12 Reasons Valletta Is Europe's Most Underrated Capital
I keep telling people to go to Valletta. They keep booking Rome, Paris, or Barcelona instead. And I get it — those cities have brand recognition that a 1-kilometer-long Maltese peninsula can't compete with. But here's the thing: Valletta does almost everything those cities do, at a fraction of the cost, with a fraction of the crowds, and with a swagger that comes from being built by actual knights.
1. It's the Smallest Capital in the EU (And That's a Feature)
Valletta is 1 km long and 600 m wide. That's it. The entire capital. You can walk from one end to the other in fifteen minutes. This means no metro, no taxis needed, no getting lost in sprawling suburbs. Every baroque palace, church, and museum is within a ten-minute walk of everything else.
I once did a full day of sightseeing — St. John's Co-Cathedral, the Grandmaster's Palace, Upper Barrakka Gardens, Fort St. Elmo — and clocked 8,000 steps total. In Rome, I'd have done 25,000.
2. St. John's Co-Cathedral Will Wreck Your Expectations
The exterior is plain. Deliberately plain — the Knights of St. John didn't want to advertise their wealth from the street. But inside? One of the most jaw-dropping baroque interiors in Europe.
The entire floor is covered in marble tombstone slabs — 400 knights buried beneath your feet, each tomb inlaid with colored marble portraits and coats of arms. The ceiling is painted by Mattia Preti. And in the oratory hangs Caravaggio's largest painting, The Beheading of St. John the Baptist.
Entry is €15 with audio guide included. Open Mon-Sat 9:30 AM-4:30 PM. Allow 1.5 hours minimum. I spent two.
3. The €0.50 Breakfast
Pastizzi. Flaky diamond-shaped pastries filled with either ricotta or mushy peas (the pea version is pastizzi tal-piżelli and it's the superior choice — fight me). They cost €0.50-0.80 each. Add a €1 coffee and you have Malta's best breakfast for under €2.
Crystal Palace on Republic Street is the classic spot. Serkin's near the bus terminal is the local's choice. Both serve them fresh from the oven until they run out. By 11 AM, you might get the last scraps.
4. Upper Barrakka Gardens Is Free and Better Than Most Paid Attractions
A terrace garden on the highest point of the city fortifications, overlooking the Grand Harbour and the Three Cities across the water. Free entry. The Saluting Battery fires a noon cannon daily — watch it from above for free, or pay €3 to stand by the cannons.
The view at sunset is legitimately one of the best urban panoramas in Europe. I've been to the Eiffel Tower, the Acropolis, and Edinburgh Castle. The Barrakka view holds up.
5. The Grand Harbour Boat Tour Puts Everything in Perspective
From the water, you understand why the Knights chose this harbor. Fort St. Angelo rises from the water like a cliff. The bastions of Valletta and the Three Cities create a natural fortress. The scale of the fortifications — built in the 16th century, by hand — is genuinely hard to process.
Captain Morgan and Luzzu Cruises run 90-minute circuits for €16-20. Late afternoon light is best.
6. It's Absurdly Affordable (By European Standards)
Item
Valletta
Paris
Rome
Coffee
€1-1.50
€3-5
€1.50-3
Museum entry
€5-15
€12-20
€12-18
Restaurant meal
€12-25
€25-50
€20-40
Hotel (mid-range)
€60-120
€150-300
€120-250
Pastizz
€0.50
—
—
The Heritage Malta multisite pass (€50) covers 20+ museums and sites across the country. It pays for itself after four or five visits.
7. 7,000 Years of History in One Peninsula
Malta's archaeological record goes back to 3600 BCE — older than the pyramids. The Hypogeum in nearby Paola (a 6,000-year-old underground temple) is a UNESCO site so fragile that only 80 visitors per day are allowed. Book weeks in advance.
Valletta itself layers Phoenician, Roman, Arab, Norman, Knights Hospitaller, French, and British history into one compact grid. Fort St. Elmo's War Museum covers everything from the Bronze Age to WWII, including the George Cross medal awarded to the entire island.
8. The Three Cities Are the Local Secret
Across the Grand Harbour, Vittoriosa, Senglea, and Cospicua — collectively the Three Cities — have the medieval charm without the tourism infrastructure. Take the traditional dgħajsa water taxi from below Barrakka Gardens (€2, five minutes) and wander.
Vittoriosa's waterfront has Fort St. Angelo, collachio (knight's quarter), and some of Malta's best small restaurants. Senglea's Gardjola Gardens viewpoint looks back at Valletta from the other side. Hardly anyone goes.
9. Caffe Cordina Has Been Serving Since 1837
On Republic Street (Valletta's main pedestrianized artery), Caffe Cordina occupies a gorgeous frescoed interior that would be a €15 coffee in Venice. Here it's €2.50. Order a kinnie — Malta's bittersweet herbal soft drink — if you want to drink like a local.
10. The Food Is Italian-Meets-North African and It Works
Maltese cuisine borrows from everywhere. Rabbit stew (stuffat tal-fenek) is the national dish — rich, slow-cooked, earthy. Ftira is Malta's answer to pizza — flatbread with tomato, onion, capers, olives, and tuna. Aljotta is a garlicky fish soup that will clear any hangover.
Noni on Republic Street does modern Maltese food done well. Palazzo Preca in the courtyard off South Street is the vibe-forward pick. For rabbit, leave Valletta and drive to Ta' Kris in Sliema.
11. It Rains Almost Never (Except When It Pours)
Malta gets about 560mm of rain per year, mostly between November and February. Summer is guaranteed sun — June through September are bone-dry. The catch: July-August hits 35-40°C with no shade on the limestone streets. Churches and museums become survival strategies, not just cultural enrichment.
12. The Evening Passeggiata Is Still a Thing
Every evening around 6-7 PM, Maltese families walk Republic Street from one end to the other and back. Kids run ahead. Grandmothers link arms. Teenagers pretend not to know their parents. It's unselfconscious and lovely, and it makes Valletta feel like a real city rather than a museum.
Join in. Buy a pastizz. Watch the honey-colored limestone turn gold in the late light. And wonder why you didn't come here sooner.
Getting there: Unlike Dubrovnik, which gets swamped by cruise ships, Valletta stays refreshingly manageable. Malta International Airport (MLA) is 8 km from Valletta. Bus 1 costs €1.50 (Tallinja card) or €2 without. Taxi is €15-20.
When to go: Combine with a trip to Sicily, just a short ferry hop away. May-June or September-October for warm weather without brutal heat. November-March is mild and nearly tourist-free.
