The best museums Malta

With its two bell towers and dome, the cathedral, dedicated to Saint Paul and Saint Peter, is located where Saint Paul is said to have converted the Roman governor Publius, who later became the first bishop of Malta, to Christianity. Originally, there was a small church there, dating from the 4th century, which Roger of Sicily had enlarged when he arrived in 1090, and you can still see the old wooden door of the time, now integrated into the current building and leading to the sacristy. Enlarged in the 15th century, the church was entirely rebuilt by Lorenzo Gafà after the earthquake of 1693, then consecrated a cathedral in 1702 and dedicated to Saint Paul. The monumental façade, with its mixture of vertical and horizontal lines, is in the purest Baroque Romanesque style. It is flanked by the coat of arms of the great masters Perellos y Roccaful and Palmieri. Like the Saint-Paul de La Valette cocathedral, its floor is covered with marble slabs from the tombs of great masters and other personalities, the most recent dating from 1996. It is located to the right of the cathedral, in Saint Paul Street.

Inside, during the visit, special mention should be made of the baptismal font, to the left of the main entrance door, the entrance door to the sacristy and a very beautiful painting by Mattia Preti. Be careful, during the visit, to follow the progress of the booklet, you must leave from the central entrance door of the cathedral and not from the one of the visit.

The cathedral museum. Baroque in style, you will find exposed Dürer's woodcuts, religious paintings and ancient scores of sacred music. Just next door is the 18th century Archbishops' Palace, built on the site of a 14th century building.

This magnificent museum boasts a spectacular collection, providing a fascinating insight into the prehistory and early history of the Maltese islands. With artefacts ranging from Malta's Neolithic period (5900-2500 BC) to the early Phoenician period (^8th-6th century BC), the National Museum of Archaeology will undoubtedly be your first port of call for understanding the richness of the land you are about to visit, and learning more about its inhabitants and their ancestors.
The first stage of the visit, the first floor is dedicated to the Neolithic period. It features the first tools and vessels used by prehistoric man to facilitate his daily tasks. Representations of animal and human figures not only show the advanced artistic skills of the first islanders, but also give us a glimpse into their daily lives. These objects come from various Maltese sites that have been classified as Unesco World Heritage Sites, such as the megalithic temples and the hypogeum of Ħal Saflieni. This includes such illustrious objects as "The Sleeping Lady", the Venus of Malta and the colossal statue from the prehistoric complex of Hal-Tarxien.
The upper floor currently houses sections from the Bronze Age and the Phoenician period. The majority of objects range in size from small ritual vessels to funerary urns and amphorae. Phoenician objects in glass and gold, as well as an impressively large terracotta sarcophagus, also feature prominently in this section. The National Museum, housed in the Auberge de Provence, is a fine example of the Baroque style that flourished in Malta under the Knights of the Order of St. John. Dating from 1571, it housed the Provençal-speaking knights. Particularly noteworthy is the upper floor, which houses the Grand Salon, a uniquely large painted room with decorations dating from the early 1800s. This space is currently used for national exhibitions and events such as conferences, fashion shows, photo shoots and TV shoots.
The National Museum of Archaeology also organizes regular temporary exhibitions designed to showcase the objects in its storerooms.

This museum was devoted to the life of the Maltese during the Second World War during which the bombing was particularly deadly on the island. It is housed in a British military bunkhouse in the th century in the city walls. Completely renovated, it has seen its collections in 9 galleries, each dedicated to a period of war, bringing together 10 000 objects, weapons, etc. You will discover an exhibition of military objects and daily daily life. You can also browse the parts and tunnels (a veritable 1 km labyrinth) dug by hand by men, women, but also children and old people. Hundreds of people réfugiaient when the bombs fell. You will learn how they were dug and installed (aeration system, etc.) and the life they were driving (objects, back-back sounds).

Opened in 1975, it is located in a former powder magazine of the fort of Saint-Elme, transformed in 1853 into a weapons room during its expansion by the British. If it allows you to visit the fort of Saint-Elme, it also exposes the history of the island in a chronological way. The visit begins with the discovery of prehistoric objects from the Bronze Age (2500 BC). Then you will be able to watch different video projections that approach a little-known aspect of this history: the different invasions of the island: the Western Roman Empire, the Byzantines, the Arabs, the Normans, the Angevins, the Catalans etc. The second block deals with the glorious Maltese military past: the Great Siege and the decisive role of Fort St. Elmo, with pictures of illustrations, armor, crossbows, cannonballs. Then comes the block dedicated to the story of the two wars of the twentieth century. Large photographic panels and many objects present the military operations from 1940 to 1943. In addition, you will notice the Faith biplane, one of the three planes that constituted Malta's only defense at the beginning of the war, General Eisenhower's Jeep, which he used during the invasion of Sicily in 1943, but also the George Cross, offered by King George VI to the Maltese people as a reward for their courage. The visit ends with the historical conclusion, the independence and then the Republic of Malta leading to the integration into the European Union in 2004.

Apart from its collection of religious art, it also displays a carriage and stones that were part of the cathedral's treasure. You can also see paintings by famous Maltese artists such as Giuseppe Hyzler and Michele Busetti and discover priestly vestments and gold and silver objects of worship. The museum can be reached from Rue de la Fosse, which runs up to the left of the cathedral. The Bishop's Palace and the Law Courts are located in the square where the Cathedral and its museum are situated.

Housed in the Palazzo Bondi, a ^17th-century noble residence, it traces the island's history from prehistoric remains to the Middle Ages, including a fine collection of ancient coins: Phoenician, Punic, Roman and others. Once again, as at the Archaeological Museum in Valletta, you'll be struck by the quality of the works of art that prehistory produced on Gozo. A visit that's best made after a visit to the Ggantija complex.

Here is another visit that will allow you to discover the history of Mdina, by visiting the old cellars that were used to store gunpowder. It took five years of work to create the 120 or so life-size, life-like paintings that evoke the mythical lives of the knights of the Order of Malta. It is a sort of two-dimensional Grévin museum. Explanations given in five languages including French.

This historic museum, with an architecture dating back to the xiiith century, is the best preserved of all medieval buildings in Mdina, located in the heart of the old town. This remains able to capture the history between xiiith and twentieth century. With its lovely garden, the second oldest building in the city belonged once to Captain Olof Frederick Gollcher, artist, philanthropic and scholar of the first half of the twentieth century. A splendid collection of art objects that includes baroque paintings, antique furniture, silverware, jewelry, weapons, gust watches (including a single revolutionary French watch), etc., etc. Audio tour in French possible, at your pace, by choosing your comments. On the roof of the museum you will find a magnificent panoramic view of the surrounding capital and fortress.

The catacombs. Unlike those of Saint-Paul, made of bare stone, those of Sainte-Agathe are decorated with numerous frescoes. At the entrance, on the left, three frescoes of the 3rd century A.D. represent Saint Agatha, Saint Paul and a Virgin and Child. In addition to the usual stone table (agape) and the hole in the ground allowing one to kneel for prayer, the catacombs contain more than 500 tombs, including 200 baby tombs, which are placed in niches carved into the wall or under the parents' grave. An area is reserved for pagans and Jews. Some tombs are dug into the ground, others are raised like large square bathtubs. Those of the wealthiest are luxuriously furnished and some families occupy an entire room. The walls of some of these rooms are pierced with holes for ventilation and dug high niches for oil lamps. The frescoes are full of symbols: for example, the flower represents eternal life and the pelican represents the Eucharist. The same is true of the "particular altars": the cross for Christ, the alpha and omega for the beginning and end of life, the dove for the soul and peace and, always, the flower for eternal life and paradise. Some rooms have columns partly embedded in the thickness of the wall. Others had a door - we can still guess the shape - with locks to prevent the theft of the pottery that was placed near the tombs.

In the crypt at the back, about twenty frescoes are dedicated to Saint Agatha, 13 of which represent her. In order to preserve the paintings, the visit takes place in the dark. You follow the young dynamic guide, armed with a torch, and pay attention to the very low ceilings - the tall ones will have to lower themselves.

The museum is both a religious and a natural history museum. Quaternary fossils and precious stones (including agate) are on display. You will also see pottery, tools and pieces of crockery found in Phoenician, Carthaginian, Roman and Christian tombs (from the 8th century BC to the 6th century AD). The rooms dedicated to religious objects contain all kinds of gifts made by Maltese archbishops or nobles: statuettes, priestly vestments, candlesticks, etc. Another room contains medieval ex-voto's, medals and religious paintings.

Since its reopening on February 9, 2024, it has been presenting a temporary exhibition that will be on view for a year. Entitled Une île à la croisée des chemins (An island at the crossroads ), it aims to shed light on the identity of this island nation over the centuries. The exhibition includes a year-long program of activities: conferences, events on the history of taste, educational programs for children... You'll even have the chance to spend a night inside the Maritime Museum, as it is spread throughout the museum. In fact, after several years of closure, which led to substantial restoration and revitalization of the museum, partly financed by EEE Norway grants, you'll once again be able to contemplate all the museum's riches. The story told by this museum is based on a series of eclectic objects, all indelibly linked to the history of Malta. And each telling the story of how religions, cultures and nations have clashed or even coexisted on a rock, a surrounding sea, and an ever-smaller world. We'll discover how an existing anchorage from Roman antiquity is linked to the local faith and cultural memory of the community, how the lives of men and women in Malta depended mainly on privateer incursions, their activities portrayed in local folk tales, and how, in the last century, the search for a state was accompanied by great economic anxiety.

At the entrance to the old town, to the right of the main gate, the museum is housed in the Palacio de Vilhena, a large Baroque building of local limestone, with a sculpted pedimented entrance. The museum was inaugurated in June 1973. It is divided into different sections, highlighting local ecosystems such as the small islands exhibition, Maltese geology and paleontology (fossils), mammals, the marine section, skeletons, reptiles, human evolution, molluscs and birds. The museum houses over 1,000,000 specimens, from microscopic animals to whale bones. It is also a research center for local and foreign students of natural history.
The Palazzo Vilhena, before the earthquake of 1693, was the seat of the Università, the local government. Rebuilt in a superb Baroque style, it became the summer residence of Grand Master Antonio Manoel de Vilhena. This is the only building in Mdina built by the Knights of Malta. During the British period, it served as a military hospital. From 1909 to 1956, it served as a hospital for tuberculosis patients. It has been completely renovated and, if natural history isn't your favorite theme, you can always visit the building itself. The Corte Capitanale and adjacent rooms are no longer part of the museum, having been handed over to the local council of Mdina.

Located just outside the walls of Mdina, this small museum is built on the site of an ancient and wealthy Roman mansion, which was built around the middle of the ^1st century BC but remained in use throughout the ^1st century AD and possibly into the ^2nd century as well. The museum houses sumptuous mosaics found here in 1881. They are among the best-preserved remains of the Roman presence in the Rabat and Mdina region. The Domvs Romana highlights the private life and habits of an ancient Roman aristocrat. The central motif on the mosaic floor of the peristyle is a pair of doves perched on a crater, reminiscent of the "doves that drink from Sosos", a motif that was very famous and also widely disseminated at the time. The museum displays Roman artefacts found throughout the ancient city: amphorae, domestic accessories, marble slabs and more. The Muslim tombstones that once covered the graves of a cemetery that occupied the site in medieval times, and which were found during excavations of the site, are also part of the permanent exhibition. This is one of the highlights of the visit. It is the only museum to present a set of marble statues of the emperor Claudius and his family - works of art usually found in public spaces - which can be seen, here, in a private home.

Housed in a complex of three buildings dating back to the 1600s, once used as an inn and then as a refuge from aerial bombardment, it provides an insight into Gozo's natural resources and how they are used by the local people. The first floor features exhibitions on geology and minerals, with the geology section featuring marine organisms deposited between 35 and 5 million years BC. The upper floor is dedicated to the study of insects, flora and ecosystems of the Maltese islands, including Gozo in particular.

Nestled inside Gozo's Victoria citadel, this museum takes you back several centuries. It is located on the street named after Bernardo De Opuo, a Gozitan hero who, during the Turkish invasion of 1551, sacrificed his wife and children and fought to the death rather than be enslaved. The museum is housed in a group of interconnected ^15th-century houses, the only medieval houses of their kind in Gozo, with Sicilian-Norman windows on the façade. The complex of houses was restored in 1983 to house a museum. The ground floor and mezzanines of the house on the south side show the reconstruction of a historic house, with its working and living areas. The first floors of the whole complex are devoted to the rural environment, essentially agricultural. You'll also notice a spectacular cattle mill. On the second floor, you'll find furniture and tools related to local Gozo crafts, such as lace-making and weaving (including cotton gins and a spinning wheel). During your visit, you'll also find pottery, baker's, carpenter's and blacksmith's tools. There's also a very interesting collection of ex-votos, reflecting the piety of the period. All in all, there's everything to reflect the domestic atmosphere of an ^18th-century urban environment.

An anchor at the entrance of this old house announces the color. Different objects and boat models covering three centuries of maritime history are presented to you.

A small museum worth seeing. Among the interesting exhibits: votive paintings made by sailors to thank the Virgin Mary for protecting them at sea, old religious objects (sedan chairs, for example), ship models, the Vulcan XM645 memorial, a knight's full suit of armor, and various interesting paintings by famous Maltese and foreign painters.

This is one of Rabat Mdina's most spectacular, yet little-known sites.

The catacombs, the grotto. The highlight of the visit is the grotto where St. Paul is said to have taken refuge on his arrival in Malta in the year 60, at the origin of the Christian community on the island! Pope John Paul himself came to visit his statue here. Not to take anything away from the myth, access to the grotto is via the adjacent catacombs. In the midst of narrow labyrinthine aisles, rock-cut tombs of all sizes follow one another, some with bone fragments still present, from the Punic (Carthaginian), Roman and Christian eras. Along the way, we discover the fallout shelters where many Maltese families lived during the bombings of the Second World War. Anxious and claustrophobic visitors are advised to abstain.

Museum. The visit is very complete, as this ticket also gives access to the rather vast and accessible Museum of Religious Art, located in the baroque palace of the great Master Aloph de Wignacourt (1601-1622). Just as dark and bloody as Valletta's Museum of Fine Arts (St. Paul beheaded or St. Agatha with her breasts cut off, two of the island's classics), it features religious paintings by Mattia Preti, Francesco and Antoine de Favray.

The first asset of this place is the Folklore Museum which is housed in a huge and beautiful house dating back to the beginning of the 18th century which is worth a visit. A visit to the museum will also give you an insight into the traditions of Gozo and the daily life of a not-so-distant past. It offers a tour through 28 rooms filled with historical objects associated with the crafts, from milling to printing, wine making, fishing and blacksmithing.

Located near the Grand Master's Palace and the Church of Our Lady of Damascus, this new Postal Museum was inaugurated with great pomp and circumstance in 2016. Housed in a mid-20th century house, designed by architect Giuseppe Cachia Caruana and completely renovated, it provides an insight into the historical role played by the Post in Malta since the 16th century. For example, you can admire the first Maltese stamp with the yellow Halpenny; a letter signed by Lord Nelson; a poignant love letter from an Italian in prison during the war and an impressive collection of stamps by Emvin Cremona, the very famous red motorbike of the Maltese postmen, the "James Captain", etc. Two galleries offer a temporary exhibition of photographs by Richard Ellis, the other one offers a presentation of the work of Emvin Cremona, considered by all to be one of the greatest Maltese artists of the 20th century. Note that it is possible to go on a treasure hunt (all different if you are 8, 15 or even 40 years old) within the museum which makes it very fun for those who are not passionate about stamps. The children are crazy about it because they have a reserved space where they can put on the postman's uniform or design their own stamp. In the shop area you can personalise everything: colourful cards, stationery, stamps and even the mascot specially created by the museum, Peppi Pustier. You will be able to put your personal holiday photos or any other image you like on these objects.

Featuring interactive museology, it will enable you to discover the evolution of Malta's fortifications. Located in rue Saint-Marc, it aims to explore the evolution of Malta's fortresses throughout the island's history, and to bring to life a vanished world in order to better understand the different stages of the island's fortifications and the defense strategies implemented by its administrators throughout its history.