10 BEST Places to Visit in Malta in 2026 🇲🇹

Malta may look small on a map, but the second you land here, you realize it punches way above its size. Sitting right in the middle of the Mediterranean, this island has been fought over, built up, and shaped by thousands of years of history, and you can feel that pretty much everywhere you go. But beyond the history, Malta is just simply a fun place to explore. You've got everything from the golden cities, quiet villages, dramatic coastlines, and a mix of cultures that all somehow work together in one tiny country. And in today's video, I'm taking you through the 10 best places to visit across the Maltese islands, from the iconic spots you may or may not already know about, to a few you definitely haven't heard about yet. So come with us as we explore this beautiful island, and these places are not in any specific order from best to worst, so make sure you stick around till the end of this video so you don't miss out on all these incredible gems in Malta. Let's go! Many travelers will arrive to Malta in the morning, but hotel and Airbnb check-in usually isn't until later in the day. So rather than dragging your luggage around the island, store your bags with Bounce and start exploring immediately. So right now, you can actually download the Bounce app, and you can use my special code to get 10% off your first booking, and then find the closest location where you want to store your bags, which is typically going to be close to your Airbnb or hotel, and then you get the whole day back. Number one on the list is to visit Valletta. As one of the smallest capital cities in the world, Valletta might surprise you with just how much it packs into such a compact space. My friends, welcome to the capital of Valletta. Look at this place, the beautiful European streets. It's been a while since I've been in Europe, and oh my gosh, this feels great. Hello! Hello! How we doing? Keef inti? The beautiful view right down here, you get tons of these hilly alleyways. It almost feels like Lisbon, Portugal when you're down here, just because you have all those hills. This is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, loaded with architecture, dramatic harbor views, and centuries of layered history at every turn. Built by the Knights of Saint John in the 16th century, the entire city sits on a fortified peninsula overlooking the Grand Harbor, and walking its steep narrow streets is one of the most atmospheric experiences Malta has to offer. These places right here in Valletta are what people come and see. Look at this, this is just beautiful. It looks brand new yet historic at the same time. That is cool. I mean everyone's just chilling, living it up, having a couple cigs, drinks, fresh fish right there. I mean you can't really beat that. Highlights here include the Upper Baraka Gardens, where you can watch the historic cannon salute fire at noon and 4 p.m. The stunning Saint John's Co-Cathedral, and the breathtaking views from the city's ancient bastions. So right here is a fascinating frame, because when you look there, we've got the old with all of those churches, all of that sandstone, and then out there you have a cruise ship. You have the new contrasted with this whole view, and then over here we have Sliemo with more of the new. And then as you turn this way, we've got an old fort right there. So I think that's going to be an interesting theme we see in Malta. It's just this mix of old and new existing together to give it its own personality. Whether you're there for a few hours or a full day, Valletta rewards slow exploration. Stop for some food and drinks, wander the side streets, and let the city's incredible character reveal itself at its own pace. Number two on the list is to visit St. Julian's, which is one of Malta's most vibrant and energetic areas. It's best known internationally as the island's nightlife capital, but genuinely worth visiting at any time of the day. The area around Spinola Bay is particularly beautiful. A picturesque fishing harbor ringed by restaurants with outdoor terraces overlooking the water, where the pace is relaxed and the views are hard to beat. During the day and into the evening, you'll find beautiful coastal walkways, great cafes, and a buzzing promenade atmosphere that draws both locals and visitors throughout the summer months. And if you do want to experience Malta's famous after dark scene, the Paceville area within St. Julian's is where things come alive. It's one of the liveliest nightlife strips in the whole region. So whatever time of the day you visit, St. Julian's has an energy and a vibe that's unlike anywhere else on the island. Number three on the list is to visit Sliema, which is arguably the most modern and cosmopolitan town in Malta. A busy walkable waterfront area with a long seafront promenade, plenty of shopping, great dining options, and a very different feel from the more historic parts of the island. But here it's modern and I mean you got a Zara, Starbucks over there, we've got all these brand new buildings going up. That sandstone look, I mean it feels completely different. It feels like a different country from one side to the other. The Sliema promenade is one of the best places on the island for an evening stroll with the lit up skyline of Valletta glowing across the water and dozens of restaurants and bars to choose from along the way. The Point shopping mall is located here for anyone who wants to browse international brands or catch a meal in a more modern setting. Sliema is also the departure point for the traditional water taxis that ferry passengers across the harbor to Valletta. All right so we're going to take a quick little boat ride over here with our good man. How we doing? Kipinte Habib. It's just a three-year-old ride that is genuinely one of the most iconic and memorable experiences in all of Malta. It's a great base area and a neighborhood that rewards simply walking and soaking up the everyday pace of Maltese life. Number four on the list is to visit the three cities sitting directly across the Grand Harbor from Valletta. The three cities Vitoriosa, Sanglia, and Kospikua, and thanks for keeping up with my horrible pronunciation, but anyways, are in many ways the most authentically Maltese places you can visit on the entire island and they remain far less touristy than the capital despite being every bit as historically significant. These three fortified harbor towns were actually the original base of the Knights of Saint John before Valletta was even conceived and walking through their honey-colored limestone streets feels like stepping back several hundred years with very few distractions from the modern world. Highlights here include the remarkable Casa Normana, a beautifully restored traditional Maltese house that gives you a real window into life here centuries ago. So this is traditional Maltese in here. Are there any similarities in here to current Maltese houses? Yes, the stone and the way how it's built with the arches. As you can see the stones in the woods. These are the original ones. As well as the stunning waterfronts, fortress walls, and small local piazzas full of character. The contrast between the quiet lived-in streets of the three cities and the grander spectacle of Valletta across the water is striking and the views back toward the capital from the waterfront here are some of the best you'll find anywhere. So don't skip this one. It's genuinely one of the hidden highlights of any Malta trip despite it being right there out in the open. Number five on the list is to visit Marsaschlach, which is a traditional fishing village on the southeast coast of Malta and it is without question one of the most photogenic places on the entire island. So this is Marsaschlach and Christy's dropped us off so we can do a little walk through this place. It is the popular place that people come and explore here in Malta on the weekends for the fish market. Aside from that it's just a quaint little fisherman's town and you can see all the colorful boats here that really give Malta its personality and yeah it's a much smaller and let's say less populated area than Valletta as an example. The harbor is absolutely filled with traditional Maltese fishing boats called luzus painted in vivid reds, yellows, blues, and greens each one bearing the iconic eye of Osiris on the bow for protection at sea. And the combination of color water and old stone waterfront architecture is something you'll want to spend a lot of time photographing. The Sunday morning fish market along the seafront is legendary and well worth timing your visit around but even on a regular weekday the village feels wonderfully alive and authentic. Pull up a chair at one of the waterfront restaurants, order some freshly caught fish or grilled octopus and just exist in the moment. This is old Malta at its very best. So we haven't even gotten to the best part yet in this video but I wanted to share with you a very important travel tip that's going to save you tons of money which is Aerolo. They're an eSIM company in over 200 destinations and countries worldwide. You can type in your next destination let's say for me it'll be Italy and 10 days unlimited data for $33 versus $100 to $150 on top of your normal phone plan back home. So that savings is massive right there and the great part is guys because you're seeing this video today I actually have a special discount code that will get you an additional $3 off using this code right here on screen. Number six on the list is Rabat which is one of Malta's most underrated and least touristed towns. Alright so we're here in Rabat aka the suburb and you can see it's a total vibe here. Everyone's just kind of sitting outside having a little coffee here. Beautiful architecture. It doesn't have that crazy busyness like you'll find over in Valletta. People are just kind of strolling through here relaxing and enjoying the evening. Yeah it's a total vibe. Sitting just outside the ancient walls of Medina in the center of the island and it is absolutely worth exploring on its own merits rather than just treating it as a footnote on the way to its more famous neighbor. It feels like a little European dream over here with those balconies that pop out different colors that makes them unique and just twists and turns. The town has a wonderfully real everyday Maltese character to it. Local bakeries, family-run restaurants. Look at this thing. Alright so we're gonna be trying one of these things out and seeing how good they are. Oh my gosh it's almost noodley in texture. Small neighborhood chapels and streets that genuinely feel like they haven't been arranged for anyone's benefit but the people who actually live there. Beneath the surface, Rabat hides some of the island's most fascinating underground attractions including St. Paul's catacombs, an extraordinary network of early Christian burial chambers carved into the rock. Combine Rabat with a visit to Medina next door and you've got one of the richest and most rewarding half days of sightseeing anywhere in Malta. And speaking of Medina that is number seven on the list known as the silent city. Alright so now we're going to be walking from Rabat into Medina here a pedestrian friendly city with about 300 people living inside of this fortified city. Beautiful city or you could almost call it a village at 300 people and we've got this beautiful walkway that's going to lead us in and let's check this out. Medina is a walled medieval town perched on a hilltop in the heart of Malta and it is one of the most perfectly preserved medieval urban spaces anywhere in the Mediterranean world. Alright and officially we are in Medina. Only a few hundred permanent residents live within its ancient walls which means the atmosphere inside is hushed, timeless and completely removed from the bustle of modern island life. Alright so what you're looking at is a game of thrones scene right now and that's the crazy part about Malta. There's tons of different places like this all over the island where scenes from game of thrones was filmed so you get to be walking in what was once a set and you can feel it. I mean it's the perfect atmosphere for it because it's got that old feeling to it. So when you're walking through this place you'll feel its narrow stone alleyways and that is like going into another century. The views from Medina's bastions are phenomenal. On a clear day you can see across virtually the entire island. Alright we got ourselves a viewpoint from the top of the Medina here and as you can see it gives us views in so many different directions here from those rolling green hills all the way down here. It's a beautiful viewpoint and shows you the strength of the location of Medina this high up because you just have such far visibility over here. And something you won't want to miss is the cathedral, the Palazzo Falsen historic house museum and or a coffee at one of the courtyard cafes tucked inside the old palaces. So take your time here because rushing Medina is doing it a serious disservice. Number eight on the list is to visit Camino Island. This might as well be my favorite place. I think for a number of reasons. Welcome to Malta's third inhabited, slightly inhabited island. Look at this, these land formations are exotic. You can see that little spot where the ship, the little window of the ship right through there and these other little islands. I guess you'd probably have to swim to get to this one. But essentially this is a tiny almost uninhabited island and when I say almost uninhabited, you'll have to watch my full documentary on the main channel when we visit the one single resident who lives there and that makes it no longer an uninhabited island. Do you live here? Yes. Oh wow, so you're one of the three people that lives here? Yes, I am alone now. Really? Yeah. Do you mind if I... There was three but now one of them died and the other one is in Godo. Sorry to hear that they died. But if someone from Malta wanted to move here, it's okay? No, because there is no building over here and cannot build over here till now. Yeah. I don't know what's going to happen in the future. Yeah. But till now all the building it belongs to the government. Oh okay. But anyways, this island sits right in between Malta and Gozo, the two larger islands, and is home to one of the most jaw-droppingly beautiful stretches of water in the entire Mediterranean, the Blue Lagoon. The color of the water here is something that photos genuinely struggle to capture accurately, an almost supernatural turquoise and aquamarine that you simply have to experience in person to fully believe. Getting to Camino requires a short boat ride from either Malta or Gozo and while the Blue Lagoon can get busy in peak summer months, arriving early or visiting in the shoulder season will reward you with an experience that feels close to paradise. But it goes beyond the lagoon. Camino has hiking trails, an old 17th century watch tower, the ruins of a quarantine hospital, and a coastline that's almost entirely undisturbed. As I'm walking around Camino, it's one of these moments where you realize a small change in history would have given this a completely different environment. It's big enough where you could build skyscrapers on it or apartment complexes and nice hotels. You could live here. It has everything. It's surrounded by a beautiful coast. In all angles there are views of the amazing sea over here, yet somehow it was frozen in time from the few people who had once called this home. And somehow it still exists very similar to what it once was. Natural with few structures on it. It's well worth spending the full day rather than just a few hours if you can. And number nine on the list is to take a day trip to Gozo which is Malta's sister island separated from the mainland by a short 25-minute ferry ride from the northern side of Malta. Good news is there actually is a fast ferry from Valletta as well if you don't want to travel all the way to the north side of the island which will take you about 35 to 45 minutes from Saint Julian's slash Valletta area. So we just arrived to Gozo which is the second largest island of the Maltese islands. Three main inhabited islands and this place has about 35,000 people who live here and of course tons of tourists who come through. It is a really beautiful island and the crazy part is they have a different dialect than the mainland in Malta. It's about 70% the same and about 30% different. But Gozo in general it has a completely different character than Malta. Malta is fast paced and a lot of things are happening everywhere. In Gozo things move at a greener quieter more rural pace. The island is absolutely packed with things to see and do so if you want to spend a couple days there you can or just a day trip will suffice. I can put a contact down in the description below or this QR code on screen who can take you for a day trip around the island and you can book through this link which doesn't cost you any extra money. And so yeah you can visit places like the extraordinary temples which are among the oldest freestanding stone structures on earth that predate both Stonehenge and the Egyptian pyramids. The stunning blue hole dive site near Dewarja Bay, the beautiful reddish sand beach at Ramla Bay, the hilltop capital of Victoria with its impressive citadel and the unique underground cave house that is unlike anything else you'll find in the world. So this is the very most watery part of the grotto it's constantly dripping water and these are the stalagmites and the stalactites. So we remember them by stalagmite it has a g so it comes from the ground and stalactite it has a c so it comes from the ceiling. So stalagmite going up stalactite going down. Okay behind you as well Yeah some of them yes. You can take your rental car or moped onto the ferry which makes exploring the whole island at your pace very easy or of course hire that local driver. Gozo deserves at minimum a full day but the longer you can enjoy there the better. And last but not least number 10 on the list is visiting Malija which is located in the far north of Malta actually pretty close to the ferry port that would bring you to Gozo. Malija is one of the island's most charming and scenic towns and it has a noticeably more relaxed village-like atmosphere compared to the busier areas in the south. The town itself sits up on a ridge with sweeping views towards Gozo and Camino and Malija Bay below is one of the largest and most popular sandy beaches on the It's perfect for a long swim and a slow sunny afternoon. The area is home to some great restaurants and cafes many with terraces overlooking the bay and it's also the base for a couple of the north's most interesting attractions including Popeye Village the colorful film set turned family attraction built for the 1980 Robin Williams movie and the Red Tower a beautifully preserved 17th century watchtower with incredible panoramic views across the northern tip of the island. So if you're exploring on a moped around the islands Malija is the perfect place to end a full day riding through the north settle in for dinner as the sun goes down over the bay and you'll understand why people keep coming back to this part of Malta. So I really hope you guys enjoyed this top 10 places to visit I've got a couple other videos that I'll include down in the description below like top 30 things to do in Malta as well as the ultimate three-day itinerary if you have a limited amount of time there I've made all these things to ensure your trip and planning can be the best possible I spent weeks exploring this place so I've got pretty good knowledge on what are the best things to do and I spent a lot of time talking to locals and so thank you guys so much for watching I would greatly appreciate if you guys can hit that like button and subscribe so you don't miss out on any more of our videos both here in Malta and all around the world so we'll see you guys in the nomad guides video