Between state functions, you can walk through the palace that holds the Office of the President of Malta: restored State Rooms under Baroque painted ceilings, then an Armoury among the world's largest collections of arms and armour still in its original building.
Palace, Valletta. Meridian Dispatch.
Yes. Winter hours to 28 February 2027 are 09:00 to 17:00 daily, last entry 16:30. Heritage Malta closes all its sites on 1 January, Good Friday and 24, 25 and 31 December. For any other public holiday, phone the palace on 21249349.
Yes, on rare occasions. Heritage Malta announces these closures on its social media page, so check there before going. Its set morning closures are a separate list.
Entry is ticketed, with rates by age group. Infants enter free, and so do Heritage Malta members and Heritage Malta Passport holders. Heritage Malta publishes the current rates on its website.
Travel guides say yes. Heritage Malta sells one Grand Master's Palace ticket, and its visitor route runs from the Armoury to the State Rooms. On the mornings when the State Rooms are shut, it allows access only to the Armoury.
Walk straight down Republic Street from the Valletta City Gate bus stop. The walk takes 10 to 15 minutes and ends in the square in front of the palace.
Partly. Heritage Malta rates the site as partial accessibility, since some areas cannot be fully accessed with a mobility impairment. From Prince Alfred's Courtyard, one elevator goes to the State Rooms floor and another to the Armoury, and staff can assist.
No. Heritage Malta has shut the Throne Room until further notice, so it is not part of the visit for now. The other State Rooms and the Armoury stay open on the visitor route through the palace.
The President of Malta works here, because the palace is the seat of the presidency. Heritage Malta runs the visitor side, which since the restoration opens more than eighty-five percent of the building's footprint to the public.
The official site of Grandmaster's Palace is heritagemalta.mt.
heritagemalta.mt →The Knights of St John put this up as the first building in their new capital, and it still stands over St George's Square.
In the State Rooms, look up first. The Baroque ceilings are painted to fool the eye, a show of grandeur the Grand Masters copied from Europe's aristocratic courts.
Wall paintings decorate the restored rooms. The open ones include the Grand Master's Study or Sitting Room, the Pages' Room, the Ambassadors' Room and the Tapestry Hall. Check the intricately decorated marble floors and the original coffered ceiling as you go.
The Armoury is back in its original hall, the former Parliament Chamber. Its displays hold the suits of Grand Masters Alof de Wignacourt and Jean de Valette, Ottoman armour and weapons, and a selection of artillery pieces.
St George's Square is the palace's address, and Heritage Malta runs the visit. You can book tickets online through its store.
Once inside, you wander on your own along the corridors of the Piano Nobile, the palace's main floor, and into the State Rooms, then on to the Armoury hall.
Leave time for the two courtyards. A bronze statue of Neptune dominates Neptune's Courtyard.
In Prince Alfred's Courtyard, look for the clock tower. Four bronze Moorish figures on the clock hold hammers that shift sideways as they strike the gongs.
Use the lockers if you are carrying a bag. Food and drinks are sold on site, with indoor and outdoor seating, and there is a gift shop and nappy changing facilities too.
If Fort St Elmo is also on your list, compare the cost of the Heritage Malta Passport first, because holders enter both sites free.
Stay in Valletta and two harbours are a short walk from your bed: the Barrakka Lift takes you down to the Grand Harbour for the ferry to the Three Cities, and on the other side of the city the Sliema ferry crosses Marsamxett.
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