What to do and see in Valletta, Island of Malta: The Best Historic Sites

An innovative museum concept based on Augmented Reality, housed in one of the most iconic buildings in Valletta - The Sacra Infermeria. A visit to the museum will transport you back in time, whereby you can interact with the main characters and be part of history. A fun and educational experience for everyone.

Built between 1573 and 1577, this cathedral contains two masterpieces by Caravaggio. St John’s Co-Cathedral is a gem of Baroque art and architecture. It was built as the conventual church for the Knights of St John. This church is till this very day an important shrine and a sacred place of worship. It is also a venue for cultural events. The construction was commissioned in 1572 by Grand Master Jean de la Cassière to serve as the conventual church of the Knights of Malta and designed by the Maltese military architect Gerolamo Cassar. The church was dedicated to St John the Baptist, the patron saint of the Order. The oratory holds the biggest and only signed masterpiece by Caravaggio. St John’s church is administered by the St John’s Co-Cathedral Foundation responsible for the religious cultural heritage of the monument.

If you fancy seeing something a little bit different when visiting Valletta go to Casa Rocca Piccola. Often described as a ‘living museum’ it is the only privately owned palace open to the public in the city. Built over 400 years ago for a Knight of Malta, Don Pietro La Rocca it is now the ancestral home of a Maltese Noble family. On your tour the guides will point out interesting things to see such as an 18th Century golden Sedan Chair. There are literally hundreds of magnificent objects to see including modern paintings interspersed with the ancestral portraits of the Marquises de Piro and the Barons of Budach. You will also see a network of tunnels cut out from the rock under Casa Rocca Piccola which were used as Bomb Shelters in World War 2. Over 100 people sheltered here from the Nazi bombs that poured on Valletta. To finish your tour in the cellars of the house there is a delightful Sicilian restaurant called La Giara.

The Lascaris War Rooms consist of an underground complex of tunnels and chambers that housed the War Headquarters from where the defence of Malta was conducted during the Second World War.This secret complex contained operations rooms for each of the fighting services from where not only the air defence of Malta was coordinated, but also some of the greatest battles fought in the Mediterrean during the war. In July 1943, the Lascaris War Rooms served as the advance headquarters for the Invasion of Sicily (Operation Husky)by Generals Eisenhower, Montgomery, Alexander and Clark and Air Marshal Tedder and Admiral Cunningham. It went on being used under different forms by both the British services and Nato up to 1977.

The Barrakka Panoramic Lifts are located inside the ditch of the fortifications of Valletta, and it links Lascaris Wharf to St. Peter and Paul Bastion and the Upper Barrakka Gardens. It allows access from the Grand Harbour to the Valletta city. It was first constructed in 2012, on the site of a previous lift (1905 - 1973). In 1905, the lift was constructed out of steel, and it was 60 m high. The lift had two cabins that could hold 12 passengers and tickets cost ½d for military personnel and 1d for other clients. Malta's independence in 1964, took a toll on the lifts as a significant amount of the lift's clients were British military personnel and employees. There were significant losses, stopped operation in 1973 and lifts were demolished in 1983. Plans to construct similar steel structure lifts initiate in 2004, were designed by the local firm Architecture Project and inaugurated in 2012. The lifts facilitate access to the historic centre of Valletta to/from the Grand Harbour.