Best Time to Visit Valletta

March to May, October to November

Months to avoid: July to August (extreme heat, cruise crowds peak, prices spike significantly)

Recommended stay: 2-4 days

Plan Valletta for March to May, October to November. Give it 2-4 days. The window to avoid is July to August (extreme heat, cruise crowds peak, prices spike significantly).

What the season gets you

• St. John's Co-Cathedral looks like a plain limestone box from outside, inside, every inch of floor, wall, and ceiling is gilded, carved, or painted, including two Caravaggio originals hanging in a side chapel
• The Three Cities ferry from the Grand Harbour quay costs €2.50 ($2.75) and deposits you in Vittoriosa, where cats outnumber tourists and fishing boats knock against the walls of a fort that predates Valletta itself
• Upper Barrakka Gardens at noon when the cannon fires across the Grand Harbour, a daily ritual since 1566, and the view across to the Three Cities is the best in Malta