Playing the Valletta scavenger hunt: the essentials
The Valletta scavenger hunt is a self-guided city game you play on your phone: you walk from landmark to landmark, solve a riddle at each one by looking closely at what is in front of you, and unlock the stories and legends behind it. It takes about 3 hours, with around 45 minutes of actual walking over 3.4 km and 10 stops, and you start whenever you like.
Highlights include the Tritons' Fountain at City Gate, the Upper Barrakka Gardens above the Grand Harbour, St John's Co-Cathedral, the Great Siege monument, the Grandmaster's Palace on St George's Square and St Paul's Pro-Cathedral. The Knights of St John built Valletta on a narrow peninsula with a grid of straight streets, so the city is compact and easy to explore on foot.
- Durationabout 3 hours
- Walkingabout 45 min · 3.4 km
- Stops10
- LanguagesEnglish, German, French, Italian, Spanish, Dutch
A city of knights, bastions and harbour views
Clues set in limestone and bronze
Each of the 10 stops carries a riddle about something on the street: the stone lids of old granaries in a square, three Tritons holding up a basin, a Latin inscription beneath a coat of arms. The answer is there for anyone who looks closely and reasons it out, with no history degree required.
Sieges, salutes and a Caravaggio
Solved riddles open the stories: the Great Siege of 1565, when the Knights and the Maltese held out against the Ottoman army, the guns of the Saluting Battery below the Upper Barrakka Gardens, still fired for ceremonies, and Caravaggio, who painted his Beheading of Saint John the Baptist in Malta in 1608. With earphones in, you can let the audio narration do the telling.
From Floriana through City Gate
Google Maps leads you over 3.4 km, around 45 minutes of actual walking, from Floriana through City Gate into the grid of straight streets the Knights laid out on the peninsula. The views open up at the Upper Barrakka Gardens, high above the Grand Harbour and the Three Cities.
Three hours, at your speed
The game leaves plenty of room for a coffee or a long look across the harbour, and it remembers where you stopped if you carry on tomorrow. Starting from your hotel rather than Floriana? Choose another first stop in the app.
See the route and attractions →
How it works
- Book online Choose the number of players. Your booking reference arrives by email straight away.
- Get the app Download the World City Trail app from the App Store or Google Play and enter your booking reference.
- Play when you like Start whenever you are ready, walk at your own pace and pause any time. No guide, no fixed schedule.
Valletta's hunt for first-timers, families and groups
A first visit to Malta's capital
The Co-Cathedral, the Grandmaster's Palace, Renzo Piano's Parliament and the Upper Barrakka Gardens all lie on one route, so a single game gives you a solid first picture of the city. The riddles make sure you notice details most visitors walk past.
Children who like knights
Bronze Tritons, a monument with three bronze figures standing for Faith, Fortitude and Civilisation, and a terrace where guns are fired in salute keep younger players curious. A grown-up plays in the team and keeps an eye on the busy streets.
Conference groups and friends
Up to five players form a team, each on their own phone, so colleagues after a meeting or friends on a long weekend can play side by side. The city itself is the course, and there is nothing to rent.
Good to know
- Bring a charged smartphone with mobile data; a power bank helps.
- No entry tickets needed: everything happens outside the buildings. Going inside is optional and paid separately.
- Family friendly; children must be accompanied by an adult.
- Not suitable for wheelchair users and difficult with strollers.
- Teams of up to 5 work best; bigger groups split into several teams, one ticket per player.
- Every purchase helps support stray cats and dogs in Greece.
The route: from Floriana through City Gate to St John's, Palace Square and St Paul's
10 stops · about 45 min walking · start: St Publius Parish Church (Floriana) · finish: St Paul's Anglican Pro-Cathedral
The hunt starts in Floriana, just outside the city walls, at St Publius Parish Church, then enters Valletta at the Tritons' Fountain by City Gate and passes the Parliament of Malta designed by Renzo Piano. It heads to the Upper Barrakka Gardens and the Church of St Catherine of Italy, continues to St John's Co-Cathedral, Great Siege Square, the National Library and St George's Square, and finishes at St Paul's Anglican Pro-Cathedral. If City Gate or the Upper Barrakka Gardens is closer to where you are staying, start there and let the app put the stops in a new order; and because the riddles stay outside on squares, façades and monuments, neither the Co-Cathedral nor the palace asks you for a ticket during the game.
Open the route map ↗
1St Publius Parish Church (Floriana)Start
Floriana's parish church, just outside Valletta, was begun in 1733 and is dedicated to St Publius, who according to tradition welcomed St Paul after his shipwreck and became Malta's first bishop. Bombs destroyed part of its façade and its dome in 1942, and the wide square in front is dotted with the round stone lids of old underground granaries.
2Tritons' Fountain
The Tritons' Fountain outside Valletta's City Gate was created by the sculptor Vincent Apap between 1952 and 1959: three bronze Tritons hold up a wide basin, a symbol of Malta's bond with the sea. The basin collapsed in 1978, and after a full restoration the fountain was officially inaugurated in 2018.
Read the full story →
3Parliament of Malta
Malta's Parliament House stands just inside City Gate and was designed by the Italian architect Renzo Piano as part of his redesign of the city entrance. The parliament moved here from the Grandmaster's Palace in 2015. Look at the two blocks raised on pillars and clad in Maltese limestone, cut so that the facade lets in light while giving shade.
4Upper Barrakka Gardens
The Upper Barrakka Gardens were laid out in 1661 by the Italian knight Flaminio Balbiani as a retreat for the knights of the Italian langue, and opened to the public after 1800. The terrace looks over the Grand Harbour and the Three Cities, and below it lies the Saluting Battery, where ceremonial gun salutes are still fired.
5Church of St Catherine of Italy
The Italian knights built this church in 1576 to plans by Girolamo Cassar, next to their Auberge d'Italie. An octagonal church was added in the 17th century, and Mattia Preti painted its dome and gave the church its altarpiece showing the martyrdom of St Catherine of Alexandria.
6St John's Co-Cathedral
The conventual church of the Knights of St John was built in 1573–1577 to designs by Girolamo Cassar, behind a deliberately plain façade. Inside are Mattia Preti's painted vault, hundreds of inlaid marble tombstones of knights and Caravaggio's Beheading of Saint John the Baptist, painted in Malta in 1608.
7Great Siege Square
Great Siege Square on Republic Street lies between the Law Courts and the side of St John's Co-Cathedral. Its monument by Antonio Sciortino honours the Great Siege of 1565, when the Knights and the Maltese held out against the Ottoman army, with three bronze figures representing Faith, Fortitude and Civilisation.
8National Library of Malta
The National Library, known as the Bibliotheca, was designed by Stefano Ittar and was one of the last buildings the Knights put up before the French took Malta in 1798. It keeps the archives of the Order of St John, and a marble statue of Queen Victoria stands in Republic Square in front of it.
9St George's Square (Palace Square)
St George's Square is overlooked by the Grandmaster's Palace, seat of the Grand Masters of the Order and later of the British governors, and today the Office of the President of Malta. Opposite stands the Main Guard, where a Latin inscription of 1814 beneath the British coat of arms records the islands' attachment to Britain.
Read the full story →
10St Paul's Anglican Pro-CathedralFinish
St Paul's was paid for by Queen Adelaide, widow of King William IV, after her stay in Malta, and built between 1839 and 1844 on the site of the Auberge d'Allemagne, the inn of the German knights. Its tall spire is one of the landmarks of the Valletta skyline when seen from Marsamxett Harbour.
Read the full story →
Only logged in customers who have purchased this product may leave a review.
Paul B. (verified owner) –
A bit disappointing for the price (15 eur): some small pieces of text that have to be read on the phone at the various sites. Would have been much more pleasant to combine this with an audio tour while walking around. The puzzles are somewhat fun, but hardly justify the price.
Alexandre– France –
Collected on GetYourGuide
assez facile c’est ludique et fait passer par les points de visite important ou juste à côté
Marilyn– Austria –
Collected on GetYourGuide
Great activity if you wanna roam around Valletta. Puzzles were fun to solve. The tour took us around 3 hours with many breaks. Fun to do! Perfect for families with teenagers.
Switzerland –
Collected on GetYourGuide
Man hat viel von der Stadt sehen können
Caroline – France –
Collected on GetYourGuide
Très bien Permet de faire une visite sympa qui intéresse les enfants
France –
Collected on GetYourGuide
Britta– Germany –
Collected on GetYourGuide
jean marie– France –
Collected on GetYourGuide
Greece –
Collected on GetYourGuide
We had so much fun solving the riddles! The flexibility to go at our own pace helped us enjoy the sightseeings, take some breaks, hydrate and buy some souvenirs. We highly recommend it 🧭
Ulrike– Austria –
Collected on GetYourGuide
Nette Möglichkeit Valletta zu erkunden. Unsere Kinder konnten die Rätsel selbstständig lösen. Die Schnitzeljagd selbst dauert max. 1 Stunde aber wenn man sich an den Punkten noch umschaut, braucht man verständlicherweise länger.
France –
Collected on GetYourGuide
Solène– France –
Collected on GetYourGuide
Bonne activité, cependant le cercle reste très restreint, et elle ne nous pousse pas à visiter les différents monuments de la ville.
Raluca– Romania –
Collected on GetYourGuide
Germany –
Collected on GetYourGuide
Der GPS-Punkt für St. George ist wohl nicht ganz richtig gesetzt, wodurch er in Google Maps importiert zu einem anderen Platz führt. Ansonsten hat es aber viel Spaß gemacht!
Slovenia –
Collected on GetYourGuide
Hungary –
Collected on GetYourGuide
Hungary –
Collected on GetYourGuide
az utolsó el?tti állomásra nem jó helyre vitt a térkép.
Cindy Jessica– Switzerland –
Collected on GetYourGuide
Super activité pour découvrir la ville à son propre rythme où en compétition inter équipe pour un team building! L application est hyper intuitive et facile à l utilisation! Les informations sur les monuments et la ville en générales sont supers claires!
France –
Collected on GetYourGuide
Activité très intéressante pour découvrir les lieux emblématiques de la ville, il n’y a qu’à se laisser guider et les énigmes sont sympas.
Ilaria– Italy –
Collected on GetYourGuide
Facile e coinvolgente modo per girare la città!!
Germany –
Collected on GetYourGuide
Die Geistergeschichte
France –
Collected on GetYourGuide
Très bonne application qui permet de visiter la ville et les monuments principaux de façon ludique.
Germany –
Collected on GetYourGuide
Ja, da es wenig Angebote auf Deutsch gibt.
Chiara– Italy –
Collected on GetYourGuide
Siamo partiti non dal punto consigliato per nostra organizzazione della giornata e questo ha sballato l’app infatti ci ha fatto fare giri non ottimizzando la distanza. Gli indovinelli sono simpatici ed è divertente scoprire gli indizi ma consiglio di implementare le informazioni a corredo delle varie tappe.
Ana– France –
Collected on GetYourGuide
Es fácil de hacer y si no tienes guía turístico te permite conocer un poco la historia o cosas interesantes de malta
Surendra– Ireland –
Collected on GetYourGuide
I would make information more interesting (sightseeing description)
Malta –
Collected on GetYourGuide
Uns hat die Runde an und für sich gut gefallen. Es hätte aber zum Teil interessantere und reizvollere Posten gegeben. Die Rätsel waren alle lösbar, nur einmal musste die Hilfe in Anspruch genommen werden. Wir werden sicher wieder eine Schnitzeljagt machen ????.
United States –
Collected on GetYourGuide
The riddles/puzzles were very easy and kinda stupid, but it was a cheap way to get a historical walking tour!