Valletta, Malta’s capital and a UNESCO protected site, is like an outdoor museum. Its Baroque architecture, from its Crusader foundation nearly five hundred years ago, is indeed an experience to behold. Over the years, kings, presidents, artists, and poets have come to Valletta, now the permanent seat of the Maltese government.

With a population of about 9,000, Valletta is hardly more than a village. Due to its tremendous concentration of historic buildings, quaint cafés, and wine bars, however, it is a major tourist attraction in Malta. Home of the majestic St John’s Co-Cathedral, Valletta is blessed with impressive bastions and a trove of priceless paintings. It also gives us a picture of Malta’s stunning Grand Harbor, considered by many people to be the most beautiful in the Mediterranean. Both Grand Harbor and Marsamxett Harbor on the opposite side of the city feature land jutting in the bay, ideal for anchorage.

Valletta's unusual setting is used for numerous cultural events, from English drama to operatic concerts by leading singers.

A busy commercial area by day, the city slows down at night. With the hotel district and beaches in neighboring towns, there is little to do but take advantage of its quiet and calm. An evening stroll allows one to admire the fortified city's beauty enhanced by gentle lighting: the bastion walls, the crowded old limestone buildings, the wood balconies, and the majestic churches.