Do in Valletta, Malta

Although we do enjoy hiking and the outdoors more than cities, we like exploring charming ones like Valletta. Our favourite activity was just to wonder around its picturesque cobblestone streets and enjoying the views from the Upper Gardens. We visited at the end of February which meant that we caught the end of the carnival season. The city was buzzing and many attractions were packed, but we could always get away from the crowds by wondering off to some of the side streets.

Have you ever been to Valletta or Malta? If so, how much of the city did you manage to explore? If not, what would you add to your bucket list now? Let me know in the comments below.