The Cittadella, Victoria

The Cittadella (Ċittadella) crowns the hill above Victoria, also called Rabat, the capital of Gozo. Its bastion walls enclose a small fortified town of stone lanes, a cathedral, old houses and museums. From the walls you can see almost the whole island: the domes of village churches, the flat-topped hills and the sea on every side.

Gozo's Cultural Heritage Directorate, which manages the site, describes it as an open public heritage site, open all year round, 24 hours a day and free of charge, so you can walk the bastions even after dark. Start at the Cittadella Visitors' Centre at the entrance, set in two water reservoirs built in the 1870s, where touch screens and a short film in eight languages explain the citadel's long history.

Museums and tickets

As of November 2026, the Cittadella combo ticket costs EUR 5 for adults, EUR 3.50 for students and seniors, EUR 2.50 for children aged 6 to 11 and is free for under-6s. It covers the Visitors' Centre plus three Heritage Malta sites inside the walls: the Gozo Nature Museum, the Old Prison and the Gran Castello Historic House. The Visitors' Centre opens Tuesday to Sunday from 9:00 to 17:00 from March to December (last admission 16:30). In January and February it also closes on Wednesdays. The Gozo Museum of Archaeology closed on 13 April 2026, and the ground floor of the Nature Museum was closed as of November 2026. The cathedral and its museum need a separate ticket from the cathedral shop and are normally closed on Sundays and public holidays.

• Heritage Malta says the Old Prison holds the largest known collection of historical graffiti in one place in the Maltese Islands, cut into its cell walls by inmates.
• Combine the visit with the Ggantija Temples and the Ta' Pinu Basilica.
• Our Gozo travel guide covers buses, ferries and where to stay.

As of November 2026, a private car park beneath the walls normally charges a flat EUR 2 per day; free public parking is near the bus terminus. From the ferry at Mgarr, bus route 301 runs to Victoria. Walk the full circuit of the bastions, then come back after sunset when the walls are lit.