Malta

Malta: Valletta and Marsaxlokk

A baroque capital entirely UNESCO listed, built in under fifteen years by the Knights of St John, then a fishing port with boats painted with protective Phoenician eyes

Malta

Malta: Valletta and Marsaxlokk

A journey far from Gozo and the megalithic temples: Valletta, Malta's capital, entirely UNESCO World Heritage listed, founded and built in a record time of under fifteen years starting in 1566 by the Knights of the Order of St John to fortify the island after the great Ottoman siege of 1565, then Marsaxlokk, a traditional fishing village whose colourful boats known as luzzus still carry a painted eye on their bow, said in a tradition tracing back to the Phoenicians to ward off bad luck at sea.

When

April to Oct

Price

From 1 600€ excl. flights

(based on 2 people sharing)

How long

4 nights

Ideal length

Valletta, the Knights' Capital

Days 1-2

The first chapter unfolds in Valletta, Malta's capital founded in 1566 by Jean de la Valette, Grand Master of the Order of the Knights of St John, in the aftermath of the great Ottoman siege of 1565 that nearly cost the island to the Hospitaller order. Built in a record time of under fifteen years to a rigorously gridded urban plan, exceptional for its time, the entire city was UNESCO World Heritage listed in 1980, a rare distinction granted to a capital in its entirety and one that testifies to the exceptional baroque architectural density concentrated on this peninsula of under one square kilometre.

Day 1

The Barrakka Gardens and the ramparts

A stroll through the Upper Barrakka Gardens, laid out atop Valletta's fortified ramparts, offering a complete panorama over the Grand Harbour.

Day 2

St John's Co-Cathedral

A visit to St John's Co-Cathedral, whose richly decorated baroque interior houses the famous Beheading of St John the Baptist painted by Caravaggio in 1608.

1 / 3

Marsaxlokk, the Village of Protective Eyes

Days 1-2

The road to Marsaxlokk, a traditional fishing village in the island's south-east that has remained largely spared from intensive tourist development, whose harbour holds dozens of colourful boats called luzzus each day, wooden vessels painted bright red, yellow, and green following a tradition unbroken for generations. Each of these boats carries a painted eye on its bow, known locally as the Eye of Osiris or Eye of Horus depending on interpretation, whose origin, according to local tradition, traces back to the Phoenician sailors who settled the Maltese archipelago as early as the first millennium BCE and regarded it as protection against bad luck at sea.

Day 1

The Marsaxlokk fish market

A visit to Marsaxlokk's Sunday market, where local fishermen sell their day's catch directly amid the colourful luzzus moored in the harbour.

Day 2

The Blue Grotto and the southern cliffs

A boat excursion to the Blue Grotto, a series of sea caves where light passing through the turquoise water creates a shimmering phosphorescent play of reflections.