About

About ULTIMATE Malta Island Guide

ULTIMATE Malta Island Guide is an independent guide for visitors to Malta. We publish 15 curated lists: restaurants, cafés & food, bars & beach clubs, hotels, sights, arts & culture, cinema & film, beaches & gardens, walks, shopping, health, property, developments, cars & yachts and getting around. We cover Valletta and Floriana, the Three Cities, Sliema and St Julian’s, Mdina, Rabat and the centre, St Paul’s Bay, Mellieħa and the north, Marsaxlokk and the south, Gozo and Comino, with a day trip to Sicily.

Our editor

Jai Michael is Editor-in-Chief of the ULTIMATE City Guides. With more than 25 years in the media industry, he founded ABSOLUTE brighton and London TV, and has worked with leading luxury brands around the world.

How we choose

Every place in our lists has been checked against its own website or an official source such as Heritage Malta, Visit Malta (the Malta Tourism Authority), UNESCO, the MICHELIN Guide, Malta International Airport or the ferry operators. MICHELIN distinctions are quoted only from guide.michelin.com, with the year; we use no other awards or ratings, and we leave out anything we can’t confirm.

Before you go

Opening hours, notices and timetables change often, and some Heritage Malta rooms close at short notice. Please check directly with each place, and with official sources, before you travel. Prices are in euros (€).

For venues

Run a venue in Malta and spotted something to update? We review our lists regularly and welcome corrections.

Photo credits

• The gilded tiers of boxes inside the Manoel Theatre, Valletta, by Otter, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
• The gilded nave of St John’s Co-Cathedral, with Mattia Preti’s painted vault, by Pedro J Pacheco, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
• Day beds and the infinity pool at Café del Mar Malta, Qawra, photo: Courtesy of Café del Mar Malta.
• Two painted boats setting out for the Blue Grotto at Wied iż-Żurrieq, by Godwin Borg, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
• The turquoise channel of the Blue Lagoon between Comino and Cominotto, by Frank Vincentz, licensed CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
• Clear turquoise water below the limestone cliffs of Comino, by Frank Vincentz, licensed CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
• The Victorian iron-and-timber hall of Is-Suq tal-Belt, Valletta, photo: Courtesy of Is-Suq tal-Belt.
• A red-and-yellow dgħajsa moored off Senglea, with the yachts and churches of Birgu behind, by Jules Verne Times Two, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
• The timber houses of Popeye Village above the water of Anchor Bay, by Diego Delso, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
• A lane between the limestone walls of the Citadel in Victoria, Gozo, by Diego Delso, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
• The facade of St John’s Co-Cathedral in Valletta, with its two bell towers, by Diego Delso, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
• The turquoise channel of the Blue Lagoon between Comino and Cominotto, by Frank Vincentz, licensed CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
• Valletta’s honey-coloured skyline, with the dome of the Carmelite church and the spire of St Paul’s, above the harbour at sunset, by Olga Prystai, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
• A red-and-yellow dgħajsa moored off Senglea, with the yachts and churches of Birgu behind, by Jules Verne Times Two, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
• Dwejra Bay on Gozo, with Fungus Rock and the cliffs in late sun, by Diego Delso, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
• The megalithic walls of the Ġgantija temples on the Xagħra plateau, Gozo, by Diego Delso, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
• The sand of Golden Bay below the headland of Għajn Tuffieħa, by Diego Delso, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
• Dwejra Bay on Gozo, with Fungus Rock and the cliffs in late sun, by Diego Delso, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
• The great megaliths of Ħaġar Qim under the protective canopy, by Diego Delso, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
• The pool and palms at Kempinski Hotel San Lawrenz, Gozo, photo: Courtesy of Kempinski Hotel San Lawrenz.
• Valletta’s honey-coloured skyline, with the dome of the Carmelite church and the spire of St Paul’s, above the harbour at sunset, by Olga Prystai, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
• The courtyard of The Xara Palace in Mdina, photo: Courtesy of The Xara Palace.
• The rooftop pool at Iniala Harbour House, looking across the Grand Harbour to Fort St Angelo, photo: Courtesy of Iniala Harbour House.
• The rock-cut central chamber of the Ħal Saflieni Hypogeum, by xiquinhosilva, licensed CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
• The rooftop pool at Iniala Harbour House, looking across the Grand Harbour to Fort St Angelo, photo: Courtesy of Iniala Harbour House.
• The gilded tiers of boxes inside the Manoel Theatre, Valletta, by Otter, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
• Painted luzzu fishing boats in the harbour of Marsaxlokk, with the parish church behind, by Diego Delso, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
• The baroque Main Gate and walls of Mdina, by Diego Delso, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
• The painted dome and vaults of St Paul’s Cathedral, Mdina, by Diego Delso, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
• The baroque Main Gate and walls of Mdina, by Diego Delso, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
• The portico and bell towers of the Rotunda of Mosta, by Diego Delso, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
• The courtyard of the Auberge d’Italie, home of MUŻA, by Ben Williams, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
• The gilded nave of St John’s Co-Cathedral, with Mattia Preti’s painted vault, by Pedro J Pacheco, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
• The Alhambra in Granada in the evening light, by Jebulon, licensed Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
• The floodlit Acropolis and Parthenon at dusk, seen from Philopappos Hill, by Giles Laurent, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
• The pink sand beach of Harbour Island, the Bahamas, by Rüdiger Stehn from Kiel, Deutschland, licensed CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
• The road winding out to the lighthouse on Cap de Formentor, Mallorca, above the open sea, by Thomas Wolf, www.foto-tw.de, licensed CC BY-SA 3.0 de, via Wikimedia Commons.
• The Grand Palace reflected at dawn, by Nawit science, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
• The golden sand and calm water of Paynes Bay, St. James, by Barry haynes, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
• The Sagrada Família lit up at night, by Maksim Sokolov, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
• Belgrade's old town and the spire of the Cathedral Church of St Michael above the Sava at sunset, photo: © ULTIMATE International Media.
• The Brandenburg Gate in Berlin against a blue sky, by Berthold Werner, licensed CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
• The Romanian Athenaeum in its garden, by Jorge Franganillo, licensed CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
• The Hungarian Parliament lit up at night on the Danube, by Tom Ek, licensed CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
• Bixby Creek Bridge on the Big Sur coast, by Diliff, licensed CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
• A cruise ship in the Bay of Kotor, Montenegro, by Gzzz, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
• Burj Khalifa and Business Bay at blue hour, by Robert Bock, licensed CC0, via Wikimedia Commons.
• A schooner silhouetted against the sunset off Key West, by Joe Parks from Berkeley, CA, licensed CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
• Aerial view of the white sand spit of Ses Illetes and Llevant, the salt pans and, across the strait, Ibiza and Es Vedrà, by Beni Marull, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
• The Baie des Anges, Nice, by Tobi 87, licensed CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
• Blue domes of Oia above the Santorini caldera, by Norbert Nagel, licensed CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
• Helsinki Cathedral above the South Harbour, by Ввласенко, licensed CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
• Hong Kong Island and the harbour at night from Victoria Peak, by Benh LIEU SONG (Flickr), licensed CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
• The walls of Dalt Vila and the cathedral above the harbour of Ibiza Town, in late sun, by Charles from Port Chester, New York, licensed CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
• Hagia Sophia and its minarets in golden evening light, by Nserrano, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
• The Las Vegas Strip at dusk, by Dietmar Rabich, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
• Congress Square, Ljubljana, with the castle on its hill behind, by Petar Milošević, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
• The Palace of Westminster and the Elizabeth Tower lit at dusk across the Thames, by Diliff, licensed CC BY-SA 2.5, via Wikimedia Commons.
• Downtown Los Angeles at sunset beneath the snow-capped San Gabriel Mountains, by Alek Leckszas, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
• The Metrópolis building at the start of the Gran Vía, by Diego Delso, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
• La Seu, Palma’s Gothic cathedral, and the Almudaina above the old sea wall, seen from the Parc de la Mar, by Enric, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
• An aerial view of a small island ringed by reef in the Maldives, by Luka Peternel, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
• Valletta’s honey-coloured skyline, with the dome of the Carmelite church and the spire of St Paul’s, above the harbour at sunset, by Olga Prystai, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
• Yachts in Puerto Banús, by kallerna, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
• Turquoise water below the pine-topped cliffs at Cala Macarella, Menorca, by Markus Trienke, licensed CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
• Art Deco hotels on Ocean Drive, Miami Beach, by Robbschultz69, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
• Monaco from above, Port Hercule and Monte-Carlo below the mountains, by Spike, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
• The Taj Mahal Palace and the Gateway of India from the harbour, by iMahesh, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
• Sunset at the Naples Pier, by pmarkham, licensed CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
• The New York City skyline from Top of the Rock, by Dillan Payne, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
• The Millennium Bridge over the Morača, by Desemeus, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
• The Villa Ephrussi de Rothschild and its gardens, Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat, by Berthold Werner, edit by Böhringer, licensed CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
• The red carriages of the Glacier Express crossing the stone arches of the Landwasser Viaduct below a snow-capped peak, by Kabelleger / David Gubler, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
• The Church of St John at Kaneo above Lake Ohrid, North Macedonia, by kallerna, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
• The Golden Gate Bridge seen from Battery Spencer, by Christoph Strässler, licensed CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
• The Sebilj fountain and the square of Baščaršija, by Yukof, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
• The Lujiazui skyline lit up at night across the Huangpu River, by King of Hearts, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
• The towers of the Central Business District lit up at night, reflected in Marina Bay, by Bijay Chaurasia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
• The Matterhorn in winter above Zermatt, by JoachimKohler-HB, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
• The Warrior on a Horse fountain in Macedonia Square, Skopje, lit at night, by Diego Delso, licensed CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
• The Alexander Nevsky Cathedral, Sofia, under a pink evening sky, by Jose Ligero Loarte, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
• A caparisoned elephant in the Esala Perahera procession, Kandy, by Daniel Liabeuf, licensed CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
• Gros Piton and Petit Piton, the twin volcanic spires of the UNESCO-listed Pitons, by xiquinhosilva, licensed CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
• Longtail boats on West Railay beach beneath the limestone cliffs, by Krzysztof Golik, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
• The restored Pyramid of Tirana under a blue sky, by BBB2021, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
• Rolling green hills and a farmhouse near Pienza in the Val d’Orcia, by Tom Ek, licensed CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
• Calatrava’s Hemisfèric lit at twilight, reflected in its pool, by Diliff, licensed CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
• The tiled roof of St Stephen’s Cathedral and the rooftops of central Vienna, by Dietmar Rabich, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
• St Mark's Church and its tiled roof on St Mark's Square, Zagreb's Upper Town, by Jorge Láscar from Australia, licensed CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
• The timber houses of Popeye Village above the water of Anchor Bay, by Diego Delso, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
• The turquoise channel of the Blue Lagoon between Comino and Cominotto, by Frank Vincentz, licensed CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
• Two flaky pastizzi on paper, fresh from a Rabat pastizzeria, by Kritzolina, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
• The timber houses of Popeye Village above the water of Anchor Bay, by Diego Delso, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
• Day beds and the infinity pool at Café del Mar Malta, Qawra, photo: Courtesy of Café del Mar Malta.
• Bread, butter and olive oil on the table at De Mondion, Mdina, photo: Courtesy of De Mondion.
• The rooftop pool at Iniala Harbour House, looking across the Grand Harbour to Fort St Angelo, photo: Courtesy of Iniala Harbour House.
• The Victorian iron-and-timber hall of Is-Suq tal-Belt, Valletta, photo: Courtesy of Is-Suq tal-Belt.
• The pool and palms at Kempinski Hotel San Lawrenz, Gozo, photo: Courtesy of Kempinski Hotel San Lawrenz.
• Olive oil poured over a dish at Noni, Valletta, photo: Courtesy of Noni.
• The doors of Ursulino Valletta on St Ursula Street, photo: Courtesy of Ursulino Valletta.
• The courtyard of The Xara Palace in Mdina, photo: Courtesy of The Xara Palace.
• Fishing boats and waterfront restaurants on Spinola Bay, St Julian’s, by Anton Zelenov, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
• Fishing boats and waterfront restaurants on Spinola Bay, St Julian’s, by Anton Zelenov, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
• Olive oil poured over a dish at Noni, Valletta, photo: Courtesy of Noni.
• A fountain and statue in the garden of Casa Rocca Piccola, Valletta, by Edelmauswaldgeist, licensed CC0, via Wikimedia Commons.
• A red-and-yellow dgħajsa moored off Senglea, with the yachts and churches of Birgu behind, by Jules Verne Times Two, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
• The Victorian iron-and-timber hall of Is-Suq tal-Belt, Valletta, photo: Courtesy of Is-Suq tal-Belt.
• Fishing boats and waterfront restaurants on Spinola Bay, St Julian’s, by Anton Zelenov, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
• Painted luzzu fishing boats in the harbour of Marsaxlokk, with the parish church behind, by Diego Delso, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
• Fishing boats and waterfront restaurants on Spinola Bay, St Julian’s, by Anton Zelenov, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
• A Valletta street of closed timber balconies, with a baroque statue on a corner, by Rhododendrites, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
• Swimmers on the flat limestone ledges of St Peter’s Pool, near Marsaxlokk, by Diego Delso, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
• The street sign of Triq id-Dejqa, Strait Street, below an old painted “Cabaret” sign, by Frank Vincentz, licensed CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
• The basilica of Ta’ Pinu standing alone in the fields near Għarb, Gozo, by Diego Delso, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
• A red-and-yellow dgħajsa moored off Senglea, with the yachts and churches of Birgu behind, by Jules Verne Times Two, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
• Two painted boats setting out for the Blue Grotto at Wied iż-Żurrieq, by Godwin Borg, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
• Valletta’s honey-coloured skyline, with the dome of the Carmelite church and the spire of St Paul’s, above the harbour at sunset, by Olga Prystai, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
• A Valletta street of closed timber balconies, with a baroque statue on a corner, by Rhododendrites, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
• The gilded tiers of boxes inside the Manoel Theatre, Valletta, by Otter, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
• The gilded nave of St John’s Co-Cathedral, with Mattia Preti’s painted vault, by Pedro J Pacheco, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.