Valletta Gardens: Upper and Lower Barrakka and Hastings Garden

What Valletta's gardens are

Valletta's gardens are public spaces laid out on and beside the city's fortifications, so their appeal is part planting and part position. Upper Barrakka is recorded among the city's historic gardens, and Lower Barrakka and Hastings Garden continue the line of the bastions and give you different angles on the harbours and the city walls.

Upper Barrakka Gardens

Upper Barrakka is the garden most visitors mean: a terrace on the high fortifications with a wide view over the Grand Harbour towards the Three Cities of Birgu (Vittoriosa), L-Isla (Senglea) and Bormla (Cospicua). Admission is free and the gardens are wheelchair- and stroller-friendly, which makes this the easiest garden to bring everyone to. The view alone justifies the climb, and the terrace is the obvious place to start a harbour-focused walk.

The garden holds a former British military garrison chapel that now houses the Malta Stock Exchange, and a 17th-century fountain stands on the site of the former Sultan's Garden beside Fort Lascaris. These are details to look for as you cross the terrace rather than separate attractions. If you want the fuller story of the harbour below, the fortifications and the Three Cities, read our guide to the Grand Harbour before you go.

The Barrakka Lift, built in 2012, connects the garden level with the waterfront below, so you can arrive from the harbourside without climbing the streets. Use it uphill at the start of a hot day and walk down later, when the steps are less punishing. Coming up by lift also puts you at the terrace ready for the view rather than arriving puffed out.

Lower Barrakka Gardens

Lower Barrakka sits further along the bastions towards the harbour mouth, and it is the quieter counterpart to the upper terrace. The Alexander Ball Monument stands in the garden, and the House of the Four Winds occupies part of the site. The outlook here takes in the entrance to the Grand Harbour and the old fortifications, so it rewards a slower look rather than a quick photo.

There are benches and a kiosk at Lower Barrakka, which makes it the better of the two gardens for sitting down. If you have walked down through the streets to reach it, this is where to stop before turning back uphill. The garden is smaller than Upper Barrakka, so treat it as a pause rather than a destination in its own right.

Hastings Garden

Hastings Garden occupies another stretch of the bastions and suits a quieter pause away from the main Barrakka terrace. It is the garden to choose when you want a bench, some shade and the sense of the city walls without the bustle of the main viewpoint. Slot it in on the way in or out of the city centre rather than making a special trip.

Walking between the gardens

The natural loop runs from Upper Barrakka down through the lower streets to Lower Barrakka and back up, and the descent passes traditional Maltese balconies and the St Lucia Street steps. The steps are steep and exposed, so the shade they offer matters on a warm day. Allow roughly two hours for the full loop at an unhurried pace, including stops; a Komoot route covering the two gardens and the harbour views runs about 6.9 km in total.

Do the climb in the morning or late afternoon and keep the flat terrace time for the middle of the day. If your legs are tired, the lift solves the vertical problem in one direction, and you can plan the rest of the walk around the City Gate end of the city. Our Valletta map shows how the gates, streets and waterfront fit together before you set out.

Entry and access

Entry to Upper Barrakka is free and the garden is accessible for wheelchairs and strollers, so there is no ticket to buy. The lift is the practical alternative to the stepped streets for anyone with mobility limits or heavy bags. Check the lift's current operating times and any charges on the day, since these are the details most likely to change between visits.

Wear shoes that cope with worn stone steps and carry water if you plan the lower loop in summer, because the streets below the gardens offer little shade. The gardens themselves are flat once you are inside, so the effort is all in getting there.

How long the gardens need, and fitting them into a Valletta day

Give Upper Barrakka 30 to 45 minutes if you want the view and a walk along the terrace, and add 20 to 30 minutes for Lower Barrakka with its benches and kiosk. Hastings Garden needs only a short pause. Together they make a half-day at most, and most visitors will treat them as a two-hour block inside a longer day.

The gardens combine well with the city's main sights: start at the Auberge de Castille, once the seat of the Iberian tongue of the Order of St John and now the Prime Minister's office, then walk to Upper Barrakka. Save the churches and museums for the cooler part of the day; our guide to Valletta churches and the museums in Valletta helps you pick which interiors justify the time indoors.

If you would rather have the streets and the gardens explained as you go, a Valletta walking tour covers the same ground with context on the gates and bastions. Otherwise, plan your own route from the City Gate end, where most visitors arrive.

Which garden to choose if you only have time for one

Choose Upper Barrakka if you have one garden's worth of time: the harbour panorama over the Three Cities is the view people come for, and free entry with step-free access removes any friction. Choose Lower Barrakka instead if you want benches, a kiosk and a quieter look at the harbour mouth. Hastings Garden is the fallback when you want five minutes off your feet without a viewpoint crowd.

Add the gardens to your Valletta walk

Build the gardens into a walking day rather than a separate outing: arrive at Upper Barrakka by lift, take in the harbour view, walk down to Lower Barrakka for a bench and a drink, and climb back at your own pace. If you are still deciding how Valletta fits into your trip, our honest verdict on whether Valletta is worth visiting sets the gardens against the rest of the city.