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Before Valletta existed, the knights lived in Birgu, a small fortified town on a tongue of land in the Grand Harbour.
Look inside, then pay your admission straight to the museum.
Closest first, from where you are now. Times are on foot; tap a route for directions.
Birgu was the knights' first capital, and in 1565 it was the place that held. Fort St Angelo, at its tip, was the command post of the Great Siege; after the victory the town was renamed Città Vittoriosa, the victorious city. Walk the narrow lanes of the Collacchio, where only knights could live, visit the Inquisitor's Palace with its courtroom and cells, and go underground at the Malta at War Museum, in a shelter cut by hand during the bombing of 1940 to 1943. On Good Friday, Birgu's procession is one of the oldest on the island; in autumn, Birgufest switches off the street lights and lights the whole town with candles.
The big moments, and where to see them today.
The great fort at the tip of Birgu, with views over the whole harbour.
The rooms and prison cells of the Roman Inquisition in Malta.
A wartime shelter and the story of the siege of 1940 to 1943.
Ships and the sea in the old naval bakery on the waterfront.
From the airport to the city centre by public transport, then the trains and local lines to the museums.
Lines and timetables change. Check the operator’s website before you travel.
From the temples of Malta to the Wall in Berlin: Europe is one big cultural family. One site to plan your museum days, in your language.
