The Three Cities sit on the far side of the Grand Harbour, directly opposite Valletta. Most visitors look at them from the Barrakka Gardens and never cross. They are older than Valletta and the ferry over takes about five minutes.
Which three
Birgu, also called Vittoriosa. Senglea, also called Isla.
Cospicua, also called Bormla. Each has two names because one is the older Maltese name and the other was given later.
Locals mostly use Birgu, Isla and Bormla.
The Knights lived here before Valletta existed
When the Knights arrived in 1530 they based themselves at Birgu, because it already had a harbour and a fort. Birgu and Senglea took the worst of the 1565 siege and held out. Valletta was only built afterwards, and the Knights moved across in 1571.
So the streets in Birgu are medieval in layout, narrower and less regular than Valletta’s grid. Fort St Angelo stands at the end of the point.
What is there now
The Vittoriosa waterfront is a marina, with large yachts moored against the old warehouses. Behind it the lanes are residential and quiet. There is a good deal to walk into, including the Inquisitor’s Palace, which is one of the few of its kind left anywhere.
Senglea has the better view. The point of it, Gardjola Gardens, looks straight back at Valletta and down both sides of the harbour.
The dockyard made it a wartime target
The dockyard was here, so the area was a target through the Second World War and a lot of it was flattened. Some of what you walk past is rebuilt. Cospicua took the most damage of the three.
Getting across
The harbour ferry runs from below the Barrakka Gardens in Valletta and lands at the Birgu waterfront. It is cheap, frequent and the crossing itself is worth the fare. Buses also go round the head of the harbour if the sea is rough.
