The trip, in order
Follow the route day by day. Times and prices can change, so check official information before you travel.
Cathedral, palace and archaeology
Valletta
- 1
St John's Co-Cathedral
St John's Co-Cathedral provides a focused way to understand the religious, artistic and political culture of the Knights of St John. Its restrained exterior gives little indication of the richly worked interior, where chapels, carved stone, marble funerary monuments and major paintings were assembled for the Order’s conventual church. Its value lies in the combination of surviving fabric, setting and interpretation, which places the site within the wider history of Malta and the central Mediterranean. Allowing time to examine the details rather than treating it as a brief photo stop gives context that is difficult to gain from the exterior or landscape alone.
- Duration
- 90 minutes suggested
- Price
- Check current admission information
- Start time
- Choose a start time that suits your day.
- 2
Grandmaster's Palace
Grandmaster's Palace provides a focused way to understand the institutional history of the Knights, British administration and the Maltese state. State rooms, courtyards and armour collections show how a building created for the head of the Order became a centre of government across successive political eras. Its value lies in the combination of surviving fabric, setting and interpretation, which places the site within the wider history of Malta and the central Mediterranean. Allowing time to examine the details rather than treating it as a brief photo stop gives context that is difficult to gain from the exterior or landscape alone.
- Duration
- 90 minutes suggested
- Price
- Check current admission information
- Start time
- Choose a start time that suits your day.
- 3
National Museum of Archaeology
National Museum of Archaeology provides a focused way to understand Malta’s prehistoric sequence before visiting the megalithic sites themselves. Objects from the Neolithic and Temple Period provide scale, chronology and human detail to monuments that can otherwise appear abstract, including carved figures and decorated stone from several major sites. Its value lies in the combination of surviving fabric, setting and interpretation, which places the site within the wider history of Malta and the central Mediterranean. Allowing time to examine the details rather than treating it as a brief photo stop gives context that is difficult to gain from the exterior or landscape alone.
- Duration
- 75 minutes suggested
- Price
- Check current admission information
- Start time
- Choose a start time that suits your day.
Fortifications, art and wartime command
Valletta
- 1
Fort Saint Elmo and National War Museum
Fort Saint Elmo and National War Museum provides a focused way to understand Malta’s strategic position at the entrance to the Grand Harbour. The fort’s bastions frame the harbour while museum galleries connect the Great Siege, the period of the Knights, British rule and the Second World War in one coherent defensive site. Its value lies in the combination of surviving fabric, setting and interpretation, which places the site within the wider history of Malta and the central Mediterranean. Allowing time to examine the details rather than treating it as a brief photo stop gives context that is difficult to gain from the exterior or landscape alone.
- Duration
- 120 minutes suggested
- Price
- Check current admission information
- Start time
- Choose a start time that suits your day.
- 2
Upper Barrakka Gardens
Upper Barrakka Gardens provides a focused way to understand the relationship between Valletta’s bastions and the Grand Harbour. Terraces set on the city’s defensive edge give a clear reading of the harbour, the Three Cities and the fortified shoreline, while monuments and arcades add a civic layer to the military setting. Its value lies in the combination of surviving fabric, setting and interpretation, which places the site within the wider history of Malta and the central Mediterranean. Allowing time to examine the details rather than treating it as a brief photo stop gives context that is difficult to gain from the exterior or landscape alone.
- Duration
- 45 minutes suggested
- Price
- Check current access information
- Start time
- Choose a start time that suits your day.
- 3
MUŻA
MUŻA provides a focused way to understand Maltese art within the architectural setting of an historic auberge. The collection brings paintings, sculpture and decorative works into dialogue with themes of Mediterranean identity and the island’s political history rather than presenting art as an isolated chronology. Its value lies in the combination of surviving fabric, setting and interpretation, which places the site within the wider history of Malta and the central Mediterranean. Allowing time to examine the details rather than treating it as a brief photo stop gives context that is difficult to gain from the exterior or landscape alone.
- Duration
- 75 minutes suggested
- Price
- Check current admission information
- Start time
- Choose a start time that suits your day.
- 4
Lascaris War Rooms
Lascaris War Rooms provides a focused way to understand the command infrastructure used beneath Valletta during the Second World War. Map rooms, communications spaces and underground passages make the operational side of wartime Malta tangible, complementing the weapons and fortifications seen at the island’s surface sites. Its value lies in the combination of surviving fabric, setting and interpretation, which places the site within the wider history of Malta and the central Mediterranean. Allowing time to examine the details rather than treating it as a brief photo stop gives context that is difficult to gain from the exterior or landscape alone.
- Duration
- 75 minutes suggested
- Price
- Check current admission information
- Start time
- Choose a start time that suits your day.
Fortress and maritime Birgu
Birgu
- 1
Fort St Angelo
Fort St Angelo provides a focused way to understand the long defensive history of the Grand Harbour from a commanding point in Birgu. Layered fortifications, internal courtyards and harbour-facing bastions show how one strategic promontory was repeatedly adapted by medieval rulers, the Knights and British forces. Its value lies in the combination of surviving fabric, setting and interpretation, which places the site within the wider history of Malta and the central Mediterranean. Allowing time to examine the details rather than treating it as a brief photo stop gives context that is difficult to gain from the exterior or landscape alone.
- Duration
- 90 minutes suggested
- Price
- Check current admission information
- Start time
- Choose a start time that suits your day.
- 2
Inquisitor's Palace
Inquisitor's Palace provides a focused way to understand the workings of the Roman Inquisition and domestic life in early modern Malta. Courtrooms, prison spaces, living quarters and service rooms survive within a building that combines institutional power with the practical routines of a large residence. Its value lies in the combination of surviving fabric, setting and interpretation, which places the site within the wider history of Malta and the central Mediterranean. Allowing time to examine the details rather than treating it as a brief photo stop gives context that is difficult to gain from the exterior or landscape alone.
- Duration
- 75 minutes suggested
- Price
- Check current admission information
- Start time
- Choose a start time that suits your day.
- 3
Malta Maritime Museum
Malta Maritime Museum provides a focused way to understand Malta’s relationship with seafaring, naval power and the Grand Harbour. Ship models, maritime artefacts and the former naval bakery building connect everyday harbour work with centuries of trade, warfare and shipbuilding around the islands. Its value lies in the combination of surviving fabric, setting and interpretation, which places the site within the wider history of Malta and the central Mediterranean. Allowing time to examine the details rather than treating it as a brief photo stop gives context that is difficult to gain from the exterior or landscape alone.
- Duration
- 90 minutes suggested
- Price
- Check current admission information
- Start time
- Choose a start time that suits your day.