16 beautiful Instagram spots in Valletta

This past Summer (2025) I was lucky to visit the wonderful city of Valletta for a second long weekend trip. This gave me the chance to retake some photos in favourite places as well as find some new spots to share in this list. Malta’s capital city is oozing with charm and photo opportunities with its fabulous harbour views, quirky Maltese balconies and historic architecture everywhere you look. If Valletta is on your travel itinerary then make sure to read through this post for inspiration and share it with your travel partner 💌

Top Tip – Booking Activities & Tours

My favourite app for booking tours, adventures and plenty of fun is Get Your Guide. There are so many epic memories that you can choose to make from food tours to entry tickets, laidback wine tasting to adrenaline filled adventures. Make sure you use my discount code CATTHOMSON5 for 5% off your first booking when you download the app as a new user 👇

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1. St Lucia’s Street

First up is the glorious St Lucia’s Street. Valletta is built on a grid system with streets intersecting at right angles. On the south eastern side of the city, the narrower streets crossing from sea side to sea side, taper down steeply towards the harbour with a series of steep steps. There are a number of these streets that you’ll find on this list and each has its own charm. This is because each has different restaurants, cafes and shops as well as decorations adorning them. As the day progresses, St Lucia’s Street becomes a bustling hub of activity and noise as the restaurants open and patrons begin to fill up the tables. We enjoyed 1522 a food story for dinner. Discover more places to eat in Valletta with my blog post 12 places to eat and drink in Valletta.

2. Luciano & Bridge Bar

Bridge Bar is something of an icon in Valletta as the area which I’m standing in, in the photo above, has tables and chairs set out when the bar opens in the evening and on a Friday evening, a jazz band creates a lovely atmosphere. The red shutters and balconies of Luciano match perfectly with the red phone box on the ground and make this an instantly iconic Instagram shot!

3. Triq San Gwann

Triq San Gwann was one of my favourite street shots during my 2019 visit (right) and you can see that it hasn’t changed very much in six years (left). So it’s still a beautiful spot to photograph in Valletta. There’s something about the view across to The Three Cities at the bottom of the street and that absolutely wonderful Hair Stylist sign that just means this is a quirky capture.

4. St Ursula Street

I discovered the wonderful Ursula Street from @rooshazeveld (a stunning Insta account to follow) when I was looking for extra Valletta photography inspiration for my recent trip. You can really see here how steep some of the streets in Valletta are and you also get to capture a number of those great historic Malta signs.

5. Bibliotheca

We didn’t visit the inside of Valletta’s Bibliotheca (library) but the exterior is beautiful. If you enjoy detailed architectural captures then this is one for you. Underneath those arches, there’s also a lovely corridor with an intricate ceiling which would be a great spot for a walking shot 📷

6. St. John’s Co-Cathedral

St John’s co-cathedral is so named because it was the second cathedral in Valletta. It’s dedicated to St John the Baptist and dates back to the 1570s. The exterior of the building doesn’t give much away but step inside and you’ll be greeted by a glitzy, in your face display of paintings, design and statues and includes two Caravaggios – fabulous. There are plenty of places to point your camera here as well as being an important place to learn about Valletta’s history.

7. Wuestenwinds Beach

Valletta doesn’t have any beaches per say, although if you type ‘beach’ into your maps you will be directed to a couple of places that are named as such. So here’s a warning not to expect sand! These beaches are more like rocks to sunbathe and enter the water from! The good news is that Wuestenwinds Beach makes for a great photo opp. There’s something lovely about the layers in this shot as well as that bright blue water and the cheery beach huts.

8. Sunset from the parking lot at Triq-In-Nofsinhar

Ah yes, this list does including a parking lot as an Insta location. But check out the photos above and you’ll see why! The view from this parking lot on the western side of Valletta is at a high point and so gives fabulous vistas across the city skyline. Come for sunrise and you can capture some excellent colours lighting up the sky as well as the soft morning sun beginning to warm up the buildings.

9. Old Mint Street

Old Mint Street is one of the streets that traverses Valletta from the entering city gates down to the sea at the top end of the city. On the left you’ll see the striking dome of the church Bażilika Santwarju tal-Madonna tal-Karmnu which is probably the most iconic location in Valletta and which you’ll see from many angles.

10. Auberge de Castille

The Auberge de Castille is the Office of the Prime Minister of Malta and it’s one of the most impressive facades in the city. Not only that but it sits at the highest point in the city and looks out over Floriana and the Grand Harbour. In the 1740s, the Grand Master of the time decided to redevelop and redesign the Auberge de Castille from its original aesthetic to be Baroque in style, in keeping (although a bit late to the game) of the time.

11. Knisja Santa Katerina tal-Italja

After you’ve captured the Auberge de Castille, you simply need to swizzle to your left for this next beautiful shot. Personally, I love this composition with three buildings together and the temple like Knisja Santa Katerina tal-Italja church, framed in the middle. I’m certain that a straight on capture of this Catholic church would also be lovely!

12. Valletta from the water

If you’re spending time in Valletta then you’re 99.9% likely to get on a boat at some point during your trip. Whether that’s to take a day trip up to Comino & Gozo, a ferry ride between the cities or on a harbour tour. My favourite view from the water is when you hop on the Sliema – Valletta ferry and head to the top deck. Looking back to Valletta you can find this stunning view and really get an idea of just how hilly the tiny city is.

13. Lower Barrakka Gardens

Due to its small and compressed space, Valletta has limited room and so limited green spaces without buildings. The Lower (and Upper) Barrakka Gardens are a welcome oasis in the yellow hued city and offer a peaceful place to stop off and sit under a shady tree for a little while, especially in the heat of the summer. The Lower Barrakka Gardens have some gorgeous flowers and add a more natural vibe into your camera roll 🎞

14. Old Shops

Valletta is full of historic treasures which nod to its past and you’ll find lots of old shop, restaurant, cafe signs as you get lost in the city’s streets. My dad is a big fan of finding ghost signs and Valletta has a mix of these as well as shops and cafes that feel like a step back in time. If you’re a fan of vintage corners and photography then don’t miss uncovering as many as you can.

15. Doors of Valletta

The last two items on this post are a little more generic rather than exact Instagrammable locations! Valletta has some very lovely doors that you’ll spot as you stroll through the streets. Plenty of bright colours, charming mosaic plaques, pot plants galore and some very quirky door knockers. I quite enjoy a door filled carousel and you have many here to add.

🔎 In case you’re wondering what some of the half way door barriers are, they’re a leftover piece of history from when goats were driven from house to house to buy fresh milk and were to stop the goats getting into the houses…yes really!

16. Balconies of Valletta

My second more generic Instagrammable Valletta item are the city’s balconies. Their origins are in the 17th century and there seem to be a variety of reasons why they were added to buildings. One theory is that they were effectively peep holes, allowing those inside to snoop on the streets below. Another is that they symbolise the wealth of a family whilst at some other point in time they have become the opposite and were used as toilets for poorer families. Today, it is more likely that they are an airy, light filled corner that adds extra room when there is little extra room to be had! Whatever their purpose has been for residents, they serve an excellent purpose as a photographer’s dream and a lovely focal point or addition to photos of Valletta. The Maltese balconies are always a giveaway that a photo is from Valletta!

Check out some more fabulous Valletta posts below 👇

Cat x

Flying Scots Girl

Cat Thomson