Valletta is small enough to cross in a short walk, and this guide follows that walk through seven places: St Publius Church just outside the walls in Floriana, the new Parliament by City Gate, the Upper Barrakka Gardens, the church of St Catherine of Italy, St John's Co-Cathedral, Great Siege Square and the National Library. Together they tell the city's story, from the Knights of St John who founded it after 1565 to modern Malta.
St Publius Parish Church (Floriana)
The large church in Floriana, the suburb in front of Valletta's landward walls, is dedicated to Publius, the Roman chief of Malta who according to the Acts of the Apostles welcomed St Paul after his shipwreck, and whom Maltese tradition honours as the island's first bishop. Its foundation stone was laid in 1733, it was consecrated in 1792, and the neoclassical front with its two bell towers dates from the late 19th century.
In March and April 1942 German and Italian bombs hit the church, destroying the dome and part of the facade and killing sixteen people. It reopened in December 1944 and was rebuilt in the following years. In front of it lies the huge open square known as the Granaries: the round stone covers in the ground seal underground silos that the Knights dug to store grain.
Parliament of Malta
Just inside City Gate stands Malta's Parliament House, designed by the Italian architect Renzo Piano as part of his rebuilding of the city entrance and opened in 2015. It is by far the newest building in this guide, and its modern design still divides opinion.
Look at the two blocks of Maltese limestone that seem to float on stilts: the stone is cut into deep, angled fins that shade the windows from the Mediterranean sun. Nearby, Piano also turned the ruins of the Royal Opera House, bombed in 1942, into an open-air theatre, so you can see old and new Valletta side by side here.
Upper Barrakka Gardens
The Upper Barrakka Gardens sit on the upper level of the bastion of St Peter and St Paul, high above the harbour. Laid out in the 17th century as a private garden for the Italian knights of the Order, they were opened to the public in the 19th century, and the arcades still frame what may be the best view in Malta: the Grand Harbour and the Three Cities of Birgu, Senglea and Cospicua opposite.
Below the terrace is the Saluting Battery, where cannons are fired at noon as a time signal, as they were for centuries. Among the memorials in the garden is Les Gavroches, a bronze of three street children by the Maltese sculptor Antonio Sciortino. A modern lift next to the gardens connects the city with the waterfront below.
Church of St Catherine of Italy
A few steps from the gardens, this small church belonged to the Italian langue, one of the national groups of the Knights of St John. It was built in the 1570s by Girolamo Cassar, the Maltese architect who designed much of early Valletta, and in the 18th century it was given its baroque portico.
Inside, the main altar shows the martyrdom of St Catherine of Alexandria, painted by Mattia Preti, the Calabrian artist and knight of the Order who also decorated St John's. The church stands next to the Auberge de Castille, now the office of Malta's prime minister, so it is easy to see both together.
St John's Co-Cathedral
From the outside St John's looks plain, almost like a fortress. Girolamo Cassar built it in the 1570s as the conventual church of the Knights of St John. In the 1660s Mattia Preti transformed the interior, painting the vault with scenes from the life of St John the Baptist, and the knights' langues filled the side chapels with gilded carving. It is called a co-cathedral because it shares the role of Malta's cathedral with St Paul's in Mdina.
Two things stand out. The floor is covered by around 400 inlaid marble tombstones of knights, with skulls, coats of arms and Latin inscriptions. In the oratory hangs Caravaggio's Beheading of Saint John the Baptist, painted in 1608 while he was in Malta; it is the only painting he signed, in the red of the saint's blood. His Saint Jerome Writing hangs nearby.
Great Siege Square
On Republic Street, opposite the side of St John's, the Great Siege Monument remembers the Ottoman siege of 1565, when the Knights and the Maltese held out for almost four months. After the victory Grand Master Jean de Valette founded the new city that bears his name. The bronze group by Antonio Sciortino was unveiled in 1927 and shows three figures representing Fortitude, Faith and Civilisation.
Across the square stand the Law Courts, built after the Second World War on the site of the Auberge d'Auvergne, which was destroyed by bombing. The square is a good place to pause between the cathedral and the library, and the monument is one of the stops on our scavenger hunt.
National Library of Malta
The National Library, known in Malta as the Bibliotheca, was the last major building put up by the Knights of St John: it was designed by Stefano Ittar and completed in 1796, only two years before Napoleon took Malta. It holds the archives of the Order, with documents going back to the Middle Ages.
The arcaded front faces Republic Square, where a statue of Queen Victoria from the 1890s recalls the British period. The cafés under the arcades around the square are a pleasant place to end a walk, with the Grand Master's Palace and St George's Square just around the corner.
How to see them in one walk
Start at St Publius Church and the Granaries in Floriana, walk through the gardens to City Gate and look at the Parliament, then turn right towards the Upper Barrakka Gardens for the harbour view. Stop at St Catherine of Italy next to the Auberge de Castille, walk down to St John's Co-Cathedral and continue along Republic Street to Great Siege Square and the National Library. Valletta's streets are steep in places, so go slowly.
See Valletta with World City Trail
Our Valletta scavenger hunt turns the walled city into a game you play on your phone. The route links 10 stops, from St Publius Church to St Paul's Anglican Cathedral. All seven places in this guide are stops, along with the Triton Fountain, St George's Square and St Paul's.
If you prefer a different format, there is also a self-guided walking tour and an outdoor escape game in Valletta.
Play the Valletta scavenger hunt →
Take the self-guided walking tour of Valletta →
Play the outdoor escape game in Valletta →
Facts checked in October 2026.