Valletta - Description, Tourist Information

Valletta Malta's Capital City - information

The fabulous view over Grand Harbour, Malta to Fort St Angelo, and a section of the
Three Cities - Senglea, Vittoriosa and Cospicua.
Photograph taken from the Upper Barrakka Gardens, Valletta, Malta

Valletta location

• Officially the name for Valletta is II-Belt Valletta
• Valletta is located on Malta's North East coast, 10 km from Luqa airport
• Valletta occupies approximately half of the Sciberras peninsular at it's seaward end. the other half at the landward end is occupied by Floriana
• To the North is Marsamxett Harbour, to the east the Mediterranean Sea and to the south the magnificent  Grand Harbour

Valletta description

• Valletta is the capital of Malta. As capital cities go it is relatively modern, being built after the "Great Siege of Malta by the Ottoman Turks in 1565.
• Valletta is a fortified town, and are supposedly the best and most powerful old fortifications in the world
• The fortifications were started in 1566 by Grand Master Jean Parisot de la Valette, 3 years later the fortifications were almost complete before the building of the city itself. Valletta was built using a grid layout
• As you walk down Republic Street you will notice that the shops become less frequent after the Palace and the lower end towards St Elmo fort is far more residencial. There are still a few attractions to be found in this lower end of the city. As you walk around do look upwards to see the marvelous wooden balconies, especially in the side and narrower streets

Palace

Residential Street Valletta

Balconies in Valletta

City Gate Bridge

Entrance Police Acadamy St Elmo

St Elmo defence ditch

St Johns Cathedral

The Statue of Enea in Lower Barrakka Gardens

The notorious Strait Street, known by sailors throughout the world as 'The Gut'

Now it's just a narrow street with a few bars.

Valletta attractions

• Valletta has a vast array of attractions and tourist placesof interest to visit. Many of the attractions are about Malta's dramatic history and it's defence following it's two great sieges. The first siege by the Ottoman turks in 1565 when the Knights of St. John repelled the invaders and the second in the Second World War when the German & Italian forces bombed and attempted to unsuccessfully starve the island into submission.
  
  Valletta is built on top of a hill Mount Sceberras, and surrounded by harbours or the ses on 3 sides giving magnificent view from strategic points of it's formidable fortifications, possibly the best medieval fortifications in the world, and still almost entirely intact.
  
  See our information pages and photographs of  Valletta's Attractions

Valletta seafront & Valletta rock beaches

• Harbours and the sea surrounds Valletta on 3 sides all of the seafrontage lies outside of the fortifications which forms a barrier between the city and the seafront. Great views of the harbours are obtainable from high vantage points in Valletta's fortifications, See   Hastings Gardens  Lower Barrakka Gardens    Upper Barrakka Gardens
• There are only a few places that attract tourists to the seafront
  • The ferry stage on the north side with a very popular passenger ferry service to & from Sliema. Note The ferry service often has concessionary reduced price tickets to some of Valletta's attractions. There is a short but very steep hill between the ferry and Valletta's town centre
  • The water polo / swimming pool  near the Sliema ferry
  • The ferry service on the south side to the 3 cities located near the custom house
  • The fish market
• There are no sandy beaches in Valletta, but there are rocks to sun bathe on between the Sliema ferry landing stage and the Jews Sally port located towards Fort St Elmo

Grand Harbour seafront Valletta. Viewed from near the Lower Barrakka Gardens. The Arches of the Upper Barrakka Gardens can be seen in the background

The dockyards run in front of florriana into marsa creek. Good views from the Upper Barrakka Gardens

A Karozzin, the traditional horse drawn carrige travelling along the road by the French Curtain on the  right.  The wall of the French Curtain drop down to an area of flat rock which is accessable via the Jews Sally Port which is below the road which in reality is running along the top of the thick walls of Valletta

Shopping in Valletta

• Valletta is Malta's main shopping centre. Republic street that runs downhill from Valletta's city gate, where the bus station is located on the outer side of the gate
• Running parallel to Republic street is Merchant street, the location of the market, ideal for those on self catering holidays, and more shops

Nightlife in Valletta

• There are quiet bars and restaurants. Valletta is a hive of activity in the day, but at night the city relaxes. For those wanting a more exiting or noisier nightlife head for Sliema, St Julians or for Malta's nightlife capital, the Paceville (pronounced Patchy Vill, as in Villa) area of St. Julian's

Valletta restaurants & cuisine

• The Main square next to the Palace and other squares in the same area are very popular with open air restaurants.
• There are a few cafes or restaurants with great views located around the city ramparts
  • Upper and Lower Barrakka Gardens
  • Near St Johns Cavalier overlooking the ditch

Sports in Valletta

• Scuba Diving for beginners and experienced divers is available from Diving schools
• Snorkeling in the sea
• Many hotels & aparthotels have their own sporting facilities. See Hotel descriptions

Valletta bus services

Valletta Bus Station

Valletta Bus Station is actually in Floriana, located just outside Valletta's city gate and the fortified walls and surround the Triton fountain. The bus station is the hub of Malta's transport system. The majority of buses, depart and return to this bus station

A bus route map and timetable is available from information kiosks. There are about 4 transport information kiosks scattered around the bus station amongst the stalls selling food, drinks etc.

Bus running Within Valletta

Hotels in Valletta

There are only a few hotels in Valletta See our List of Valletta hotels & Floriana hotels

Beaches in Valletta

• Because Valletta is located on a peninsula it is surrounded on 3 sides by the sea
• There are NO sandy beaches
• There are places where you can swim from the rocky shore which are mainly used by the locals