Malta put its government in its best buildings and never moved it out. Several of the finest interiors in the city belong to a ministry, a president or a school. The honest answer to “can I go in” is usually no. That is worth knowing before you walk across Valletta to a closed door.
These are the buildings that appear on our map and in guidebooks but do not work as visits. This page explains what each building is and what you can see from outside. The coastal watchtowers are a different matter, because most of those do open, and they have their own page.
A guide gets you inside some of the buildings you can otherwise only see from the street.
The buildings
Auberge de Castille
It is the finest facade in Valletta and it belongs to the Prime Minister. The building was the auberge of the Langue of Castille, Leon and Portugal, and it has housed the head of government since independence. There is no public access at all, which surprises people, because it looks like a museum. You can stand in Castille Place and look at it. The facade is worth the walk, and it looks best in the late afternoon when the light comes across it.
Verdala Palace
This is a fortified summer palace above Buskett. It was built for a Grand Master and it is now an official residence of the President. The palace itself is closed except for occasional state openings. The woodland around it is open to the public. Buskett is the closest thing Malta has to a forest, and the walk up to the palace gates is worth doing on its own.
Mediterranean Conference Centre
This was the Sacra Infermeria, the hospital of the Knights, and its main ward is one of the longest rooms of its kind anywhere. It works as a conference and concert venue now, so the way in is to attend something rather than to visit. Check what is on before you write it off, because the building itself is worth the price of the ticket.
The Wignacourt Aqueduct
Long runs of arches still stand beside the road between Attard and Santa Venera, carrying water that has not flowed for a very long time. There is nothing to enter and nothing to pay. It is one of the few monuments here you meet by accident, usually while stuck in traffic beside it.
Fort Madliena
This is a Victorian fort on the ridge above Baħar iċ-Ċagħaq. The British built it as the eastern end of the Victoria Lines. It is used by the scouts and is not a visitor attraction. The ridge it sits on is walkable, and the view along the Lines is worth the climb.
Fort Chambray
This is the only fortified town the Knights ever started building in Gozo. It sits above Mġarr harbour. It was never finished as a town and has spent years as a development site. What you see depends on the year you visit. The walls and the gate are visible from the road up from the ferry.
Others worth knowing
Fort Delimara
This is a British coastal battery on the Delimara headland past Marsaxlokk. It was built to guard the way into the harbour. It is not open, and it is not signposted. The headland walk that passes it is public and is worth doing for the coast rather than the fort.
The Żejtun Roman Villa
A Roman farmhouse found in the grounds of a school, which is why it is not simply open. Wirt iż-Żejtun runs openings and guided visits on set days through the year. It is a small site and a genuine one, and it is worth timing a visit around rather than turning up for.
Why we do not print opening hours here
Several of these open a few days a year, run by volunteers, and the dates move. Printing hours we cannot keep up to date would send people across the island to a locked gate. We name the organisation that holds each building so you can check with them. Where a building has real, regular opening, it is on the museums page rather than this one.