Malta Central is built on a mix of our own research and a small number of open and licensed data sources. Where a source asks to be credited, it is credited here, under the licence it is used with.
Weather
Two sources, because they are good at different things, and the site uses each for what it is good at.
Which source we use for what
- Conditions now
- Live observations from OpenWeatherMap, refreshed every ten minutes for three points across the islands. A forecast written yesterday is not an observation. The beach ranking depends on what the wind is doing now, not what it was expected to do.
- The days ahead
- The multi-day forecast comes from MET Norway, the Norwegian Meteorological Institute, used under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 licence and refreshed hourly.
- How it reaches you
- Both are fetched by our server, cached there and served from our own domain. Neither provider is queried by your browser, and neither of them learns anything about you from your visit.
Maps
Map tiles are © OpenStreetMap contributors, used under the Open Database Licence. Unlike the weather, tiles are requested by your browser directly, which is disclosed in the privacy policy.
Feasts and public holidays
Malta’s fourteen public holidays are a matter of law. Village feast dates are compiled from parish sources including the Archdiocese of Malta. They are checked by hand before publication, because a date that is wrong by a week is worse than no date.
Beaches
Coordinates, the direction each bay faces and the distance wind travels over open water are our own compilation. They are calculated for each bay and each wind direction. The shelter ranking is derived from those figures rather than from anyone’s list of favourites.
Typefaces
Set in Anton, Fraunces, Inter, Source Serif 4 and IBM Plex Mono, all open-source and self-hosted. Nothing is loaded from a font service, so reading this page tells no one anything.
Photography
We use free-to-use sources first, meaning photographs whose licence permits commercial use. Where a picture comes from anywhere else, it is credited here by name. Most files also record the photographer and the source, so a licence can be checked again later. A small number of images carry no credit because none was required.
The homepage cards cross-fade between three photographs each. All nine are from Pexels under the Pexels licence, which is free for commercial use and does not require attribution. We credit them anyway.
Homepage photographs
- Visiting
- Golden Bay, Mellieħa, by Efrem Efre. Ramla l-Ħamra from above, Gozo, by simonedna. The Blue Lagoon, Comino, by Ricardo Oliveira.
- Moving here
- A narrow street in Mdina, by Ivan Drazic. Two Maltese streets with traditional balconies, both by Alyona Nagel.
- Living here
- Lanterns over a Valletta street, by Jiri Dockal. A busy Valletta street, by Denisa Lesniakova. A narrow Valletta street, by vlasceanu.
Reference page photographs
- First time in Malta
- Coastal rock formations by Sora Noao. Coastline at dusk by Gonzalo Mendiola. Luzzu boats at Marsaxlokk by Yuksel Ozdemir. All three from Pexels.
- Best time to visit
- Winter light on Valletta limestone by Gonzalo Mendiola. Mdina lanes in spring by Alexandru Taradaciuc. A bay at peak summer by Valentina Besker. A calm bay in early autumn by Michael Pointner.
- How many days do you need
- Valletta rooftops by Polina. The Gozo countryside by Girlvsglobe86. The Blue Lagoon in Comino by negativespace. A coastal cliff path by Egor Kunovsky.
- Itineraries
- Boats in the Grand Harbour by Pham Ngoc Anh. Mdina at dusk by Zowie Green. A limestone coastal arch by Efrem Efre. An open air market by vlasceanu.
- Trip budget and costs
- A bay in high summer by Michael Pointner. Cafe tables at Marsaxlokk by Joe Ambrogio. Mġarr Harbour in Gozo by X1ntao ZHOU. The rocky shore below Valletta by Zowie Green.
- Know before you go
- A sunlit Valletta street by Jafar Sekali. Sun on limestone by Anne-marie. The stone pier at Sliema by Luana Scorsoni. Waves at Golden Bay by Valentina Bešker.
- Visas and entry
- Passport and boarding passes by Татьяна. A departure hall by nappy. An airport terminal by Abdiel Hernandez Villegas. A Valletta alley by Ines M.
- Malta for cruise passengers
- A ship below the bastions by Efrem Efre. The Grand Harbour from the Saluting Battery by Kristina Paukshtite. Birgu waterfront by Philipp Schwarz. The Mdina gate by Mihai Vlasceanu.
- Malta with kids
- A family on the shoreline by stayhereforu. A sandy bay by Vincent Rivaud. A cobbled alleyway by Joe Ambrogio. An evening street by Alyona Nagel.
- Malta with dogs
- A dog on the beach by Nothing Ahead. Walking at sunset by Aurélie Nateba Studio. A Maltese marina by Valentina Bešker. The rocky coast by Lipot Repaszky.
- Malta solo
- St Julian’s waterfront by Ádám Pálvölgyi. A diver in a blue cave by JUN HO LEE. A cafe alley by Alyona Nagel. The southern coast by Polina.
- Accessible Malta
- The Grand Harbour by Valentina Bešker. The Sliema promenade and the Sliema coast, both by Luana Scorsoni. A stepped Mdina alley by Mihai Vlasceanu.
- Malta on a budget
- A quiet promenade by Angelos Lamprakopoulos. Pastries by Saveurs Secretes. Swimming from the rocks by Medi Rushiti. A stone gateway by Joe Ambrogio.
- Weather
- The coastline by Kira Yan. Għar Qawqla in Gozo by Ludvig Hedenborg. A turquoise bay by Alyona Nagel.
- Museums and historic sites
- St John’s Co-Cathedral and a painted church ceiling, both by The Daphne Lens. The Caravaggio by Pham Ngoc Anh. The Gozo fortifications by id23.
- The outdoors
- Dingli Cliffs and a spring countryside path, both by Valentina Bešker. The coastal path by Georgi Ubinov. Golden hour by Alyona Nagel.
- Temples and prehistory
- Megalithic stonework by Alyona Nagel, from Pexels. The three named sites are credited separately below, because their licence requires it.
- Things to do with kids
- A playground by Nguyen Duc Toan. Popeye Village by Mihai Vlasceanu. Harbour cannons by Pham Ngoc Anh. A coastal village by Denisa Lesniakova.
- Free things to do
- The Upper Barrakka by Efrem Efre. Fireworks by Dajana Reçi. Fortifications by Uğurcan Özmen. Stone arches by Anne-marie.
- Rainy day ideas
- A church interior by The Daphne Lens. The Lower Barrakka by Rafał Bubała. Courtyard dining by Kristina Paukshtite. A market by Fer ID.
- Nightlife
- The skyline by Angelos Lamprakopoulos. A lit alleyway by Rolf Gremberghoven. The marina and the Auberge de Castille, both by Tom Fisk.
- Film locations
- Popeye Village by Pho Tomass. Mdina by Frosa Katsis. The Mdina walls by Griselda Belba. The Blue Lagoon by X1ntao ZHOU.
- Getting around
- Airport interiors by Bingqian Li, Mike Mijares and Ekaterina Belinskaya. Mġarr Harbour by Anne-marie. Ferries and a Maltese harbour, both by X1ntao ZHOU. Roads and streets by Polina, Scott Hayward, Efrem Efre and max pryer.
- About Malta
- The Maltese flag by Lazar Gugleta. The coast at Xghajra by Michael Teixeira. A Valletta street by Valentina Bešker. The Mosta dome by Daciana Cristina Visan.
- Transfers, driving and parking
- A white taxi and a wet street, both by Lorenzo Messina. A Valletta street sign and a street with a church, both by Alyona Nagel. The Kalkara roundabout by Polina. A narrow street by NITIN CHAUHAN. Parked cars by Atlantic Ambience. The Exit from Valletta sign by kwnos Iv. A car park by Takeshi Arai. Victoria Gate by Pho Tomass.
- Where to stay
- Sliema by Efrem Efre. St Julian’s by Matthew Padilla and Ivan Dražić. Valletta by The Daphne Lens. Gozo and harbour views by Anne-marie and Ivars. Pools by Ahmet ÇÖTÜR and Grbr Snts. Balconies by Mihai Vlasceanu. Streets and bays by Alyona Nagel.
- Section pages and budget stays
- A hostel dorm by Ketut Subiyanto. St Paul’s Bay by H. H. Maltese buildings and the Valletta waterfront by Efrem Efre. Accessibility photographs by Gustavo Fring and DĀVΆ GΆRCIΆ. Streets and shoreline by Alyona Nagel. Valletta at sunset by Griselda Belba. The coastline by Nadiia Astakhova. Marsaxlokk by Dániel Csík and Karolina. A narrow street by Joe Ambrogio. An apartment facade by The Daphne Lens. A town from the air by Pho Tomass.
- Activities and hidden gems
- Underwater photography by Harvey Clements and Maël BALLAND. Gozo and Maltese cliffs by Nadiia Astakhova, Nikki Shrestha and Alyona Nagel. The Blue Lagoon by Scott Hayward, Mihai Vlasceanu, Berglind Kristinsdóttir and X1ntao ZHOU. Watchtowers by Valentina Bešker, Polina, GirlvsGlobe86, Simone Dinoia, Dariusz Staniszewski, Alisa Skripina and Karolina. Salt pans by Jiří Dočkal, The Daphne Lens and Angelos Lamprakopoulos. Boats by Kristina Paukshtite and M Athikur Rahman. A kayaker by Alex Ugolkov.
- Eat and drink
- A seaside terrace by gülsüm. A red-fronted cafe by Berglind Kristinsdóttir. Bakery shelves by Ervasa and wal_172619. A farmers market by Airam Dato-on. Breads and pastries by Natalia Olivera, Lauren Heaton and Joan Jaimes Lara. A rustic pot by Karolina Grabowska. A beachside pastry by Francesco Querente. An octopus dish by Raul Ling. Seaside dining by max pryer and Wendy Wei.
- Eat and drink, continued
- Valletta streets by Michael Pointner and Alyona Nagel. Drinks by Darlene Alderson, Rohan Jahagirdar, Nguyễn Hoàng Văn and Đan Thy Nguyễn Mai. Markets by Airam Dato-on, Magda Ehlers and Annaëlle Quionquion. Cooking and wine by Zain Abba and Juan Vargas. Pizza ovens by Katie Barget and Nadin Sh. Brunch by Aykut Aktemur and Viridiana Rivera. Bread by JJ Jordan. Maltese coast by Lilia Dansh and Scott Hayward. Dips by Denys Gromov and Anat Landa. Fine dining by Szymon Shields and Filipp Romanovski. A plated lunch by Jordan Rushton.
- What is on
- Maltese festa decorations by Anne-marie and Alyona Nagel. Fireworks by Phúc Phạm and Toni Seyfert. Carnival by Fran Ortegon and Drinu Cutajar. Holy Week processions by Hans Town Kun and Hugo Martínez. Jazz by cottonbro studio and Giona Mason. Night views by Ayco World, Tom Fisk and Boris Hamer.
- Living in Malta
- Paperwork and offices by cottonbro studio, Kampus Production, kaboompics.com and El Jundi. Banking by Anna Tarazevich. Healthcare by Juan Moccagatta. Schools by kimmi jun and Mehmet Turgut Kirkgoz. Keys and homes by Gustavo Fring and Kindel Media. Moving by SHVETS production and Blue Bird. Remote work by Sami Abdullah. Utilities by Connor Scott McManus and Robert So. Families by Alexander Mass and RDNE Stock project. Books by Leeloo The First and Arturo Añez.
- Book and hire
- Scooters by Wendy Wei and Kader D. Kahraman. Guided groups by Valentin Ivantsov and Tahir Xəlfəquliyev. Yachts by Viktor Färber and Çisel Bozar. Ticket queues by Maxim Titov and zhang kaiyv. Business photographs by Bia Limova and Atlantic Ambience. Watersports by Zeca Souza, Asad Photo Maldives and Roderick Salatan.
- Republic Street on a summer afternoon
- “Valletta, Republic Street” by Cosal, from Wikimedia Commons, used under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 licence. Cropped, resized and converted to WebP; not otherwise altered.
- The bus photograph
- “Malta Public Transport BUS 837, Otokar Kent C” by Kk70088, from Wikimedia Commons, used under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 licence. Resized and converted to WebP; not otherwise altered.
The temple photographs
- Why they are credited
- Three photographs on the temples page come from Wikimedia Commons under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 licence. That licence requires us to name the author, link the licence and say that we changed the file. Each was resized and converted to WebP; nothing else was altered, and the adapted images remain under the same licence.
- Ħaġar Qim
- Photographed by Diego Delso.
- Mnajdra
- Photographed by Simon Burchell.
- Ġgantija, Gozo
- Photographed by Diego Delso.
- The current bus fleet
- Four photographs of Malta Public Transport buses by Kk70088, taken in October 2024, used under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0. Resized and converted to WebP; not otherwise altered.
- Valletta bus terminus
- Photographed by Continentaleurope, used under Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0.
- The Gozo ferry
- Photographed by HH58, used under Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0.
EXIF data is stripped on import and images are re-encoded before publication, so nothing carries a location or camera history it did not need to.
Statistics
Population and area figures come from Malta’s National Statistics Office, from its release of 9 July 2026 covering the position at the end of 2025. Third-party sites often quote lower numbers taken from older international estimates, so we use the national figures and date them.
Everyday schedules
The waste collection rounds follow the national schedule published at wastecollection.mt. The register of pharmacies open on Sundays and public holidays is held by the Malta Medicines Authority. Both are checked daily and the time of the last check is shown on the page itself.
Homepage hero photographs
The homepage hero rotates through twenty-five places and subjects. Twenty-four of the photographs come from Wikimedia Commons and are used under the licence named against each one. The last one reuses a Pexels photograph credited further down this page.
- Għajn Tuffieħa Bay, by Rhododendrites, under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- The Grand Harbour from the Saluting Battery, by TerryDOtt, under CC BY 4.0.
- A bus at the Valletta terminus, by Kk70088, under CC BY 4.0.
- The Gozo ferry leaving Mġarr, by HH58, under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Pastizzi, by Renata Apan, under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Fishing boats at Marsaxlokk, by Tony Hisgett, under CC BY 2.0.
- A dgħajsa below Fort St Angelo, by Mario L Borg, under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Sunset over the coast, by JosephAmodio, under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Mdina from the air, by R Muscat, under CC BY-SA 2.0.
- The Blue Lagoon, Comino, by Frank Vincentz, under CC BY-SA 3.0.
- The Cittadella, Victoria, from the air, by StefanM76, under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Rdum tal-Vigarju at sunset, by Marika Caruana, under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Saint Agatha’s Tower, Mellieħa, by Nenea hartia, under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- The submerged Christ statue off Comino, by Michaela Yos Niki Loxa, under CC BY 4.0.
- Valletta from the air, by Dion Hinchcliffe, under CC BY-SA 2.0.
- The salt pans at Ix-Xwejni, Gozo, by Eric Bézine, under CC BY-SA 3.0.
- Spinola Bay, St Julian’s, by Diego Delso, under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Fireworks over St Paul’s Bay, by Frank Vincentz, under CC BY-SA 3.0.
- Ħaġar Qim from the air, by FritzPhotography, under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- St Peter’s Pool, Marsaxlokk, by Frank Vincentz, under CC BY-SA 3.0.
- The Blue Grotto, Qrendi, by Noport, under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- The nave of St John’s Co-Cathedral, Valletta, by Georg Karl Ell, under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Popeye Village and Anchor Bay, Mellieħa, by Frank Vincentz, under CC BY-SA 3.0.
- Valletta from Ta’ Xbiex at dusk, by Boguslaw Garbacz, under CC BY 3.0.
Corrections
If a credit here is wrong, missing or attributed to the wrong holder, tell us and we will fix it.
Last verified
Photographs from Wikimedia Commons
Stock libraries cover Malta poorly and cover Maltese food barely at all, so several photographs here come from Wikimedia Commons under Creative Commons licences. Attribution is a condition of those licences rather than a courtesy, so each photographer is named below. Every file was resized and converted to WebP and nothing else about it was changed. The originals can be found on Wikimedia Commons under the titles recorded in our image credits file.
The photograph of rain in Valletta on the driving page is by Continentaleurope, from Wikimedia Commons, under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 licence. It was resized and converted to WebP.
- Pastizzi in Rabat
- Kritzolina, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Ftira with tuna, Marsaxlokk
- Kritzolina, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Homemade ġbejniet tal-bżar
- Simon Cutajar, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Homemade bigilla
- Silvana Bugeja, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Kinnie bottle and glass
- Rhododendrites, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Cisk Lager
- Pansebert, CC0
- Maltese platter, Qrendi
- Benreis, CC BY 3.0
- Wignacourt Tower, St Paul’s Bay
- Berthold Werner, CC BY-SA 3.0
- St Agatha’s Tower, Mellieħa
- Nenea hartia, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Santa Marija Tower, Comino
- Dreizung, CC BY 3.0
- Dwejra Tower, Gozo
- Simongozo, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Auberge de Castille, Valletta
- Diego Delso, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Verdala Palace above Buskett
- Frank Vincentz, CC BY-SA 3.0
- Wignacourt Aqueduct
- Continentaleurope, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Fort Chambray, Għajnsielem
- Karelj, CC BY-SA 3.0
- The Great Ward of the Holy Infirmary
- Rhododendrites, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Fort Madliena
- Continentaleurope, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Ġgantija temples, Xagħra
- Diego Delso, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Ta’ Kola Windmill, Xagħra
- Joerpictures, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Rabbit stew, It-Tokk, Victoria
- Benreis, CC BY 3.0
- Spaghetti biż-żalza tal-fenek
- Simon Cutajar, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Mater Dei Hospital
- Johan Pihlemark, CC BY-SA 3.0
- Sliema Creek and its apartment blocks
- Frank Vincentz, CC BY-SA 3.0
- Republic Street, Valletta
- Txllxt TxllxT, CC BY-SA 4.0
- The Parliament building, Valletta
- Frank Vincentz, CC BY-SA 3.0
- University of Malta campus, Msida
- Christian Camenzuli, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Giovanni Mamo Street, Birkirkara
- Alan C. Bonnici, CC BY-SA 3.0
- Gżira and Manoel Island
- Frank Vincentz, CC BY-SA 3.0
- Sliema promenade at Fond Ghadir
- Txllxt TxllxT, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Upper Barrakka Gardens, Valletta
- Diego Delso, CC BY-SA 4.0
- A street in Balzan
- Continentaleurope, CC BY-SA 4.0
- The Mosta dome above the rooftops
- JonasS, CC BY-SA 3.0
- A luzzu at Marsaxlokk
- Vlad beu, Public domain
- Public park at Għar Lapsi
- Frank Vincentz, CC BY-SA 3.0
- The Grand Harbour from Valletta
- TerryDOtt, CC BY 4.0
- A busy Valletta street
- Mike McBey, CC BY 2.0
- Holy Week procession
- KNOW MALTA by Peter Grima, CC BY-SA 2.0
- Fish stalls at the Marsaxlokk market
- Freezingphotons, CC BY-SA 4.0
- A fish stall at Marsaxlokk
- Kritzolina, CC BY-SA 4.0
- The wall of the Ġgantija temples
- Diego Delso, CC BY-SA 4.0
- The Mnajdra temples
- Docrgd, CC BY 4.0
- A windsurfer on open water
- dimitrisvetsikas1969, CC0
- Meridiana vineyard, Ta’ Qali
- Frank Vincentz, CC BY-SA 3.0
- A tour boat in the Blue Grotto
- Wittylama, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Inside Is-Suq tal-Belt, Valletta
- Benreis, CC BY-SA 4.0
- A Valletta street at night
- Angie Balzan, CC BY-SA 4.0
- A street in Rabat
- Alan C. Bonnici, CC BY-SA 3.0
- Merchants Street, Valletta
- Frank Vincentz, CC BY-SA 3.0
- St Anne Primary School, Marsaskala
- Dans, CC BY-SA 4.0
- A ftira with tuna, San Tumas
- Kritzolina, CC BY-SA 4.0
- A Good Friday procession
- Bellina 09, CC BY-SA 4.0
- The Risen Christ on Easter Sunday
- SebastianSaid28, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Mġarr ix-Xini, Gozo
- Diego Delso, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Fort Manoel from the ferry
- Frank Vincentz, CC BY-SA 3.0
- Ġbejniet on a plate
- Simon Cutajar, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Imqaret
- Simon Cutajar, CC BY-SA 4.0
- A classroom of desks
- knittymarie, CC BY-SA 2.0
- A sliced loaf
- Veganbaking.net, CC BY-SA 2.0
- A band club lit for the feast
- Beland1861, CC BY-SA 4.0
- A stage being built at the MFCC, Ta’ Qali
- Continentaleurope, CC BY-SA 4.0
- The basilica of Ta’ Pinu
- Berthold Werner, CC BY-SA 3.0
- The Manoel Theatre auditorium
- Bellina 09, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Teatru Astra, Victoria
- Joseolgon, CC BY 4.0
- St James Cavalier, Valletta
- Continentaleurope, CC BY-SA 4.0
- The courtyard at Palazzo Falson, Mdina
- Edelmauswaldgeist, CC0
- The dining room at Casa Rocca Piccola
- Edelmauswaldgeist, CC0
- The main stairs at the National Library
- Continentaleurope, CC BY-SA 3.0
- St George’s Basilica, Victoria
- Zairon, CC BY-SA 3.0
- The Upper Barrakka arcade at dusk
- Diego Delso, CC BY-SA 4.0
- The inlet at Wied iż-Żurrieq
- Averater, CC BY-SA 3.0
- Inside St John’s Co-Cathedral
- Simon Burchell, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Comino from the air
- Martin Galea De Giovanni, CC BY-SA 4.0
- The clifftop at Dingli
- Briangotts, CC BY-SA 3.0
- The cave at Għar Dalam
- Jean-Christophe Benoist, CC BY 2.5
- A fisherman painting a luzzu
- Renata Apan, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Mdina cathedral at night
- Gary James Ghirxi, CC BY-SA 4.0
- A pastizz and a Kinnie
- Kritzolina, CC BY-SA 4.0
- The Valletta skyline at dusk
- Martin Furtschegger, CC BY 3.0
- Ġgantija, Xagħra
- BoneA, CC BY-SA 4.0
- The painted eyes on a luzzu
- Renata Apan, CC BY-SA 4.0
- The Gozo salt pans
- Gerd Eichmann, CC BY-SA 4.0
- The Three Cities from the air
- Jeanetz, CC BY-SA 4.0
- The Red Tower at dusk
- Bellina 09, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Cart ruts at Clapham Junction
- Kritzolina, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Spiral carving at Tarxien
- Berthold Werner, CC BY-SA 3.0
- The Cittadella at dusk
- Gino Galea, CC BY-SA 4.0
- The Saluting Battery cannons
- Kritzolina, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Fort St Angelo at night
- Afarrugi, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Freshly fried imqaret
- Simon Cutajar, CC BY-SA 4.0
- The wreck of the tug Rozi
- BusuttilV, CC BY-SA 4.0
- The Blue Hole at Dwejra
- Mrcrycrash, CC BY-SA 4.0
Photographs from Flickr
A few pictures on the site show things that are not Maltese in themselves, such as a classroom or a loaf of bread. Those come from Flickr under Creative Commons licences that allow commercial use. Each one was resized and converted to WebP and nothing else about it was changed.
- A classroom with a chalkboard
- cdsessums, CC BY 2.0
- Desks in an empty classroom
- Lauren Manning, CC BY 2.0
- A sliced gluten free loaf
- @joefoodie, CC BY 2.0
- People outside a café in Malta
- zoetnet, CC BY 2.0