Tours & Activities in Valletta
Valletta is an exceptional city.
Not only for being the only European capital declared to be a World Heritage site by UNESCO, neither for being built by an order of cavaliers, nor for being the most modern capital for its time. It's due to its beauty, its secrets and its rich history. Beauty, you may discover on your own, but we are willing to share it's history.
Who was the Order of Saint John? And the Order of Malta?
How could such a small island resist the attacks from 2 of the most powerful empires of all time?
Where can I see Carravaggio's paintings?
What is Maltese traditional food?
Where can I enjoy a cold beer?
All this and much more is what we want to tell you for you to be able to discover Valletta as much as possible, therefore in our tour, we will be walking around the main streets and squares, speaking about the main buildings and explaining you the history and the evolution of this city described as “an open-air museum” in an easy path accessible to all. We will talk too about our gastronomy, films shot in Malta, our traditions and peculiarities, our present and the best places of the city and its surroundings and how to visit them, alongside any questions you may have. This tour lasts around one hour and a 45 minutes. And at the end of the tour, we will be happy to help you keep discovering the city and the country 🙂
Please if you are a group with more than 6 people, please contact us. We accept group bookings with more than 6 participants, with payment of a deposit of 10€ per person which allow us to keep maximum number of participants and a decent salary for the guide, for all the parties to be able to enjoy the experience:)
This is not a classic free tour, instead, you will be enjoying the tour with our official licenced guides who have had adequate training, professionals who have made of guiding their life, their passion and their livehood.
Due to this, the suggested price per person starts from €10 to maintain all the tours with maximum quality and sustainable. If this makes you doubt joining, just look at our reviews!
For those who look for a less informative and classic tour, we recommend our free tour: “UnknownValletta: corners and side streets”
And with our free tour “Mdina and Rabat, the most traditional Malta”, you will be able to complete your knowledge about the Maltese island, with the only available free tour where you will visit the spectacular medieval capital of Malta continued with Rabat, one of the most traditional towns.
And for the most demanding, or for those who are looking for something more ‘exotic’, made for you or you would simply like to check more options, don't stop looking through our paid tours on our webpage which includes classic tours like the megalithic temples of Malta ( only ones in the world) or other uniques, such as ghost tours or cemetery visitors (not both at the same time, let's hope).
Valletta: the smallest European capital. Here the stories of the knights of Malta and the grand masters are born. Every street has something to tell and every little detail has a reason for being there.
You can discover all this only with us. Between the narrow streets and the legends, you won't regret it!
Before you book please see the info below! 😊😊
My tours have a maximum of 30 people. I know this may sound like a lot to some, however, it is rare that I reach the maximum. Also, many people either cancel last minute, or don't show up. And again, I mostly rarely get this maximum.
Legally I can have up to 51 people, and other PAID tours and even other FREE tours will indeed use this maximum.
I am trying to balance guest needs that want a smaller group, with my own preferences (I like the 20-30 range), plus monetary considerations. I have had many groups of smaller size (especially during low season), and sometimes it goes well, and sometimes some guests fail to show any appreciation for the small group size. So for the moment I'm sticking with the 20-30 people range.
If you are going to be LATE, please message me on WhatsApp (I will share the number once you book). And please message me well BEFORE the tour starts so I can share the live location with you. Phoning or messaging me after or when the tour starts will not work so well as I am usually super focused on the tour.
I aim to begin the tours right at the stipulated time.
Also, messaging me on the app you booked the tour on will almost certainly not work as I don't get any notifications and the messaging system is slow there, so again, please message me on WhatsApp before the tour start time.
If you want to cancel, absolutely no need to apologise, just please cancel as soon as you are able to. You can do so in the app, or by using the email confirming your booking (kindly check the spam folder if it's not in the inbox).
My tours contain a mixture of history, culture, recommendations, and humour. The backbone of my tour is history, however, I include a lot of humour, and current day Maltese culture with perspectives and attitudes of the Maltese. If you're desiring of a purely historical tour then this might not be the tour for you 😊
I look forward to having a great tour with you! 😊 Ben
Other Practical information:
- I accept cash, Revolut, or PayPal as forms of payment.
- If you're travelling to Mdina before the tour starts please take into account that traffic and delays are common, so please consider leaving around an hour before the starting time. I've had many guests who were confident they could make it on time miss a bus, or get stuck in traffic.
- Please do not book children/teens < 18 years old. They can join, but please do not book them, as they take up slots that can be used by adults.
- Children are welcome provided they do not disturb the other guests or the tour. Either by running around or by being noisy. This would be very distracting and disrespectful to the other guests and to the guide.
- It's true, it's marketed as a "Free Tour" but please consider the amount of effort the guide puts in, together with the quality of information, and the quality of the tour itself. A recommended donation amount is €10 per person. There are those who give more, which is VERY much appreciated and helps with the sustainability of the tour. Of course the amount is totally up to you to decide.
- Provided there are no sudden obstacles implemented by the local community, the tour is fully wheelchair accessible.
- Unfortunately the ground, road, walkways that we use in the tour can be slippery, uneven, have holes and/or obstacles. Please watch your step during the tour.
- Also unfortunately, cars in Malta might use the same road as we do, and as you might have noticed they drive quite fast in areas where people walk. So please take note of this and be aware.
Liability exclusion: By booking and/or participating in the tour, the participants agree, understand and acknowledge that the tour leader/operator will not be held liable for any damages (whether direct, indirect, incidental or consequential), injuries (including personal injury), loss, accident, delay or inconvenience incurred to or by the persons participating in the tour and/or their property. The persons participating in the tour further agree to release the tour guide (and tour operator) from any liability, claims or actions arising from or related to the participation in the tour.
The Co-Cathedral of St John is a unique building, Considered the most baroque temple in the world, decorated from the floor to the ceiling, it is pure art, luxury and beauty. In its interior two artworks from one of the greatest and most difficult artists to track of all time: Caravaggio. Visit it with us to ensure you don't miss anything and can also use the fast queue for groups with licenced guides.
About the visit, take into consideration that even if it's a free tour the entrance price into the Co-Cathedral is 15 Euros.
Once inside our objective is that you can appreciate the small details and the masterpieces of a gigantic building filled with art and opulence, without leaving aside the “secret messages” that hide in the walls, paintings and artworks in one of the countries where “The Da Vinci code” with Tom Hanks was filmed.
(After the visit you can choose to stay in the co-cathedral if you would like to appreciate it more calmly)
During the Valletta tour, we will speak about the Order Of Saint John, of course, but here we would like to focus on their artists and their artistic legacy.
- Mannerism, the style this co-cathedral was built in
-Its later evolution into baroque
- The principal artists,like Mattia Preti and Mazzuoli, have left their mark on the art of this co-cathedral and their main artworks
- Curiosities, secrets and any gossip, given that we will be visiting some of the most notable characters from this period
- The flooring (described as the most beautiful in the world), its sculptures… everything.
And most definitely we will speak of Caravaggio, while appreciating teo of his paintings such as "Saint Jerome writing" and "The beheading of St. John the baptist", this last one considered by many as his masterpiece, and without a doubt an exceptional piece by this artist.
This is not a classic free tour, instead, you will be enjoying the tour with our licenced guides who have had adequate training, professionals who have, made guiding their life, their passion and their livehood.
Due to this, thesuggested price per person starts from €10to maintain all the tours with maximum quality and sustainable. If this makes you doubt joining, just look at our reviews!
Logistics: This tour commencesright after our “Valletta, UNESCO capital” tour so, it is possible that you have to wait for us a bit, since we will be arriving once the other tour is finished. Simply wait for us under the shade close to the statue of the Gentleman and the two ladies (The Great Siege Monument), in the great siege square, just in front of the courts of justice.
Important: DO NOT BUY THE ENTRANCE TICKETS, since our guide will be bringing them along with him, this will facilitate the entrance to the Co-Cathedral through the fast lane
With that being said we recommend you bring money to pay the ticket from our guide, we also accept Bizum and Revolute.
Keep in mind there are no lockers in the co-cathedral,so we recommend for you not to go very loaded, on top of this it is a sacred place, so we recommend being appropriately dressed.
In our schedule you can also find “Discovering Valletta, UNESCO Capital”, where we focus on our history, while also learning about our gastronomy, main locations to shoot films or unique aspects of one of the most beautiful and interesting cities in the world (remember this is not only what we say, UNESCO says this!)
For those who look for a less informative and classic tour,we recommend our free tour: “Authentic Valletta: corners and side streets”
And with our free tour: “ Mdina and Rabat, the most traditional Malta” where you will be able to discover the old capital of Malta and one of our most traditional villages with the only free tour there is of a Maltese village. Doing this tour alongside the Valletta tour will enable you to know our history and understand the Maltese character and the reality here whilst enjoying the most beautiful cities on our islands.
Andfor the most demanding, or for those who are looking for something more ‘exotic’, made for you or you would simply like to check more options, don't stop looking through our paid tours on our webpagewhich includes classic tours like the megalithic temples of Malta ( only ones in the world) or other uniques, such as ghost tours or cemetery visitors (not both at the same time, let's hope).
