Malta 3-Day Itinerary: Valletta, the Grand Harbour and Mdina

Start at St John's Co-Cathedral, the Knights' conventual church, whose plain exterior hides a gilded interior and a floor of inlaid marble tombstones. The oratory holds Caravaggio's Beheading of St John the Baptist. It is a working church, so check its visiting days before you build the day around it. If time permits before the gun firing, walk along Republic Street to the Grandmaster's Palace, with its state rooms and armoury.

Be at the Upper Barrakka Gardens before noon: the Saluting Battery on the terrace below fires at 12:00 and 16:00, Monday to Saturday (as of November 2026; check holiday closures), and the view across the Three Cities is the best introduction to the harbour you will get. After a light lunch of pastizzi or a filled ftira, walk down to the tip of the peninsula and Fort St Elmo, home of the National War Museum, which covers Malta's story from prehistory to the Second World War siege.

On another day, or instead of Fort St Elmo, the National Museum of Archaeology on Republic Street is a good primer for tomorrow's temples. Otherwise wander the grid of streets as the light goes, then eat somewhere on the side streets off Republic Street or Merchants Street. Order stuffat tal-fenek (rabbit stew), a traditional Maltese dish. If you are staying in Sliema, the Valletta ferry back across Marsamxett Harbour is the easiest way home.

Take the ferry from below Valletta across the Grand Harbour to the Three Cities. In Birgu (Vittoriosa), climb Fort St Angelo, the Knights' headquarters during the Great Siege of 1565, then walk the narrow streets inland to the Inquisitor's Palace, the former seat of the Roman Inquisition in Malta. Only if your Hypogeum slot leaves time, finish with a walk along the Senglea waterfront to the vedette lookout at its tip.

Head south to Paola, a short bus or taxi ride from the Three Cities, for your booked slot at the Hal Saflieni Hypogeum, an underground burial complex cut into the rock on several levels in prehistoric times and on the UNESCO World Heritage List since 1981. Arrive early for your time slot. Within walking distance are the Tarxien Temples, where a walkway lets you see the carved altars and spiral-decorated blocks close up. If you could not get a Hypogeum ticket, give Tarxien more time and spend longer in Birgu in the morning.

Return to Valletta or Sliema for the evening. In summer, a Grand Harbour cruise in the late afternoon or evening shows you the bastions you walked past from the water. For dinner, try bragioli (beef olives) or a fish dish, and finish with imqaret, date-filled pastries.

Take the bus from Valletta to Mdina, the walled former capital on a hill in the centre of the island. Enter through the Main Gate and walk to St Paul's Cathedral, then lose an hour in the lanes and up on the bastions, where the view runs across the island to the coast. Mdina is quiet before the tour coaches arrive, so earlier is better.

Walk out of Mdina to the Domus Romana, a Roman town house with fine floor mosaics, then continue into Rabat for the St Paul's Catacombs, a network of underground burial chambers. Rabat is the place for a late lunch: a ftira or a plate of timpana (baked pasta pie). If you have a flight this evening, head to the airport from here: it is a straightforward bus or taxi ride.

If you are staying another night, take a bus or taxi out to Dingli Cliffs for sunset, on the south-west coast. Choose a clifftop section suited to your walking ability. Afterwards return to your base for a last dinner, or pause in Rabat on the way back.