Malta is small enough that one base reaches almost everything: from a room inside Valletta's walls, the temples on the south coast and the clear water off the northern rocks are a bus ride away. Choose that base first, then decide whether your last nights go to Gozo, 25 minutes across the channel.
Country guide. Meridian Dispatch.
What to know before you book
A week is the usual stay. Three days from a base in Valletta or Sliema cover Valletta, the Three Cities and Mdina; two more add the temples and the south coast. The last two nights go to Gozo. Ten days leaves time for the northern beaches and a boat to Comino.
Not on the main island: buses reach almost every town from the Valletta terminus, and the Explore Flex 7 Days card covers a week of them, the airport run included. Small ferries cross from Valletta to Sliema and the Three Cities in minutes. Gozo is the exception: its buses are sparse, and a hire car pays off there. Traffic drives on the left.
April to June and September to October are the most comfortable months, warm enough to swim from late May without the July and August heat. The sea peaks in August and holds over 20°C until November. Winters are mild, though wet and windy spells come and go.
Yes. Maltese and English are both official languages, and English is used on road signs, menus, museum labels and in government. Maltese, a Semitic language written in the Latin alphabet, is what most families speak at home, and Italian is widely understood.
The euro. Cards are taken in hotels, restaurants and most shops, while small kiosks, beach stalls and some village bars prefer cash, and cash machines are easy to find in every town. Hotels and other licensed accommodation add an environmental contribution for each adult per night, up to fifteen nights, shown as its own line on the bill.
Malta International Airport at Luqa is the only airport on the islands, about 15 to 20 minutes by road from Valletta, with direct buses to Valletta, Sliema, St Julian's and the north. For Gozo, take the car ferry from Ċirkewwa or the fast ferry from Valletta.
The Gozo Channel car ferry crosses from Ċirkewwa, on Malta's north-west point, to Mġarr in about 25 minutes, day and night. A faster passenger ferry, which carries no cars, runs from Valletta to Mġarr in about 45 minutes. From Mġarr, buses run inland to Victoria, Gozo's bus hub.
Yes, though only a handful, mostly in the north-west of the main island and on Gozo. Mellieħa Bay, Golden Bay and Għajn Tuffieħa all fly the Blue Flag, as does Ramla Bay on Gozo, whose red sand backs onto a protected dune habitat. On the Sliema seafront and along the south coast, swimmers go in from rock platforms, steps and ladders instead.
At Valletta Cruise Port, on the Grand Harbour quay directly below the city walls, beside a row of 18th-century harbour stores. About 500 metres along the waterfront, the Barrakka Lift carries passengers up to the city centre in seconds. The harbour ferry to the Three Cities leaves from the landing opposite its lower station.
Yes, for sightseeing and walking, though not for a beach holiday. From December to February the days usually reach 16 or 17°C, the temples, churches and museums are at their quietest, and Valletta's Carnival floats take over a long weekend in February. Heritage Malta shuts all its sites on 1 January, and rough water on windy days can cancel Comino boats and dives.
Yes: journeys between sights are short. Popeye Village, the 1980 film set on Anchor Bay, adds boat rides, shows and play areas; the National Aquarium at Qawra Point has a walk-through shark tunnel; and Esplora, the science centre at Kalkara, runs a planetarium above the Grand Harbour.
Yes. Drivers sell single tickets on board for cash or a contactless bank card, and each ticket allows changes for two hours. Gozo's routes, including the buses that meet the ferry at Mġarr, are part of the same network.
Malta, Gozo and Comino come to about 300 square kilometres in all. Wherever you stay, the rest of the islands is a day trip away.
The Knights of St John ruled Malta for more than two centuries. They held the Grand Harbour through the Great Siege of 1565, then built Valletta on the far shore.
Their bastions, palaces and churches are still what you see first, and small ferries cross the harbour between the old towns.
Read the Valletta guideStone temples went up on both islands more than 5,000 years ago: Ħaġar Qim and Mnajdra above the south coast, Ġgantija on Gozo.
UNESCO lists them among the oldest free-standing stone structures in the world. At Mnajdra, the sunrise at the solstices and equinoxes lights the stones inside.
Read the Ħaġar Qim guideMalta has few sandy beaches. You swim off flat limestone ledges and ladders into clear water, from June into November.
July and August are hot, so the sea is where the day goes, with sightseeing kept to the mornings. Caves and wrecks off Gozo and Comino make the best diving.
Read the Mellieħa guideMalta is the most densely populated country in the EU, and on the main island the towns run into one another.
Gozo is greener and quieter. Give it two nights, based in Victoria or Xagħra.
Read the Victoria guideThe south coast lives from the sea. Painted luzzu boats, an eye on the bow, fill Marsaxlokk's harbour.
On Sundays the fish market takes over the quay.
Read the Marsaxlokk guidePick a town by what you want outside the door each morning.
Looking for a hotel? See every Malta hotel we cover
Should you stay? Choose it for nights out, and sleep at the Balluta end if you want quiet ones.
Should you stay? Yes, for a quiet base above the sand and the Comino boats; not if you want Valletta every day.
Should you stay? Yes, if you want buses to every corner of Gozo from your door. For the sea outside your room, pick Xlendi or Marsalforn.
Should you stay? Yes, if you want the harbour at your door and do not mind a ferry to Valletta's sights.
Should you stay? Stay in Mdina only if Mdina itself is the point. Rabat, next door, has the buses and a spa hotel.
Should you stay? Yes, if you are here for the catacombs, Mdina and the Dingli cliffs, and not the sea.
Should you stay? Stay in Xlendi if your days are swimming and cliff walks; for the rest of Gozo you change buses in Victoria.
Should you stay? Yes in summer, if you want to swim and walk the coast from your door. In winter, or without a car, Victoria is the easier base.
Should you stay? Come to Marsaxlokk for the day and sleep in Valletta, unless the harbour is why you came.
Should you stay? For a seafront base, yes. Valletta is a short ferry ride across the harbour.
Should you stay? Yes, if you plan day trips by bus: Buġibba is the north coast's busiest base.
Should you stay? Stay in Xagħra and Ġgantija is five minutes from your door, with Ramla Bay half an hour's walk below.
Should you stay? Yes, if the sights are the point of your trip. After dinner you walk home, with no ferry to catch.
Torn between two towns? Compare all 13 towns side by side
Sea, weather and events, month by month.
A month for the great sites and the coast paths, not for the sea.
Days are mild and the fields green, with some rain and rough seas. The sea is too cold for most swimmers until late May.
It is a month for walking and for the big sites. Clear winter days give the sharpest views from the Dingli Cliffs, and the temples, the Co-Cathedral and the Hypogeum are as quiet as they get.
The hunting season runs to the end of January and is busiest at dawn and dusk, so walk the cliffs between mid-morning and mid-afternoon, in bright colours, and keep to the path. The harbour ferries keep their winter hours, with earlier last boats.
Go in January if
Think twice if
Come for Carnival or for the green fields, and leave the beach for later.
Carnival runs from 5 to 9 February 2027, centred on St George's Square and Republic Street in Valletta, with Nadur's masked carnival on Gozo after dark. Wind can stop a session, so stay several days if Carnival is why you came.
On 10 February Valletta keeps the feast of St Paul's Shipwreck in the streets around his church.
The weather is changeable and often windy, and the countryside is at its greenest.
Go in February if
Think twice if
A month for walkers and for Holy Week, not yet for the beach.
Sand crocus, iris and orchids flower on the cliff tops at Ta' Ċenċ Cliffs on Gozo, and bee-eaters call overhead on migration at Majjistral Park.
Holy Week falls from 21 to 28 March 2027, with Good Friday processions in the parishes and the Easter Sunday run in Birgu. Heritage Malta closes all its sites on Good Friday.
At the spring equinox the sunrise lines up with the doorway of the South Temple at Mnajdra. Heritage Malta sells a small number of sunrise places for these mornings; book on Heritage Malta's site as soon as the dates go up.
Go in March if
Think twice if
One of the best months to see the islands on foot, before the heat arrives.
The countryside is still green and the days suit long walks: the Dingli Cliffs, the north coast of Gozo, or the cliff path west of Xlendi, whose walking season runs from October to May.
The sea is still cold, at about 16 to 18°C in spring, so swims are short. Holy Week falls in March 2027; in a year with a late Easter it moves into April.
Go in April if
Think twice if
Warm days for the sights, and the sea warming towards the end of the month.
Days reach the mid-20s by late May, and the sea is warm enough to swim by the end of the month. May and October often bring warm, settled weather with far fewer visitors.
Buses run much more often from May to September, and route 322 on Gozo runs more often from Mġarr Harbour to Marsalforn.
From mid-May the salt harvest starts at the Xwejni Salt Pans near Marsalforn, and you can watch it and buy salt from the family that makes it.
Go in May if
Think twice if
The swimming and festa season starts, before the heat peaks.
Days last about 15 hours and the sea is warm.
The village festas begin, with band marches, processions and fireworks. Nadur on Gozo keeps its feast on 29 June, and Buskett Gardens, below Rabat, hosts Mnarja, with folk music, rabbit stew and an agricultural show.
The harbour ferries switch to summer hours, and from June to October boats run past midnight.
Go in June if
Think twice if
A month for the sea and the village festas, not for long walks.
Daytime temperatures are usually above 30°C, and the cliff paths have little shade. Give the middle of the day to the sea, and keep sightseeing and walks to the mornings and evenings.
Victoria's festa of St George ends on the third Sunday of July, with the statue of the saint carried through the streets.
From June to September, above all at weekends, space on the beaches runs out quickly. Book rooms, and waterfront lunches, ahead.
Go in July if
Think twice if
The month for the sea and for Santa Marija.
Santa Marija, on Sunday 15 August in 2027, is a national holiday, kept in Victoria and many other parishes. The strongest fireworks are on the eve, Saturday 14 August, in Mosta and Mqabba, both a short bus ride from Valletta, so go for the evening and come back after the display.
On the same day Marsaxlokk blesses its boats on the waterfront to open the lampuki season. Buses run a holiday timetable, with diversions where processions close the streets.
Go in August if
Think twice if
Swimming weather holds, and sightseeing works again by the end of the month.
The sea stays warm all month, and the days turn comfortable again towards the end.
Xagħra's feast fills Victory Square on 8 September, the last of the fixed festa dates. From September the hides at the Għadira Nature Reserve, by Mellieħa Bay, open again for herons and waders on migration.
The hunting season opens on 1 September and runs to the end of January. It is busiest at dawn and dusk, so walk the cliffs between mid-morning and mid-afternoon.
Go in September if
Think twice if
Warm enough to swim and cool enough to walk, with the year's big events.
The sea is still warm and the days suit walking again.
Valletta holds Notte Bianca on the first Saturday of the month, and the Rolex Middle Sea Race starts off the Grand Harbour on 16 October. The Malta Classic races its old cars around Mdina in October too; the dates are set over the summer.
Birgu Fest runs through Birgu's lanes for two nights. In Victoria, the Aurora and Astra theatres each usually stage an opera in October. The harbour ferries keep summer hours to 31 October.
Go in October if
Think twice if
A quiet month with a late swim still in it.
The sea stays above 20°C into November, warm enough for a swim on calm days. Rain returns and the fields turn green again, with meadow saffron and autumn narcissus on Ta' Ċenċ Cliffs.
From 1 November the harbour ferries keep winter hours. On Sundays and public holidays the last Three Cities boat leaves at 18:15 and the last Sliema boat at 18:30, so a later dinner across the water means a taxi back.
Marsalforn and Xlendi wind down for the winter, with the beach kiosks and lifeguards gone.
Go in November if
Think twice if
A quiet month for the great sites, mild enough to walk.
At the winter solstice the rising sun lights a decorated slab inside the first chamber of the South Temple at Mnajdra. Heritage Malta sells a small number of sunrise places, and they sell out.
Heritage Malta closes its sites on 24, 25 and 31 December. The hunting season runs all month, so keep cliff walks to the middle of the day. Expect some rain and rough seas.
Go in December if
Think twice if
Buses and boats cover both islands.
Every flight lands at one compact terminal south of Valletta.
The bus stops are a few minutes' walk from Baggage Reclaim, and drivers take cash or card. Bolt, Uber and eCabs pick up too, and hire cars wait at Park East next door.
Everything about the airport
by road the ferry
Buses reach almost every town on both islands, most of them from the terminal outside Valletta's City Gate.
Cards sell at the airport, at machines in the main towns and in the tallinja app.
Our recommendation
Unlimited buses for the week, the airport bus there and back included.
All five passes
| Ticket or card | Lasts | Airport bus | Night bus | Share it |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single ticket | Two hours | |||
| 12 Single Day Journeys | 12 trips | Two trips | Two trips | |
| Explore Flex 4 Days | Four days | |||
| Explore Flex 7 Days | Seven days | |||
| Explore 7 Day | Seven days |
Two ferries cross to Gozo, and two cut across Valletta's harbours to Sliema and the Three Cities.
You pay at Mġarr on the way back from Gozo, not at Ċirkewwa. From the airport, bus TD1 runs to Ċirkewwa and TD4 to the fast ferry in Valletta.
Day and night, for cars and foot passengers. The crossing takes about 25 minutes.
takes cars foot passengers only
Skip the car on the main island; buses reach the beaches, the cliffs and the temples.
On Gozo the buses thin out, so walk onto the ferry and rent at Mġarr Harbour. If you do drive on Malta, hire desks are at Park East beside the terminal; parking is the hard part, so ask your hotel where to leave the car.
Bolt, Uber and eCabs all work on Malta and at the airport. On Gozo they thin out, so keep a taxi number from your hotel.
App rides meet you at a marked pickup point, and the white taxis work on a fixed fare paid at the booth in arrivals.
| Service | Airport | Malta | Gozo |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bolt | |||
| Uber | |||
| eCabs | |||
| White taxis |
works patchy
Every place on the three islands, the best first.
Behind a plain, almost military facade, every surface of the interior is carved, gilded or painted, and the floor is a patchwork of around 400 marble tombstones of knights.
Read the guide
Shallow, bright turquoise water fills the channel between Comino and the islet of Cominotto, over white sand.
Read the guide
Two megalithic temples older than the pyramids stand at the edge of the Xagħra plateau, their outer wall built of blocks taller than a person.
Read the guide
On a ridge above the sea near Qrendi, Ħaġar Qim is a megalithic temple built from huge slabs of soft limestone, now sheltered by a white tent canopy.
Read the guide
A paved path of about 500 metres runs downhill from Ħaġar Qim to Mnajdra, three temples set in a hollow facing the sea.
Read the guideBeneath an ordinary street in Paola, prehistoric burial chambers are cut three levels into the rock, among them the red-painted Oracle Room. Only small groups go down each hour and tickets often sell out weeks ahead, so book with Heritage Malta as soon as your dates are fixed.
Read the guide
At the tip of the Birgu peninsula, Fort St Angelo guards the harbour mouth opposite Valletta.
Read the guide
Walls ring the top of a hill in the middle of Gozo, and the walk along the ramparts looks over almost the whole island.
Read the guide
Small boats leave the Wied iż-Żurrieq inlet for a trip of about 20 minutes into the Blue Grotto and the neighbouring sea caves, where the water glows bright blue in morning light.
Read the guide
Baroque architecture and a floor of inlaid marble tombstones fill Mdina's cathedral, rebuilt by Lorenzo Gafà after the 1693 earthquake.
Read the guide
The star-shaped fort at the tip of Valletta held out for a month against the Ottoman army in the Great Siege of 1565. Inside, the National War Museum runs from Bronze Age weapons to the George Cross awarded to Malta in 1942.
Read the guide
A dome among the largest unsupported church domes in Europe crowns Mosta's parish church, modelled on the Pantheon in Rome.
Read the guide
Sea cliffs drop around 250 m to the water along Malta's southwest edge at Dingli, the highest point on the island.
Read the guide
Red-orange sand fills this wide bay on the north coast, the largest sandy beach on Gozo, backed by protected dunes.
Read the guide
Alone in open fields near Għarb, this large stone basilica is Gozo's main pilgrimage church.
Read the guide
Arched loggias on the highest tier of the bastions frame a full view across the Grand Harbour to Birgu, Senglea and Fort St Angelo.
Read the guideInside the Auberge de Provence on Republic Street, the prehistoric galleries hold the finds from Malta's temples: the Sleeping Lady from the Hypogeum, the fat seated figures and the carved altar blocks from Tarxien.
Read the guide
The small island between Malta and Gozo has no cars, and tracks cross it from the Blue Lagoon to Santa Marija Tower on the southern cliffs.
Read the guideThe national art museum occupies the Auberge d'Italie on Merchant Street, with Mattia Preti canvases, Maltese baroque painting and modern work arranged by theme across several floors.
Read the guide
A small neoclassical temple to Alexander Ball stands at the centre of this quiet garden at the eastern end of the city walls.
Read the guide
On Gozo's west coast, Dwejra is the cliff-bound bay where the Azure Window stood until it collapsed into the sea in 2017.
Read the guide
Reddish sand sits at the foot of eroding clay slopes, reached only by a long stairway of roughly two hundred steps from the car park above.
Read the guide
A noble family still lives in this palazzo on Republic Street, and guided tours lead through its furnished rooms, chapel and collections of costume and silver.
Read the guide
From the ramparts at the northern tip of Mdina, the view runs across central Malta to the Mosta dome and on to the sea at St Paul's Bay.
Read the guide
Malta's largest woodland fills a valley below Verdala Palace, with Aleppo pines, oaks, citrus groves and a stream that runs in winter.
Read the guideA narrow sea gorge cuts inland between cliffs west of the salt pans, ending at a tiny pebble beach reached by steps carved into the rock.
Read the guide
A wide arc of soft sand faces due west, so evenings here end with the sun dropping into open sea.
Read the guide
Sheer limestone cliffs over 100 metres high run along the south coast near Sannat, among the highest on the Maltese islands.
Read the guide
Garrigue, clay slopes and limestone plateau run along the northwest coast here, protected as Majjistral Nature and History Park.
Read the guide
A long, narrow inlet runs between steep valley sides to a pebble beach at its head, reached by a winding road from Xewkija or Sannat.
Read the guideA medieval house on Villegaignon Street, Palazzo Falson holds the collection of its last owner, Olof Gollcher: arms, silver, paintings, clocks and a library.
Read the guide
A small garden at the tip of Senglea ends at the Gardjola, a stone lookout carved with an eye and an ear as a sign of watchfulness over the harbour.
Read the guide
On the Delimara peninsula, St Peter's Pool is a natural rock pool of clear water ringed by flat limestone shelves.
Read the guideInside an old army barracks at the Couvre Porte gate, this museum run by Fondazzjoni Wirt Artna covers the wartime siege of the island through photographs, uniforms and a wartime documentary film.
Read the guide
A concrete statue of the risen Christ on this hill above Marsalforn can be seen from much of Gozo.
Read the guide
A cave tunnel through the cliff links this enclosed lagoon to the open sea, and small boats run through it to the coast outside when the water is calm.
Read the guide
Steep clay slopes drop to a small sandy beach and broad flat rock shelves at the end of a narrow road below Mġarr.
Read the guideSeveral medieval houses joined together make up this museum of Gozitan home life, entered from a lane inside the Cittadella.
Read the guide
Steep cliffs close in around this narrow bay at the end of a valley, with a small sandy beach at its head and a promenade of restaurants along one side.
Read the guideAttached to the Basilica of St Paul, the Wignacourt Museum takes in the old chaplains' residence, a picture gallery and a chapel, then descends to Second World War air raid shelters and Punic and Roman tombs below.
Read the guide
West of Marsalforn, a shallow inlet with a sliver of sand and wide flat rocks for sunbathing faces the pale cliff of Qolla l-Bajda.
Read the guideHoused in a baroque seminary building facing the cathedral, the museum holds a run of Albrecht Dürer woodcuts and engravings, church silver, coins and vestments.
Read the guide
A small sandy beach at the head of the bay sits among cafés, fish restaurants and a fishing harbour, the busiest seaside spot on Gozo's north coast.
Read the guide
Sails, millstones and the miller's living rooms survive in this windmill a short walk from Ġgantija, and the Ġgantija ticket covers it.
Read the guide
Four connected megalithic temples sit under a protective canopy among the houses of Tarxien, a short walk from the Hypogeum.
Read the guide
A small curve of rock and stone in front of the Carmelite church, Balluta Bay is a town swim where Sliema meets St Julian's.
Read the guide
The one real sandy beach in the Sliema and St Julian's area lies at the foot of Paceville, framed by hotels and Dragonara Point.
Read the guide
Rooms around a cloistered courtyard in the centre of Birgu show how the Roman Inquisition worked in Malta: the tribunal room, prison cells with graffiti scratched into the walls by inmates, and the inquisitor's private apartments.
Read the guide
On most days a crew in period uniform loads and fires a cannon from the gun platform below Upper Barrakka, at noon and at 4pm.
Read the guide
A stone bridge over the dry moat leads to Mdina's main gate, a baroque archway built in 1724 and carved with the arms of Grand Master Vilhena.
Read the guide
Visible from most of Gozo, this huge dome rises over Xewkija on the road between Victoria and the Mġarr ferry.
Read the guide
This Baroque star fort of the 1720s commands Marsamxett Harbour from Manoel Island, and it served as a Game of Thrones filming location.
Read the guide
Wooden houses built as the set for the 1980 Popeye musical film still cling to the side of Anchor Bay, now run as a ticketed family attraction.
Read the guide
Facing the Birgu marina, St Lawrence served as the Knights' conventual church before St John's in Valletta was built.
Read the guide
Two things bring you to this small cove: a clear look at the wooden Popeye film set on its shore, and a swim off the rocks on the far side.
Read the guide
A bronze bust of Grand Master Pinto crowns the door of Valletta's most theatrical Baroque front, now the Prime Minister's office, best seen from the square below.
Read the guide
The lift climbs 58 metres from Lascaris Wharf to the Upper Barrakka Gardens in under half a minute, in place of the long walk up from the Grand Harbour.
Read the guide
The great dome of this basilica is one of the landmarks of Valletta's skyline. At the heart of the church hangs an early 17th-century painting of the Virgin.
Read the guide
You look straight down a round shaft in the rock of Gozo's west coast, where the water turns electric blue and an underwater arch opens to the sea, right next to where the Azure Window stood.
Read the guide
Stand on the Balluta promenade to see this neo-Gothic parish church above the bay, then go in for its choir of stained glass, five windows almost 10 metres high.
Read the guide
Look up in Gozo's cathedral and you see a dome that was never built, painted in perspective on the flat ceiling. A small museum behind the church holds its treasures.
Read the guide
This seawater pool sits in a crater where a sea cave's roof fell in: you can swim it, or come in from open water by kayak or boat.
Read the guide
Climb down a ladder off flat concrete into clear sea for a swim, or bring dive gear for the reef just offshore and the Tug 2 wreck beyond it.
Read the guide
This 1637 lookout stands on the headland above Għajn Tuffieħa Bay, a smaller, wilder beach than Golden Bay next door, and a short path climbs to it from the car park.
Read the guide
Cliffs shelter this rocky inlet of clear, deep water, a complete change from the sandy beaches of the north. The cove has been closed since a storm damaged it in January 2026, so swim elsewhere for now.
Read the guide
A rock just off the Marsalforn shore makes a natural jumping platform, beside a quiet stretch of rocky swimming.
Read the guide
The palace that holds the Office of the President opens between state functions: restored State Rooms under Baroque painted ceilings, then one of the world's largest armouries still in its original building.
Read the guide
A tunnel through the main tank carries sharks and rays overhead, and the other tanks in this starfish-shaped building at Qawra Point show the sea life around Malta.
Read the guide
On Malta's largest sandy beach, you can wade a long way out with the sea still shallow, in a wide north coast bay below the hilltop town of Mellieħa.
Read the guide
Gozo's ferry port is a working marina of yachts and fishing boats, with the Lourdes Chapel looking down from the hill above it.
Read the guide
Mixta Cave opens 68 metres above the sea, and its wide west-facing mouth frames the orange-red sand of Ramla Bay and the green or golden fields behind it.
Read the guide
Off Republic Square, the library holds the archives of the Knights of St John, from 1107 to 1798, and the order's own collection of historic books.
Read the guide
A spired Gothic chapel on the hill above Mġarr Harbour. Its terrace takes in the whole bay, Fort Chambray on the far headland and the Comino channel beyond.
Read the guide
The blood-red Knights' watchtower above Mellieħa has a gun platform with old cannon and a clear view over the channel to Comino and Gozo.
Read the guide
You get Malta's largest bell, hung in an open colonnade on a bastion above the Grand Harbour, and a reflective stop where the island remembers its Second World War siege.
Read the guide
By boat, Valletta is a short, scenic crossing from Sliema's harbour front, and it beats the bus into the heart of the capital.
Read the guide
Walk Sliema's seafront in the late afternoon, from the view of Valletta's bastions across Marsamxett Harbour to sunset at the St Julian's end, with clear water off the rocks for a swim between.
Read the guide
St Julian's small fishing harbour is ringed by waterside restaurant terraces, with the seafront promenade running from it towards Sliema.
Read the guide
The Knights' watchtower on Comino's ridge looks two ways: north to Gozo, south across the channel to Ċirkewwa, with the lagoons below.
Read the guide
A spire of more than 60 metres marks this Anglican pro-cathedral on Independence Square from across Marsamxett Harbour. Inside is an English organ.
Read the guide
Fort Tigné and two British gun batteries hold this Sliema headland, restored and facing Valletta across the water, with Malta's largest shopping mall behind.
Read the guide
Three bronze Tritons hold a wide basin overhead just outside City Gate, the first landmark most bus arrivals see in Valletta.
Read the guide
An eight-kilometre path follows a ruined wall across Malta's central ridge. It starts at a country church above Baħrija and ends in Mosta, by the bus.
Read the guide
The restored quay in Birgu faces Senglea across the creek and Valletta's fortified skyline beyond, and is the natural start of a walk into the oldest of the Three Cities.
Read the guide
Walk the open cliff tops of west Gozo from Xlendi Bay to Fungus Rock in an afternoon, with the Inland Sea waiting at the end. It is six and a half kilometres one way, high above the sea for most of it.
Read the guide
A working salt farm on Gozo's north shore, just west of Marsalforn. In summer the family raking salt from the rock-cut pans sells it at the roadside.
Read the guideAħrax Tower, also called the White Tower, stands on the hill at L-Aħrax, the northern tip of Malta, above Coral Beach and facing Comino and Gozo.
Read the guideTerraced botanic gardens on the walls of Floriana, a short walk outside Valletta's City Gate, planted with cacti, succulents and Malta's native plants.
Read the guideTwo sandy coves at the end of a narrow country road in the far north of Malta, with roughly half a kilometre of golden sand between them.
Read the guideAfter the shipwreck that brought Christianity to the islands, Maltese tradition says St Paul made his home in the cave under this Baroque parish church, and you can stand in that cave today.
Read the guideXagħra's basilica has coloured marble floors, and paintings and gilded cornices run the full length of its vault.
Read the guideStand on the clifftop at Calypso's Cave and you get a bird's eye view straight down on Ramla Bay, the red sand beach of Gozo, with the valley behind it.
Read the guideA family still lives in this Rabat townhouse and shows visitors round it, room by room, through its furniture, paintings and silver.
Read the guideTwo kilometres of protected wetland in the Fiddien valley at the edge of Rabat, with a path along the whole valley floor.
Read the guideThe first building finished in Valletta, raised by the knights in thanksgiving after the Great Siege, holds five carved altars.
Read the guideThe chapels of one of Valletta's largest churches carry two centuries of painting, from late Mannerist work through Caravaggist canvases to the High Baroque.
Read the guideCross the bridge into Valletta and you walk through Renzo Piano's City Gate, a long cut through the old walls that opens straight onto Republic Street, the capital's main spine.
Read the guideOn a bare limestone plateau near Buskett Gardens lies the densest tangle of ancient cart ruts anywhere in the Maltese Islands.
Read the guideThe Blue Lagoon takes most boat trips and charters, so this quieter rock inlet is where you swim into the Tunnel Cave in peace.
Read the guideThe mosaic pavements of this Roman townhouse beside the main approach to Mdina rank among the finest and oldest in the western Mediterranean, alongside those of Pompeii and Sicily.
Read the guideAfter a short climb from the Dwejra car park, you can stand on the roof of this squat Knights' watchtower, high above Fungus Rock, the rock it was built to guard.
Read the guideVilla Bighi, the old naval hospital above the Grand Harbour, is now a science centre packed with hands-on exhibits. Bring the children for the planetarium dome and the science shows.
Read the guideSwimming at Fond Għadir means flat limestone shelves to lie on and a choice of water: the open sea, or old bathing pools cut into the rock.
Read the guideHeritage Malta opens this Victorian fort above Marsaxlokk Harbour only on announced tour weekends, when you can go inside the cliffs and see some of its 38-ton guns.
Read the guideTwo Armstrong 100-ton guns survive in the world, and one of them is here. You can stand beside the largest rifled muzzle-loading cannon ever made; the other is in Gibraltar.
Read the guideBeside Mellieħa Bay, Għadira is one of Malta's few wetlands, and from a hide you watch waders feed on a brackish lake.
Read the guideInside a cave in Birżebbuġa you can walk where Malta's Ice Age animals were found, then see their bones, dwarf elephants and hippos among them, in the museum beside it.
Read the guideSwim off the rocks on Sliema's northern shore, then dry off on stone smooth enough to sunbathe on. On a calm day the water is clean and deep enough for a proper swim.
Read the guideClimb Ġurdan Hill for one of Gozo's best all-round views, taken from the open summit around a lighthouse built under British rule.
Read the guideThe silver of Gozo's feast-day altar and the old carriage of its bishops are on show at close range in the cathedral's own museum, round the back of the church.
Read the guideAn audio-visual show upstairs covers Gozo's protected habitats and breeding seabirds, and a garden of native plants behind looks straight at Gozo Cathedral.
Read the guideClimb the stairs just inside City Gate and you are on top of Valletta's western walls, in a small garden looking across the water to Sliema and Manoel Island.
Read the guideA narrow channel is all that separates this bay on Gozo's east coast from Comino and the Blue Lagoon. Swim straight off the rocks into turquoise water.
Read the guideSeveral levels beside St George's Basilica hold the parish's treasures and changing exhibitions, with a café at the top above the town.
Read the guideFrom a small square in Qrendi, a short path past a chapel brings you to the edge of a sinkhole, a quick stop on the way to Ħaġar Qim and Mnajdra.
Read the guideOn the Tower Road seafront between Sliema and St Julian's, you get a bench facing the sea in a small public garden, with a swimming bay on the rocks right below.
Read the guideValletta's Victorian covered market hall, now food counters and tables, for lunch between museums.
Read the guideGozo's main square in Victoria is the start of the short, steep climb to the Cittadella and of the loop through the old town, and the place to sit afterwards.
Read the guideFrom 1940 to 1943, Malta's fighter control was run from these rooms 46 metres under the Upper Barrakka Gardens. They are still arranged much as they were in wartime, and you can walk through them.
Read the guideIn a restored quarry in Siġġiewi, artisans carve the honey-coloured globigerina limestone that built the Maltese islands, by hand.
Read the guideWalk into hangars on the old RAF airfield at Ta' Qali and stand beside a Spitfire and a Hurricane of the kind that defended Malta in the Second World War.
Read the guideRestored sports cars fill an underground museum in Qawra, alongside motorcycles, scooters and a motorboat.
Read the guideThere was no museum of contemporary art in Malta before MICAS. Now four storeys of international touring shows fill the galleries inside the old harbour bastions, and a sculpture garden on the ramparts looks across Marsamxett Harbour to Valletta.
Read the guideA restored townhouse on Archbishop Street holds every Maltese stamp, from the Halfpenny Yellow of 1860 to the issues of 2010.
Read the guideValletta's Baroque playhouse, reputed to be Europe's third-oldest working theatre, is seen on a guided tour or from a seat at a show.
Read the guideThere is sea on three sides of this loop round the whole Marfa peninsula, with Comino and Gozo in view, and you can swim at Paradise Bay on the way round. The loop starts and ends at a bus stop, so you need no car.
Read the guideCome on a Sunday, when the seafront of Malta's traditional fishing village in the south turns into one long fish market, laid out beside the brightly painted boats moored in the harbour.
Read the guideGo underground in Mellieħa to walk one of the largest rock-cut shelters excavated in Malta during the Second World War, a network of passages dug entirely by hand.
Read the guideFrom the headland by the Knights' tower, the whole inlet of Mġarr ix-Xini lies below you, with the Gozo coast running away on either side, all a short climb from the bay.
Read the guideGoing underground beneath a working Valletta convent takes you into the old stone quarry where its cloistered nuns lived and worked, now a run of rooms open to visitors.
Read the guideThree floors of Malta's rocks, fossils, birds and sea creatures fill Palazzo Vilhena, the baroque palace that stands at Mdina Gate.
Read the guideOne small limestone chamber, hung with stalactites, lies under a family house in Xagħra, and the family walks you through their home to reach it.
Read the guideThe walls of Gozo's oldest surviving prison still carry the marks its inmates scratched into the stone over centuries: sailing ships, names, crosses, dates and games. Step inside a cell to see the space one prisoner was kept in.
Read the guideThere are two halves to this Naxxar palazzo, still in private hands: the state rooms and the walled baroque garden. Give the garden equal time, because Malta's geology and climate make formal gardens this size rare.
Read the guideAt Malta's northern tip, you swim from fine sand into sheltered, clear turquoise water with Comino straight ahead across the channel.
Read the guideThe surviving walls of Valletta's bombed opera house frame an open-air stage, used on concert evenings.
Read the guideAt the eastern end of Sliema's seafront, you swim off limestone shelves where old bathing pools are cut into the stone, right beside the sea.
Read the guideRock-cut tombs from the late Roman and Byzantine period above Salina Bay, opened for each visit by Heritage Malta staff.
Read the guideRectangular salt pans at the head of Salina Bay are a resting stop for migrating birds. The open part of the park can be walked unguided, after a look round Malta's first Salt Museum.
Read the guideThe President's palace garden at Attard: old trees, ponds and peacocks in one of the few mature green spaces on a stony island.
Read the guideA steep lane from Nadur leads down to this small cove of reddish-orange sand and boulders below terraced fields on Gozo's north-east coast, and you walk the final part.
Read the guideA Roman farm villa with its olive-oil works, under a small chapel at Burmarrad, opened by Heritage Malta by appointment and on announced open days.
Read the guidePast Xlendi's watchtower, a coastal track takes you out to the Sanap Cliffs, part of the long, high cliff line on Gozo's southern shore, with rock shaped by wind and waves.
Read the guideTwo sights side by side on Mellieħa's main street: a church built around a Madonna and Child icon, and a chapel cut into the rock.
Read the guideIn the Pwales Valley you can sit in a hide at the only place in the Maltese Islands where Coots and Little Grebes breed.
Read the guideTwo temples on the edge of Mġarr, among the oldest structures in the Maltese Islands, beside traces of the earliest known houses on Malta.
Read the guideStop at Sliema Point Battery to see a British artillery battery from the 1870s that you can sit inside, because the fort now trades as a bar and restaurant.
Read the guideAt this Rabat complex you see the crypt where, by local tradition, the Sicilian martyr St Agatha hid from persecution, its walls covered in medieval frescoes, with catacombs and a museum alongside.
Read the guideGozo's Golden Basilica stands in Victoria's oldest quarter, its walls overlaid with gilding and paintings around the wooden statue of St George, the island's patron.
Read the guideA 16th-century cavalier near City Gate, built by the Order of St John, now Malta's national centre for creativity, with exhibitions, films and plays.
Read the guideBeneath Rabat, you walk into the earliest and largest evidence of Christianity in Malta, a maze of burial passages with tables carved from the stone for funeral meals.
Read the guideThis church on St Paul Street, one of Valletta's oldest, keeps relics of the saint whose shipwreck the Maltese regard as the moment their islands turned Christian, and a lavish Baroque interior behind its modest front.
Read the guideThe largest watchtower in Malta stands on the headland above St Thomas' Bay, where you swim in blue water a short stroll from Marsaskala, then walk the cliffs to Munxar Point.
Read the guideTower Road takes its name from this 17th-century watchtower of the Knights of St John, and the building now operates as a restaurant, It-Torri.
Read the guideThis is Sliema's oldest parish church, home to the statue of Our Lady at the heart of the town's summer feast procession. Step inside for that statue, the dome and the painted apse.
Read the guideUnder British rule this lane was one of the Mediterranean's famous entertainment streets, and after dark you can still take a cocktail or a glass of wine here to live music.
Read the guideAn old quarry in Mosta where building stone was cut and the Roman dead were laid, in tombs and catacombs in the same rock.
Read the guideTwo megalithic temples in the middle of the village of Mġarr, the larger from the Ġgantija phase, 3600 to 3200 BC.
Read the guideTa' Qali's craft village below Mdina is where glassblowers and filigree goldsmiths have their workshops, and you can buy from the person who made the piece.
Read the guideFor more than 4,000 years, this hill above Marsaxlokk held one temple that each new civilisation adapted instead of replacing, so a visit takes in most phases of Maltese archaeology in one place.
Read the guideStep inside a coastal battery on Mellieħa Bay and see original tools from the tunnara, Malta's old way of trapping bluefin tuna.
Read the guideWalk beneath Valletta's streets with a guide, through the water tunnels and cisterns the Knights cut into the rock and the shelters dug out during the Second World War.
Read the guideNew work by Maltese and international artists, in a converted warehouse on East Street, away from the city's main streets.
Read the guideEasy to reach from Valletta, this Floriana quay runs right along the Grand Harbour, past a long row of Baroque stores built for the Knights.
Read the guideTwo landmarks share Birgu's main square: the Great Siege Victory monument, and the outline of the old clock tower, set into the paving where you can trace it.
Read the guideThe house above Kalkara Creek where British admirals in Malta lived, with restored gardens and a terrace facing Villa Bighi across the water.
Read the guideAt the end of a valley north of Għarb, Gozo's most prominent remaining sea arch hangs over clear water below the clifftop.
Read the guideClimb into the oldest surviving coastal defence post on Malta, a Knights of St John watchtower, and on up to its roof.
Read the guideA hollow in the rock on the Xagħra plateau held the burial ground of Gozo's Neolithic communities. You see it on a small supervised visit booked with Heritage Malta, a short walk from Ġgantija.
Read the guideTwo thousand years and more of Maltese country life sit on this low hill above Xemxija Bay, and an hour and a half covers them. The sites sit a few minutes apart, so most of the time goes on looking, not walking.
Read the guideBeneath the streets of Xagħra, a spiral staircase inside a family home leads you down to a lit chamber of stalactites and stalagmites.
Read the guideYou walk out onto the cliffs at the mouth of Xlendi Bay to reach Gozo's oldest free-standing coastal watchtower, a square stone block with a view over the whole bay.
Read the guideNothing matches all of those.
Explore every place we cover in Malta, from the temples and beaches to the town guides, our hotels and the airport, across Malta, Gozo and Comino.
View on globe
Valletta's sixteenth-century walls still close the city on every side; sleep inside them for the bastion walks at first light, the noon gun, the knights' church and the quiet after dark, and budget for the stairs and the bells.
Read the dispatch
Gozo's sights sit at opposite ends of an island served by hourly buses, and the summer ferry queue peaks just as day trips turn home, so give it two or three nights.
Read the dispatchThe official pages this guide was checked against.
Last updated