A Local's Take on Valletta: 10 Years, 1 km of Limestone
Maria Camilleri moved to Valletta from the suburban sprawl of Birkirkara in 2016, when she was 26. She works at a design studio on Merchants Street, lives in a converted 17th-century townhouse near Fort St. Elmo, and has watched Valletta transform from a half-abandoned capital into Europe's worst-kept secret.
I sat down with her at Caffe Cordina on Republic Street — frescoed ceiling, marble tables, €1.50 espresso — and asked her everything tourists need to know.
Q: You chose to live in Valletta when a lot of young Maltese were leaving. Why?
A: When I moved here in 2016, Valletta had just been named European Capital of Culture for 2018. But honestly, it was still pretty rough. Half the buildings were empty. Republic Street after 6 PM was dead. My parents thought I was crazy.
But I loved the bones of this place. The proportions. Every street in Valletta is on a grid — the Knights planned it that way — so you always get this shot of sky and harbour at the end of every cross-street. And the buildings are all this honey-colored globigerina limestone that changes color depending on the light. Morning it's pale gold. Sunset it's almost orange. I'm a designer — I couldn't resist.
Q: What's the biggest thing tourists get wrong about Valletta?
A: They treat it like a half-day excursion from their resort in St. Julian's. They bus in, walk Republic Street, see St. John's, take a photo at Barrakka Gardens, and leave. That's like going to New York and only visiting Times Square.
Valletta rewards slowness. Sit in a square. Watch the old men play cards. Walk the side streets where the laundry hangs between balconies. Go to Strait Street — what we call Strada Stretta — which was the red-light district for sailors in the 1960s and is now the cocktail bar street. It's a completely different city after dark.
Q: Speaking of Strait Street — where do you actually go out?
A: Wild Honey for cocktails. They do things with Maltese carob and prickly pear that shouldn't work but absolutely do. Bridge Bar for something more low-key — they have a terrace that looks out over the Grand Harbour. And Trabuxu for wine — it's in a medieval cellar with stone arches and they know Maltese wines better than anyone.
For food, my regular spots are Noni (modern Maltese, the tasting menu is €55 and worth every cent), Palazzo Preca (great courtyard, pasta around €14-16), and for quick lunch, literally any pastizzeria. I'm at Crystal Palace three mornings a week.
Q: The great pastizzi debate — ricotta or pea?
A: Pea. Always pea. The pastizzi tal-piżelli has more texture, more flavor, and it's the traditional Maltese filling. Ricotta is what tourists default to. But the pea filling — it's this mushy, slightly curried thing that sounds terrible and tastes incredible. Try both and see. They're fifty cents each, so it's not like you're committing to anything.
Q: What's your favorite free thing to do in Valletta?
A: Walk the bastions at 7 AM. Not the Upper Barrakka — everyone knows that one. I mean the bastions along the south side, near the Mediterranean Conference Centre. You can walk the entire perimeter of the city walls and you'll be completely alone. The light is this soft pink, the harbour is calm, and you can hear the church bells starting up.
Also, the noon cannon at the Saluting Battery. Watch it from the Upper Barrakka Gardens above — it's free from up there. Every day at noon, boom. It scares the tourists every time. Never gets old.
Q: Best museum most tourists skip?
A: MUŻA — the national art museum. It's in a beautifully restored auberge (the Knights' lodging house) on Merchants Street. Mattia Preti, Guido Reni, and really good contemporary Maltese art. Entry is €5. It's cool inside on hot days, it's never crowded, and the building itself is worth the visit.
The Grandmaster's Palace Armoury is also underrated. One of the world's largest collections of arms and armor. Kids love it. Adults love it. Entry is €8 or €14 combined with the State Rooms.
Q: Where should visitors NOT eat?
A: I won't name names, but avoid any restaurant on Republic Street with a guy standing outside trying to get you in. If they need a tout, the food isn't bringing people back. Walk one street over to Merchants Street or Old Theatre Street and you'll find better food, lower prices, and actual Maltese people eating there.
Q: Your favorite season in Valletta?
A: Late Read our guide to Valletta in autumn for the best time to visit into November. The summer heat breaks — finally, you can breathe — and the rain hasn't really started yet. The streets empty out after the summer tourist rush. And there's this quality of light, with the sun lower in the sky, that makes the limestone glow like it's lit from inside.
May is lovely too. Before the heat but after the winter grey.
Q: What do tourists always get right?
A: St. John's Co-Cathedral. Every single tourist goes there and every single tourist is genuinely speechless. That plain exterior hiding that insane baroque interior — it's the best reveal in European architecture. And the Caravaggio... I've seen it probably fifty times and it still stops me.
Also, the Three Cities by dgħajsa. That little water taxi across the harbour for €2 — tourists love it, and they should. It's been running for centuries. You arrive in Vittoriosa feeling like you've time-traveled.
Q: What custom should visitors know about?
A: Dress modestly in churches. Bare shoulders and short shorts will get you turned away at St. John's — I've seen tourists in bikini tops trying to get in. Carry a light scarf or cardigan.
Also, the passeggiata. The evening walk on Republic Street. If you're there around 6-7 PM, just walk with the flow. Don't stand in the middle of the street taking photos. Join the stream. Buy a pastizz. Be part of it.
Q: Final question — what do you tell visitors who only have one day?
A: Wake up early. Walk the bastions at 7 AM. Pastizzi and coffee at Crystal Palace for breakfast. St. John's Co-Cathedral at 9:30 when it opens. The Grandmaster's Palace Armoury after that. Lunch at Palazzo Preca — get the rabbit ravioli. Walk to Upper Barrakka Gardens for the noon cannon. Take the dgħajsa to Vittoriosa in the afternoon. Come back for sunset at Barrakka. Dinner at Strait Street.
And then come back for more days. Because one isn't enough. It never is.
Maria Camilleri is a graphic designer and Valletta resident. She blogs at maltamornings.mt (in both English and Maltese). This interview has been condensed and edited for clarity.
Practical: Valletta is 1 km long. Everything is walkable. The Like Lisbon's famous elevators, the Barrakka Lift connects the waterfront to the upper city (free with Tallinja card) connects the waterfront to the upper city. Valletta is served by Malta International Airport, 8 km away. Direct flights connect to Barcelona and other European hubs..
