50 paces
St John’s Co-Cathedral
Austere without, sumptuous within. Designed by Girolamo Cassar in 1573; baroqued into splendour by Mattia Preti a century later. The Oratory holds Caravaggio’s Beheading of St John the Baptist — the only work he ever signed.
1 min
Republic Street
The spine of the city, running gate to fort. Booksellers, old pharmacies, law courts, and the flow of the Belt.
2 min
Grand Master’s Palace
Stern without, as is the Valletta way. Inside, the Tapestry Chamber, the Armoury, and rooms of Preti ceilings.
3 min
Casa Rocca Piccola
A sixteenth-century palazzo still lived in by the Marquis de Piro. Private library, family portraits, war-time shelters cut into the rock below.
4 min
Teatru Manoel
Europe’s third-oldest working theatre, opened 1732. A small painted jewel-box of gilt balconies and trompe-l’œil ceiling.
5 min
MUŻA · Auberge d’Italie
Malta’s national collection of fine art, rehung in the old Italian Knights’ auberge. Preti, Favray, contemporary Maltese painters.
6 min
Upper Barrakka Gardens
High over the Grand Harbour. The Saluting Battery fires at noon and four — set your clock by it. Views across to the Three Cities.
7 min walk
Fast Ferry to Gozo
The Valletta landing for the fast ferry to Mġarr: Gozo within easy reach, without crossing the city by car first.
7 min
Lascaris War Rooms
The underground wartime command post from which the defence of Malta and Operation Husky were run. Cut into the bastion rock beneath the Barrakka.
around the corner
Sailors Paradise
The neighbourhood bar. The nearest espresso, the reliable glass of wine, the first and last stop of most evenings.