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.
Tower, Mellieħa. Meridian Dispatch.
Take bus 44 from Valletta Terminal to Golden Bay, or bus 101 from Mellieħa. Bus 225 runs direct from Sliema and St Julian's, and bus 223 connects from Buġibba.
Yes, but the public car park above the bay is limited, and temporary parking in summer is not always available. A newer cashless car park serves Golden Bay.
There are 200 steps down to the sand and the same number back up. The steps are only needed for the beach, since the tower stands up on the cliff at the top of them.
The tower stands on the cliffs overlooking Għajn Tuffieħa Bay, on Malta's northwest coast. Look along the shore and Lippija Tower and Nadur Tower are both in its line of sight.
Grand Master Lascaris had it built as one link in a chain of coastal towers. A guard who spotted a fleet lit a fire on the roof, and the next tower passed the warning on toward Mdina and Valletta.
Below it, the bay curves in deeply between clay slopes and limestone cliffs. The sand runs red-orange, coloured by clay washing down off those slopes, unlike the pale gold of Golden Bay.
The Restoration and Preservation Department finished consolidation works on the tower in October 2025, after storm damage in 2023.
There is a car park at the end of the road above Għajn Tuffieħa, with the tower in front of you. Drivers follow the signs for Golden Bay to reach it.
By bus, get off at the Riviera stop, which sits right at the top of the beach steps. The tower's exterior is reached from there, and from the same spot you look straight down over the bay.
To swim, carry on down the steps to the sand. The climb back up is noticeably harder than the walk down, especially in summer heat, and there is no wheelchair or pushchair access.
Wear trainers with grip for the walk to the tower. The clay on the slopes turns slippery fast after rain.
For photographs, stay for sunset. The bay faces almost due west, so the sun drops into the water and the tower stands in silhouette against the sky.
Golden Bay is a 10 to 15 minute walk along the clifftop path, about 0.78 km, so the tower fits easily into a day at either beach.
Mellieħa's ridge gives you a quiet night above the bay: the sand is about 3 km downhill, and the Parish Church terrace looks back over it in the evening.
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