Discover Sliema

First impressions of Sliema

Sliema is Malta's modern face — a long, lively coastal town across Marsamxett Harbour from Valletta, which has transformed over the past three decades from quiet 19th-century seaside resort into the country's main shopping, restaurant, and modern hotel hub. The wide pedestrianised seafront promenade running 4km from Sliema along to the neighbouring nightlife district of St Julian's gives the most spectacular daytime panorama of Valletta across the harbour, especially at sunset when the limestone of the capital glows golden — you can hop the 5-minute ferry from the Strand Ferry Terminal across to Valletta for less than €3. The town itself has the famous Tower Road waterfront with its bars and seafood restaurants, the 18th-century Tigne Point (the old British military fortifications converted into a luxury shopping and residential complex), and a series of small pretty bays — Balluta, Spinola, St Julian's — perfect for late-afternoon swimming when the August heat finally drops. Don't miss the wonderfully preserved Manoel Theatre across in Valletta (one of the oldest working theatres in Europe, built 1731) and the cliff-edge Roman baths just up the coast. Sliema is the practical base for most modern visitors to Malta — hotels, transit, and food all clustered together with sea views.