Valletta

Valletta is one of Europe's smallest capitals and one of its most densely packed with history: after the Great Siege of 1565, the Knights of St. John built a fortified city of palaces, churches, and bastions on a narrow peninsula. A vacation in Valletta means art, architecture, and views across the Grand Harbour.

A City Built in One Piece

Grand Master Jean de la Valette laid the foundation stone in 1566, and the architect Girolamo Cassar designed many of the most important buildings. The rectangular street grid, sloping steeply down to both harbors, has survived to this day, as have the enclosed wooden balconies on the facades of golden-yellow limestone. The entire city has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1980 and was a European Capital of Culture in 2018. Renzo Piano designed the new city gate, the parliament building, and the open-air theater in the ruins of the opera house, which was destroyed in 1942 by Axis air raids. In 1942, Malta was awarded the George Cross for its resistance during the siege, and the cross still appears on the national flag today. After independence from Britain in 1964, Valletta remained the seat of government, courts, and ministries; during the day civil servants and visitors fill the streets, while in the evening things become noticeably quieter. If you stay overnight in the city, you'll often be lodging in restored palazzi with courtyards.

Sights in Valletta

St. John's Co-Cathedral looks plain from the outside, but inside it surprises with gilded Baroque decor, the knights' marble tombstones, and Caravaggio's painting of the Beheading of St. John the Baptist. The Grand Master's Palace, now the seat of the president, houses an armory and state rooms. From the Upper Barrakka Gardens you look out over the Three Cities on the opposite shore; at noon the Saluting Battery fires its cannon there. Fort St. Elmo at the tip of the peninsula houses the National War Museum, and the MUŻA art museum shows Maltese and European painting. In the evening, Strait Street, once the entertainment strip for British sailors, turns into a lane of wine bars.

Food, Getting There, and the Best Time to Visit

In Valletta you can try ftira, a Maltese sourdough bread, rabbit in wine and garlic, pastizzi, and the bitter soft drink Kinnie. Buses from all parts of the island end at the city gate, and ferries cross to Sliema and the Three Cities. The best times to visit are spring and fall; carnival takes place in February, and in December the streets glow with festive lights.