Mellieħa Air Raid Shelters

Museum

Museum · Mellieħa, Malta 35.9600°N 14.3613°E

Why you should go

Ninety seconds on Mellieħa Air Raid Shelters

Time needed

45 to 60 minUnderground walk

Effort

Short walkFrom the town centre

Access

By busRoutes into Mellieħa

Opening hours

What are the opening hours of the Mellieħa Air Raid Shelters?

The shelter opens Monday to Saturday from 9:00 and is closed on Sunday. Closing time varies between 15:00 and 16:00, so a visit planned for late afternoon should be checked against the current hours first.

Wheelchair access

Is the Mellieħa Air Raid Shelter wheelchair accessible?

The passages run underground, with steps and uneven floors along the route. These can be difficult for wheelchair users and for visitors with limited mobility, so a companion who can help on the steps is worth bringing.

Other wartime sites

What other wartime sites in Malta pair with the Mellieħa Air Raid Shelter?

The Lascaris War Rooms in Valletta and the war museum at Fort St Elmo cover the same wartime years. Either pairs with the Mellieħa shelter on a trip that traces the period across the island, from the north of Malta to the capital.

Go 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.

What makes it special

The shelter is a network of tunnels cut into the rock in Mellieħa, more than 500 metres of them in all. Long corridors run between anti-blast chambers, which reduced the force of a nearby explosion.

Off the passages open private rooms where whole families could live. There is also a maternity section, and a room that was kept under guard to hold national treasures.

Digging began once the air raids escalated and the authorities turned to rock-cut shelters for better protection. The tunnels then held the town's own households along with refugees from all over the island.

When you reach the guarded chamber, look at how much more secure it is than the rooms around it.

Visiting

The visit is self-guided, with no set tour to wait for. You walk the corridors at your own pace, with information along the way.

Inside, the tunnels run on and branch, so the full length only registers once you are well past the entrance. Ceilings are low in places, and the floor changes level more than once.

Electric light runs through the tunnels. Photography is allowed underground.

It is cool and slightly damp below ground in every season, so bring a light jacket and shoes with grip.

Tips

Search your map app for Triq il-Kappillan Magri, the street the entrance stands on. Malta has several air raid shelters open to visitors, and the name alone can send you to one in another town.

Mellieħa Bay, the longest sandy beach on the island, is a short ride downhill and suits the second half of the day.