Mainland Malta: 3-5 Day Itinerary

Malta | Limestone Architecture | Mediterranean Island | To Make Much of Time travel blog | Mediterranean Travel

UPDATED: 2/5/2023

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Let me start by saying that Malta is a fascinating country with enough spots to visit, restaurants to try, hikes to take, and so much more that a visitor could easily spend a week or more touring Malta’s main island. We spent a week ourselves with the majority on Malta and a couple of days on Gozo and had a wonderful time. If you only have 3-5 days to spend, here is the Valletta-based itinerary we would recommend. The best part of this is that you can stay in one place the entire time with all the spots walkable by foot or accessible via ferry or a short cab ride.

There is no right way to piece this together, so swap the days around as you see fit. Personally, we try to spend the first day getting acquainted with where we’re staying when we’re in a new country, so would recommend you spend your first day in Valletta itself and then venture further afield from there. Our goal with this blog is to be short and to the point to help you plan, but where we have more extensive blogs with photos and details about these spots, we’ll provide links below for further reading.

The main drag of Valletta is typically packed with tourists but take your time and soak in everything it has to offer.

Valletta: 1-2 days

Depending on your interests, you could easily fill two or more days exploring Valletta. If you stay in the main part of the city (not the suburbs), you can access all of these spots on foot, as we did. Check out some places to rent for your stay here. Included below are places we either visited ourselves or wanted to but couldn’t either because of their closure (federal holiday) or lack of time. We have clustered these spots by location within the city but none are very far from each other. The furthest spots from each other are Triton’s Fountain and Fort St. Elmo, and the distance between them is only 1.4 miles (2.2 km). Based on our arrival and departure times, we spent nearly two full days in Valletta and had Fort St. Elmo been open, we would have needed a few more hours to do all of this.

Fort St. Elmo - This was one of the spots we were very excited to see but disappointed to find it was unexpectedly closed for the entirety of our trip. At the head of the peninsula on which Valletta sits, this fort dates to the mid-16th century and played an important role during the Great Siege of Malta in 1565. It was also used for military purposes during World War II when Malta, part of the British empire at the time, played an important role in the wartime effort. Today, the fort also houses the National War Museum. We had planned to spend about 2 hours visiting based on our research.
St. George’s Square - This pretty, central square sits right in front of the next stop, The Grandmaster’s Palace, and is at one end of the more popular pedestrian area, near restaurants and other shops.
The Grandmaster’s Palace - Malta was home to the Knights of St. John and it was their residence that brought the Ottoman Empire to Malta’s shores to battle in the 16th century, leading to the famous Great Siege of 1565. This palatial building was the home for the head of the order of the knights and dates to 1571, after the siege ended. Our favorite part of the palace was the beautiful artwork painted on the walls within. There are detailed depictions of the battles with the Ottomans, telling the story of the key moments of the fight. Also housed in the palace today is the Armory Museum, which has the most extensive, intricate armor - everything from full armor to shields to headgear - that we have seen. We were surprised by the beauty and decoration on a lot of the armor and the different fashions and styles that evolved over the centuries and depending on the place of origin. Until visiting this museum, I had always assumed armor was entirely practical in nature. There are also many weapons - from a creative gunsword (yep, exactly what it sounds like) to miniature canons that can only be described as cute. Note that there are ongoing renovations so the palace closes periodically. Allow 1.5 to 2 hours for your visit, and be aware that the space is cooled by fans so can get quite warm. Read more on our blog here.
St. John’s Co-Cathedral - This Baroque-style cathedral is beautiful and popular. Lines form early, and we’d recommend you line up first thing before it gets truly crowded. You’ll get an audio guide inside with your ticket, and it will provide you with information as you take your self-guided tour. Don’t miss the stairs in the back that take you up to a balcony from which you’ll have wonderful aerial views and for better viewing of the ceilings. The cathedral is closed to the public on Sundays and has only morning hours on Saturdays (as of this writing). Your best bet may be to tour it during the week. Check out our blog for more on this cathedral here. Note: like at all other churches in the country that we visited, conservative dress codes are followed. Shawls will be provided at the door for visitors baring too much skin. No high heels or short skirts/dresses allowed so dress accordingly.
National Museum of Archaeology - The museum is divided into three sections: Neolithic Era, Bronze Era, and the Phoenician Era. In addition to the history and evolution of the eras on Malta from its earliest known people, there were artifacts to represent each segment. These included pottery, jewelry, carved fertility women, actual Neolithic carved stones with patterns and designs from sites on the island (some of which we would visit and whose stones were moved inside for preservation purposes). Several famous items are housed here, such as the Sleeping Woman, discovered in the Neolithic underground Ħal Saflieni Hypogeum. Note that this museum cannot compete with big budget museums for showiness and bells and whistles but for those interested in the local archaeology and history and are more focused on the objects than fancy displays, you’ll find this enjoyable. If you plan on visiting any ancient history sites on your trip, this museum will provide helpful background. We spent and would recommend about 90 minutes here. Read more on our blog here. Note: Gozo has a smaller Museum of Archaeology so if you’re looking for this spot online, ensure you have the one in Valletta.
Pjazza Teatru Rjal (Opera house ruins) - Valletta’s opera house was built in the late 1800s, suffered a fire and was repaired, and then received a direct bombing during World War II, leaving it in ruins. In recent years, the ruins have been converted into an open-air performance site. It offers a number of free concerts, so you may wish to check this out during your visit. There were two free concerts there when we visited. One was more of a cover band, the other was a full orchestra and Maltese opera singer. We happened upon the latter during a night stroll and were able to climb up on the ruined walls to sit and listen to the beautiful music. Read more on our blog here.
Triton Fountain, Victoria Gate, and Valletta city walls - Near the city gates, this immense fountain is worth passing by and is best seen at night when it is lit up. Nearby, you can see the ridiculously tall and thick city walls built to protect Valletta centuries ago. These are also lit up at night and make for a more stunning view than during the day. Read more on our blog here.
Upper Barrakka Gardens - Situated what is near the highest part of the city, this public park with gardens and statues and some food vendors, has this best view of the harbor and the peninsulas across the water. The water features and breezeway make this a nice spot to sit and relax, take in the views, and have a conversation with friends or read a book. Off the side, a lower level holds canons as a representation of Malta’s military history. Also, nestled out of sight unless you know where to look is the Barrakka Lift, a 190 foot tall elevator bank and stairwell that carries people from atop the city down to the harbor where boats dock. There is a cost to use the lift, which is also included in the ferry ticket price for those returning from Birgu across the water, which is when we took a ride on the elevator. Read more on our blog here. We would recommend a walk from the Upper to Lower gardens along the waterfront to see some pretty streets and buildings. There is a sidewalk along the road making for a safe walk.
Lower Barrakka Gardens - A bit more wild and woolly and smaller, this public garden is at a lower elevation and features benches from which to enjoy the water views as well as a monument to Sir Walter Ball that takes the form of an impressive neoclassical temple. Read more on our blog here.
Valletta at night - This city is beautiful to tour at night. In addition to Triton Fountain and the city walls, wander the main pedestrian streets, check out some less populated parallel streets, and take in the night life. Catch an open-air concert at the opera house’s ruins if the timing aligns.
Wander the city streets - Because of Valletta’s topography, some streets in the center of the city are essentially flat, but if you head towards the Grand Harbor (the side with the two gardens), you’ll find some very steep streets where the roads are actually stepped like staircases. These are obviously pedestrian-only! You can see some photos of this on our blog here.

All that glistens is gold. Saint John’s Co-Cathedral sets a high bar for opulence.

Take time to appreciate new and different architecture as you wander the streets of Valletta.

Take time to breathe in the tang of the air blowing in off the Mediterranean when you visit the Upper Barrakka Gardens.

Relax as you listen to the wind blowing through the trees of the Lower Barrakka Gardens.

Triton’s Fountain is especially worth a visit at night.

Imagine yourself ruling over the Inquisition while you explore the Inquisitor’s Palace in Birgu (Vittoriosa).

2-part day trip to Paola/tarxien and birgu (also known as vittoriosa): 1 full day

This day trip from Valletta will take you no more than 4 miles (6.5 km) from the city but is absolutely not accessible on foot! Logistically, you’ll start the day in Valletta, catch a ride to Paola, walk a very short distance on safe streets to Tarxien, catch a ride to Birgu, and then catch the ferry back to Valletta. Other than the ferry, we took an eCabs, which is an in-country app like Uber or Lyft, to get from Valletta to the Paola/Tarxien area and then a separate one from there to Birgu. Buses also run and are more budget-friendly, but they’ll require a little more coordination and take more time. You can learn more about transportation in Malta on our blog dedicated to that topic here. For substantially more details and photos than we’re providing here, check out our blog capturing the details of our day spent visiting these sites.

Ħal Saflieni Hypogeum - This underground, Neolithic burial chamber was one of the highlights of our trip and is an impressive spot even when considering the broader world. In fact, it is a UNESCO World Heritage site. This site dates to 4000 BCE, which predates the Egyptian pyramids and Stonehenge, and it was in use for about 1500 years. Tickets sell out weeks or months in advance, particularly during peak season, and the number of visitors are very limited to help preserve the delicate site. The tour itself is about 45 minutes in length, and we described our experience and visit at great length on our other post here. Note that no photography is permitted inside.
Tarxien Temples - Also a UNESCO World Heritage site, this above-ground site is less than a 5 minute walk through town from the hypogeum and has temples dating to 3600 BCE. With both a walkway around it for aerial views and a sense of the layout as well as the ability to walk down through and among the multi-apse structures, we ended up spending about an hour here. For those easily disappointed, it’s worth noting that some of the original carved blocks have been moved inside for protection (and are housed at the Valletta National Museum of Archaeology), so there are some rebuilt and recreated portions to the site.
Fort St. Angelo - Moving on to Birgu, a peninsula across the Grand Harbor from Valletta and also known by the name Vittoriosa, Fort St. Angelo is a compatriot to Fort St. Elmo, though dates even earlier to the 13th century. This fort was used during the Siege of Malta and again during World War II. Unfortunately, like Fort St. Elmo, Fort St. Angelo was closed unexpectedly during our visit. We had planned on spending 1-2 hours here.
Siccolo Norman House - Also in Birgu, this residence dates to the 13th century and is currently being lovingly restored by its owner. The owner is trusting and leaves the house open to the public for free (donations welcome). It doesn’t take more than 5-10 minutes to wander in and view the first floor before heading upstairs, but being inside a house that is about 800 years old is quite a worthwhile experience! A treacherous looking staircase descending to the basement is wisely cordoned off.
Birgu streets - If you wander up from the main square and just turn left and right as you desire, you will see some picturesque Medieval streets still alive with modern residents. You could easily spend an hour or so just wandering through the various streets, and it’s really impossible to get lost given how small the peninsula is.
Church of St. Lawrence - While closed during our visit, this church sits near the water and is worthy of a stop for its place in history. A prior church on this site dated back to the Norman era - as far back as the 11th century - and it was the site of the main church until it relocated to the current main cathedral of St. John’s Co-Cathedral in Valletta.
Inquisitor’s Palace - Yes, from THE Inquisition. Today, this is the only Inquisitor’s Palace left open to the public in the world, and it was used during the Roman Inquisition (one of three Inquisitions, the Spanish being more familiar in popular culture). We spent a full two hours in the palace (and visitors could easily spend closer to 3 hours), where we toured the immense palace rooms, courtyard, kitchen, prison, torture room, and more. The upper levels of the Inquisitor’s Palace also include an ethnographic museum and other artifacts. Included in those spaces was an exhibit on the celebration of Christmas in Malta and the importance of “cribs” (manager scenes) and the craftsmanship and care that goes into them. There were also dioramas of crib scenes around the world. There was an exhibit that included miniaturized church altars by a local artist, an exhibit on the porcelain used in the Palace in its heyday, furniture and other artifacts and artwork, and original Inquisition documents as well as some select prisoner stories to accompany them.

You might walk past beautiful flowering Blue Jacaranda trees as you explore this wonderful country.

Stroll along the harbor while you wait to catch your ferry back to Valletta.

The Tarxien Temples offer a glimpse at the religious lives of the early Maltese Temple Builders who lived on the island over 5,000 years ago!

The high buildings and narrow streets of Birgu offer a maze-like experience in addition to sheltering you from the brutal Mediterranean sun.

Pretend you are headed to King’s Landing as you enter Mdina through the front gate.

Rabat and Mdina: 1 full day

The day we planned on touring these two neighboring cities, which are about 8 miles (13 km) from Valletta, we both felt kind of crummy in the morning, so we ended up resting. As a result, we only made it to Mdina for lunch, the afternoon, dinner, and after dark explorations. Had we had the morning available, we would also have visited Rabat. Below are a few sites in Rabat which are most noteworthy. For substantially more details and photos than we’re providing here, check out our blog capturing the details of our day spent visiting these sites. If you like the idea of staying overnight in this old city, you can! Check out some places you can rent in Mdina here.

Rabat - Visit St. Paul’s Catacombs, which date to the 3rd century, and St. Agatha’s Crypt and Catacombs, which have frescoes dating to the 12th century. Also in Rabat is St. Paul’s Church and Grotto, a cave said to be a spot where St. Paul preached while in Malta. There also other sites to see in that area, but those are the most noteworthy. Note: “Rabat” is the Arabic word for “suburb”. In this case, this area is the suburb to the city of Mdina. The island of Gozo in Mdina also has a Rabat, outside of the Cittadella, and also known as Victoria. This is important to be aware of as you look up sites so you are looking for those on the island of Malta proper.
Silent City of Mdina - Known as the “Silent City” after this former capital lost ground to Valletta and became a bit of a ghost town, Mdina is a beautiful example of a walled Medieval city. This site was populated as far back as 1000 BCE when it was inhabited by the Phoenicians. It is believed the current city formed in the Byzantine era in the 8th century. The walled city is only 0.3 square miles and is made up of a rabbit warren of streets winding this way and that. To best experience the city, let yourself get lost and wander wherever its roads take you. It’s too small for you to get lost. If your schedule permits, wander through the city during different times of the day. At dusk the city takes on different hues as the limestone walls react to the colors of the setting sun. After dark, you’ll find yourself convinced you have traveled back in time with minimal visitors out, spotty lantern light dotting parts of the streets and leaving other parts in darkness. The city is in fact still inhabited today with about 250 residents, so visitors are asked to keep noise volumes to a minimum.
Cathedral Museum - Affiliated with St. John’s Cathedral (below), we purchased a joint ticket for the museum and cathedral and spent about an hour and 15 minutes touring the museum. The first portion of the museum contained a significant array of church paraphernalia – silver chalices, reliquaries (several with the supposed bones of saints visible through glass), and some of the most massive silver pieces (larger than us) that I have ever seen. In the basement of the museum was an exhibit of sculptures by local artist Anton Agius (1933-2008), who primarily worked in found pieces of wood. They were beautiful, and the setting in the basement was well done – the curved supports for the building’s foundation in the style typical of Maltese buildings were visible, the sculptures were placed in these naturally occurring spots, and on either side of the walking path was gravel – it was truly like an underground stone garden for the art. Upstairs in the museum is a wing dedicated to Albrecht Durer (1471-1528), German Renaissance woodcut and print artist. Durer was a very influential artist of the Northern Renaissance, responsible for bringing popularity to the wood engraving and print art form and in other areas of the art world.
St. John’s Cathedral - Not to be confused with Valletta’s St. John’s Co-Cathedral, this cathedral sits in the rear of Mdina as the community church. It is absolutely worth a visit and is an example of a Baroque cathedral. Pay special attention to the two clocks out front. Only one has the correct time; the other is meant to confuse the devil as to what time the parishioners will gather. Like at St. John’s Co-Cathedral, conservative attire is required, and shawls will be required for those showing too much skin.
Game of Thrones film locations - While I could never get past the second or third episode, Dustin watched the majority of the series. For GoT fans out there, you may appreciate knowing that Mdina was used as a filming location for several scenes. The Gate of Mdina was the entrance to King’s Landing during season 1, Mesquita Square featured in Season 1, episode 5 when Ned was attacked by spearmen; and the brothel featured in season 1 was also in Mdina.
Grab a bite to eat for lunch or dinner at Fontanella Tea Garden or the Palazzo de Piro Cafe Bistro, both of which have multi-level outdoor seating atop the city walls with sweeping views of the Maltese countryside. We had lunch at Fontanella and found it to be crowded and popular and dinner at the Cafe Bistro, which was quieter and more romantic. Both were delicious, and we’d recommend either depending on your preferences.