What is the Valletta self-guided walking tour?
The Valletta self-guided walking tour is a walk whose pace you set, with audio narration on your phone in place of a guide at the front. Allow about 3 hours: 45 minutes of that is walking, the route measures 3.4 km, and at 10 stops you stand still and listen. Nothing runs to a schedule and nobody waits for you to catch up.
At the Tritons' Fountain the narration begins with Vincent Apap's three bronze figures, the basin that gave way in 1978 and the water that came back with the inauguration of 2018. On the terrace of the Upper Barrakka Gardens it turns to the knights of the Italian langue, who had this retreat laid out in 1661, and to the Saluting Battery on the level below. Further in you hear how Caravaggio came to paint the Beheading of Saint John the Baptist in Malta in 1608, and why a widowed queen paid for an Anglican church on the plot of the German knights' inn.
- Durationabout 3 hours
- Walkingabout 45 min · 3.4 km
- Stops10
- LanguagesEnglish, German, French, Italian, Spanish, Dutch
What you do on the walking tour
Listen
Each stop brings the history of the place, its legends and the carved detail that most people walk past. The same text sits on the screen if you would rather read.
Walk the grid
From stop to stop Google Maps does the navigating, at a pace you set: 45 minutes on foot and 3.4 km in all.
Break off
Stop for a coffee in the shade or give an hour to a museum, then take the walk up again later or on another day.
Eat and browse
Tips for food and shops near the route arrive along with the stops. The opening point and the order are yours to rearrange in the app.
See the route and attractions →
How it works
- Book online Choose the number of people. 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.
- Walk when you like Start whenever you are ready, walk at your own pace and pause any time. No guide, no fixed schedule.
Who the walking tour is for
A first visit
One walk sorts out the knights, the British period and modern Malta, and explains what you are standing in front of.
Anyone who avoids groups
No raised umbrella to follow and no roll call: you stay as long as something holds you and move on when you decide to.
One day on the island
3 hours covers the peninsula on foot, so the afternoon stays free for the Three Cities or for a swim.
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.
- Groups of up to 5 work best; larger groups split up, one ticket per person.
- Every purchase helps support stray cats and dogs in Greece.
The walk stop by stop: Floriana, City Gate, Republic Street, St Paul's
10 stops · about 45 min walking · start: St Publius Parish Church (Floriana) · finish: St Paul's Anglican Pro-Cathedral
The first stop is St Publius Parish Church in Floriana, outside the walls. The Tritons' Fountain and Renzo Piano's Parliament House then bring you through City Gate, after which the route reaches the Upper Barrakka Gardens above the Grand Harbour and the Church of St Catherine of Italy. Republic Street carries it past St John's Co-Cathedral, Great Siege Square, the National Library and St George's Square, and St Paul's Anglican Pro-Cathedral ends the walk. Another opening stop, or another order, is a setting in the app, and no stop asks for an entry ticket.
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.
Patricia– France –
Collected on GetYourGuide
Un peu compliqué à utiliser, le temps ne correspond pas du tout à celui indiqué
Spain –
Collected on GetYourGuide
Es fácil te usar, te lleva a los sitios principales con una explicación. me ha resultado útil.
Karin– Canada –
Collected on GetYourGuide
On s’attendait à un jeu, quelque chose d’interactif. Les explications sont intéressantes mais on en prendrait plus.
Malta –
Collected on GetYourGuide
Wij hadden er meer van verwacht. Gelukkig kwam je onderweg ook gidsen tegen en hoorde je meer informatie.