Malta built almost nothing tall until this century. The skyline was churches and bastions, and a planning rule kept most buildings low.
That changed around St Julian’s and Sliema. There are now four towers over ninety metres, and three of them stand within a mile of each other.
Mercury Tower, St Julian’s
At 122 metres and 32 floors it is the tallest building in Malta. It took the title in 2020 and was finished in 2023.
It was designed by Zaha Hadid Architects and it is the only building on the islands by a practice of that name.
It stands on the site of the old Mercury House telephone exchange, whose stone facade was kept at the base.
It holds a hotel and apartments. The design turns on the contrast between the 1903 facade and the tower above it.
Portomaso Business Tower, St Julian’s
The old record holder, at 97.5 metres over 23 floors. It opened in 2001 and was the tallest thing on the islands for nearly twenty years.
This is the one you can get into.
The lower floors are offices and a shopping level, and the top floor is a bar with a terrace looking over the whole coast.
Going up for a drink costs the price of the drink, which makes it the cheapest high view in Malta.
The Metropolis towers, Gzira
Two residential towers on the Gzira side of the creek, both over ninety metres.
They are private, so there is no way up.
They are the ones that changed the view from Manoel Island and the Ta’ Xbiex waterfront most.
Where to see them from
The best view of the cluster is from across the water.
The Sliema ferry crossing to Valletta gives you the whole skyline in one go, and the Ta’ Xbiex waterfront gives you it at eye level.
From the Upper Barrakka you see them at a distance, behind the older city.
That shows the change better than standing underneath them does.
Why they are all in one place
Height is allowed in designated zones and refused almost everywhere else.
Valletta, Mdina and the village cores are protected, so the towers went where the rules let them go.
The zones sit along the Sliema to St Julian’s coast and around Mrieħel, which is why the skyline changed in two places and nowhere else.
More are approved and not yet built. The count of four will not hold for long.
