Balluta Bay, St. Julian's

Swim below a neo-Gothic church and a row of Art Nouveau apartments, on a small curve of seafront a short walk from Spinola Bay. The promenade's restaurants are just above the shore.

Beach, St. Julian's. Meridian Dispatch.

Time needed

1 to 2 hoursSwim and a seafront walk

Best time

Outside middayMorning or late afternoon

Season

May, Jun, Sep, OctJuly, August most crowded

Access

Stone stepsNo step-free access

Sand or rock

Is Balluta Bay sandy or rocky?

Mostly rock and stone set out in tiers, with a small patch of sand where the bay ends. Winter storms decide how much sand is left, and the strip can almost disappear. St George's Bay, beyond Paceville, is the nearest proper sandy beach.

Opening hours

Is Balluta Bay open 24 hours?

Two travel guides list Balluta Bay and its promenade as open 24 hours, so a walk round the water can fit any time of day or night.

By bus

How do you get to Balluta Bay by bus from Valletta?

Routes 13, 13A, 14 and 16 run from Valletta, each with a stop at Balluta. Many more routes stop in St Julian's nearby, and times are on the official timetable for each route.

Walking time

How long is the walk from Sliema to Balluta Bay?

About 20 minutes along the seafront promenade from Sliema. The same promenade carries on to Spinola Bay, so the walk is the nicest way to arrive.

Water quality

Is the water at Balluta Bay clean and safe?

It varies. The Environmental Health Directorate's report for 11 to 31 May 2026 rated the bay's left side Sufficient and its right side Poor, on the EU scale of excellent, good, sufficient and poor. Another monitoring site lists Sufficient for the 2025 season.

Parking

Is there parking at Balluta Bay?

Not at the bay itself. Street parking nearby is hard to find, especially on summer evenings, and one beach guide mentions paid car parks in the area. The bus is usually easier.

What makes it special

This small, curved bay sits where Sliema runs into St Julian's, and the promenade runs right round it. The swimming shore is small, and the buildings around it are the view.

Look first for the Carmelite Parish Church, the neo-Gothic landmark that overlooks the bay. Next to it stand the Balluta Buildings, handsome Art Nouveau apartments dating from 1928. They are often described as among the finest surviving Art Nouveau architecture in Malta, though the facade needs restoration.

A cluster of terraced townhouses in the local variant of Georgian-style architecture fills out the skyline, with more apartment buildings along the eastern shore.

At the head of the bay, a triangular square shaded by Judas trees is lined with cafes. The corner is one of the most photographed in St Julian's, and you can take in all of it from the water or from the promenade.

Visiting

From the promenade, stone steps lead down to rocky ledges and small pebbles. You get into the water from the rocky tiers or the steps, and it deepens fairly quickly once you are off the rocks.

Pack for a bare shore. There are no sunbeds, umbrellas or toilets, so bring your own towel and shade. One beach guide says not to count on a lifeguard, so supervise children closely.

After the swim, go back up to the square for a coffee while the light changes over the bay. The promenade also has restaurants and shops.

For a longer walk, it is a few minutes east to Spinola Bay, with its fishing boats and waterfront restaurants. West, Tower Road leads towards Sliema's rocky swimming spots.

Tips

Pick summer if flat water matters more to you than space. The bay is calm all day on about nine days in ten in July and August, and slightly fewer in June.

One beach guide advises skipping it in northerly or north-easterly winds, which push waves into the mouth of the bay and over the lower rocks. Wear water shoes if you have them, as the rock is uneven and slippery near the waterline.

To see the church from the inside, count on Mass, which a Mass directory lists daily at 18:30 and in English on Sunday at 11:00. Outside those times, the doors may be shut.

Know before you goAs of November 2026, a beach-conditions site says sewage has closed Balluta to swimmers several times. It dates one closure from late May 2024 for more than two months, linked to an old, cracked storm-water and sewage system.The same site reports a closure of a few days in June 2026. Local news reported that warning, which covered the left side of the bay, lifted after new water tests.Check before you swim, particularly after heavy rain. The Environmental Health Directorate's Bathing Water Portal and weekly site classification report carry the current status. The directorate posts a notice when bathing is prohibited.