Wignacourt Tower

Tower

Tower · St. Paul's Bay, Malta 35.9494°N 14.4028°E

Why you should go

Ninety seconds on Wignacourt Tower

Time needed

20 minutesInterior and the roof

Best time

Call ahead21225952 or 21220358

Season

10am to 1pmMon to Sat, first Sunday

Opening hours

What are the opening hours of Wignacourt Tower?

As of November 2026, Wignacourt Tower in St Paul's Bay generally opens from 10am to 1pm, Monday to Saturday, and on the first Sunday of each month.

Who built it

When was Wignacourt Tower built and who paid for it?

It was built in 1610, at the expense of Grand Master Alof de Wignacourt. The Maltese architect Vittorio Cassar designed it for the shore of St Paul's Bay.

Exhibitions

Is there an exhibition inside Wignacourt Tower?

Yes. Besides the period arms and equipment, the tower holds an exhibition of models of fortifications around Malta, set up in 1998 by Dr Stephen Spiteri. Together they show the chain of coastal defences that this tower began.

Climb into the oldest surviving coastal defence post on Malta, a Knights of St John watchtower, and on up to its roof.

What makes it special

The tower's only original entrance is on the first floor, reached by a flight of stone steps and then a drawbridge.

The ground-floor door you use today is not part of the original building. The steps were removed in the early 1960s because they hindered traffic in front of the tower.

It was the first of a number of coastal defence towers built round Malta. Five more Wignacourt towers followed it, the start of a line of watch posts along the island's coast.

The building stands intact, a bastioned coastal watchtower with an artillery battery. Its Maltese name, Torri u Batterija ta' Wignacourt, means Wignacourt Tower and Battery, and the battery is part of the site.

Visiting

You go in through the ground-floor door. The tower's original door is on display, with its 17th-century key.

In the 18th century the tower held five cannon, and in the 19th it served as a police station and a telegraph post.

Climb to the second floor, which holds an exhibition of the typical equipment and weapons of the period, and then on to the roof for the view.

Schools and other groups can book a visit, and the tower also takes private functions. Bookings go to info@dinlarthelwa.org.

Know before you goAs of November 2026, the tower opens only when Din l-Art Ħelwa volunteers are free to staff it, even within the listed hours. Call the trust's offices before you go.