Under the bastions at the tip of Valletta there is a tunnel complex cut into the rock.
The Lascaris War Rooms were the underground headquarters that ran the air defence of Malta, and later the invasion of Sicily.
What happened down there
Plotters moved markers across a map table as raids came in, and fighter squadrons were sent up from what the table showed.
In 1943 the rooms were used to plan and direct Operation Husky, the Allied landing on Sicily.
Eisenhower and Montgomery both worked from here. So did Admiral Cunningham, who commanded the naval side.
The complex stayed in use after the war and was later a NATO communications post.
What you see now
The rooms have been put back to how they were, with the map tables, the switchboards and the plotting boards in place.
It is cool underground whatever the weather above, which makes it one of the better stops in August.
Finding the entrance
The way in is below the Upper Barrakka Gardens, near the Saluting Battery, and it is easy to walk straight past.
Look for the sign on the ramp below the gardens rather than at street level.
Allow about an hour. There are steps and narrow passages, so it does not suit everyone.
What to pair it with
- The Saluting Battery is directly above it and the gun fires at noon.
- Fort St Elmo and the National War Museum are at the far end of the same city, about 20 minutes on foot.
- The Barrakka Lift and the Three Cities ferry are two minutes away.
Doing the war rooms, then the gun, then the lift down to the ferry is a straightforward half day.
Other wartime sites
Malta was one of the most heavily bombed places of the war, and there is more of it left than most people expect.
The Malta at War Museum in Birgu has a large public shelter cut into the rock beneath it. Many villages still have their own shelters, some open on request.
