One day in Valletta – all you need to know!

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Valletta is the capital city of the beautiful Mediterranean island of Malta. It’s a city which makes a perfect family city break or you could visit as part of your holiday to Malta (advice on where to stay here). If you have one day in Valletta, either on a cruise stop or a day trip on your Maltese holiday you want to make the most of it.

We’ve put together some suggestions for how to make the most of your day.

A Walking Tour for your one day in Valletta

My favourite way to get to a know city is to explore on foot so I would always recommend this as your first activity. To take the stress out of finding your way around you can book a guided walking tour to help you get your bearings. Alternatively, do what we did and make your own walking tour.

City Gates

Unless you arrive from the water, you are very likely to enter the old city via the impressive city gates. The current gate is actually the fifth city gate to stand here, having been erected in 2014. The gate itself is more modern than much of the surrounding architecture, which I thought made it stand out more. It was in fact designed by the same architect as the shard in London.

Just after you walk through the gates you will emerge into Freedom square and see the Parliament building on your right. This was also built at the same time as the new city gates. It’s Malta’s first purpose built parliament building.

Upper Barrakka Gardens

From Freedom square, we headed right to find these lovely small gardens. It’s always good to find a place for children to be able to roam around a little when in a city. These small but perfectly formed gardens are a delightful haven. There is also an impressive terrace with fantastic views out towards the three cities (three towns each on their own peninsular) across the water.

The cannons on the saluting battery, just below the park, are fired most days at 12pm and 4pm. You get a great view from here.

After enjoying the Upper Barrakka Gardens we walked out onto Castille street and to a large square where we enjoyed looking at the grand Auberge de Castille. This impressive building is now the office of the Maltese prime minister. The building isn’t open to the public but it is definitely worth pausing to admire its grandeur.

After admiring the beautiful architecture of the Auberge de Castille and surrounding buildings we continued ahead to get back towards Freedom square and turned right down the bustling Triq Ir-Repubbilka. This is Valletta’s Main Street, and as you stroll down you’ll arrive at Malta’s most impressive church.

St John’s Cathedral

This stunning cathedral must be one of the top places to visit in Malta. It’s not cheap to enter this central Valletta landmark, but in my opinion it was worth it. Under 12s are free, (although they still need a ticket) which makes a family visit more affordable. The entrance fee includes a comprehensive audio guide which takes you around the main cathedral as well as all of its side rooms. Don’t miss going up onto the balcony for a stunning overview of the interior from above. You need to cover shoulders but they will provide cover ups at the entrance so don’t worry if like me you have shorts and vest on.

We hadn’t prebooked and got in without much of a queue. If you prefer, you can prebook tickets, and find up-to-date information on pricing and opening hours on the cathedral website.

Republic Square

Just past the cathedral on Triq Ir-Repubbilka brings you into Republic Square. It’s a lovely atmospheric square and the perfect place for a drink, coffee or ice cream. We had a drink here while taking in the surrounding grand buildings. Equally it could make a lovely lunch stop.

Grand Master’s Palace

This splendid building looks out over St George’s square also on Triq Ir-Repubblika. The pictures I have seen of the interior of this palace look magnificent. Having already dragged our young children around the cathedral we decided not to go into the Grand Master’s Palace (although I wish we had now). It was once home to the Grand Master, supreme head of the Order of the Knights of St John but now houses the office of the president.

The building is closed to visitors some days of the year due to state functions. Find out opening times and up to date pricing on the Heritage Malta website.

Exploring the back streets for one day in Valletta

As with most city breaks, we love exploring away from the main drag into the back streets. Valletta is no exception so once you have explored the grand buildings of Triq Ir-Repubblika, take a detour to make your own discoveries! Being on a peninsula, whichever direction you walk it won’t be too long before you find the water.

More than one day in Valletta!

If you have just one day in Valletta you can easily fill it in the beatiful old town. If you have more time or would like to explore further a good way to do that is to take a boat trip. This could be a short cruise around the harbour or simply one of the regular ferries that serve as public transport between central Valletta and the surrounding areas.

The three cities

Across the Grand Harbour to the south of Valletta’s old town, three peninsulas stretch into the water encapsulating ‘the three cities’. The oldest and most visited of these is Birgu (Vittoriosa). The best way to get to Birgu is using the ferry from Valletta’s Customs House. We didn’t make it over there but it is definitely on our wish-list for our next Valletta trip.

Sliema and Northern suburbs

A ferry ride north of Valletta brings you to Sliema. This is the starting point for most boat trips around the harbour. We stayed in St Julian’s, just North of Sliema so used the ferry to get back to our hotel. This area mostly consists of hotels and restaurants so doesn’t hold too much appeal if you just have one day in Valletta. If you are staying longer check out our post on where to stay in Malta. There is a tasty supply of waterside restaurants for lunch or dinner if you are around for longer. In particular we enjoyed meals waterside at Balluta bay and Spinola bay. There is also a small sandy beach at Balluta bay, which could make a pleasant dip.

If you have longer than one day in Valletta you will be able to explore these surrounding areas more thoroughly. Depending on how much time you have you may also be able to explore other areas of this beautiful island. We really loved Valletta and I would love to return some day. We have a round-up of some other amazing European city breaks for you to check out for other ideas. Get in touch if you have any other suggestions as we love to hear of other people’s ideas.