Things to Do in Sliema, Malta: A Local’s Complete Guide

Sliema is the town I have lived in, restored a luxury villa in, and recommended to first-time Malta guests for over a decade. It runs along Malta’s north coast directly opposite Valletta, with a five-minute ferry crossing taking you into the capital every half hour, the country’s longest seafront promenade running 3km past lidos and cafes to St Julian’s, and the best restaurant density anywhere outside the Valletta walls.

Most first-time visitors get stuck on whether to base themselves in Sliema or somewhere else. The answer comes down to what you want within walking distance: a ferry across to the capital, three kilometres of promenade, and the best restaurant density anywhere outside the Valletta walls.

The Sliema seafront promenade

The promenade is the reason most people end up liking Sliema. It runs unbroken for about three kilometres from the ferry terminal around Tigne Point and on towards St Julian’s, busy from the early-morning joggers through to the evening passeggiata.

1. Walk the Strand from the ferry to St Julian’s

The Sliema seafront is the longest continuous promenade on the island and the centre of Sliema life. Start at the Strand ferry terminal opposite Manoel Island, walk past the Marina Hotel, the lidos at Surfside, and the Fortina jetty, then continue to Tigne Point and around to St Julian’s via Spinola Bay. 3km in total. Best done in the early evening for the passeggiata.

Access shifts as the redevelopment progresses, so check before you set out. The bridge from Gzira is the reliable way in on foot, about fifteen minutes from the Sliema ferry terminal. Fort Manoel itself opens for occasional tours and events rather than daily visits, so treat the walk and the harbour views as the reason to go.

2. Manoel Island and the Lazaretto

The flat island opposite Sliema, currently being redeveloped, holds the historic British naval Lazaretto and Fort Manoel. Walk across the bridge from Gzira for waterside views of Valletta and the marina — one of the best free walks on the island.

The swimming here is off flat rock rather than sand, with ladders down into deep, clear water. It stays usable in a wind that closes the north-coast beaches, which is why residents come here instead of driving to Golden Bay on a blustery day. Arrive early if you want one of the flat slabs; by eleven in August they have all gone.

3. Tigne Point

The modern shopping and apartment development on the headland holds the Point shopping mall, restaurants on Tigne Place, and the best swim spots in Sliema. The Tower Road side is sheltered from the Majjistral wind.

Booking is worth it on Friday and Saturday from about seven, and largely unnecessary midweek. Seafront tables cost more than the same kitchen one street inland, so if you are eating out most nights of a week, the roads behind the Strand will save you a noticeable amount without dropping any quality.

Swimming and the closest beaches

Sliema has no sand. What it has is a continuous rocky shoreline with ladders set into it, which is how most residents actually swim. The stretches below Tower Road and around Tigne are the most used, and the water is deep enough to swim properly within a few metres of the edge.

If you want sand you have to travel. Golden Bay and Ghajn Tuffieha are around 45 minutes away by bus, with Mellieha Bay a little further on. For a day with small children the journey is worth it. For a swim before breakfast, the rocks at the end of the street win every time.

The swimming season runs longer than most visitors expect. The sea is usually comfortable from late May through to the end of October, and September and October are the warmest months in the water even though the air has begun to cool. My Malta weather by month guide has the sea temperatures if you are planning a trip around swimming. Outside that window the shoreline is still worth walking, and the people you see going in during January are residents who swim year round.

Eating in Sliema

Sliema has the highest concentration of restaurants in Malta outside the Valletta walls, split between the seafront and the pedestrian streets behind it. The seafront trades on the view; the inland streets tend to trade on the food.

4. The Strand restaurants

Sliema’s restaurant clusters are around the Strand and Bisazza Street. Strand favourites include LOA, Piadina Caffe, and Tama2 for late-night Maltese. Bisazza Street takes you toward the cinema area with more international options.

A day pass usually covers a sunbed, an umbrella and use of the showers and bar, which is the simplest way to make a beach day work in a town with no sand. Hotel lidos admit non-residents for a fee, worth knowing in April or late October when the independent ones have shut for the season.

5. Sliema lidos

The lidos along the Tigne side — Surfside, Fortina, the Westin lido — offer day passes, sunbeds, lunch service, and ladders into the rocky sea. Most run from May to October; hotel lidos stay open year-round.

This is where Sliema eats when it is not eating on the seafront, and the difference in price is obvious within a few doors. Because the run is pedestrianised you can walk the whole stretch and read menus before committing, which is the sensible approach on a first night.

6. Pjazzetta and Bisazza Street

The pedestrian zone running from Tower Road inland is Sliema’s evening eating heart. Italian, Maltese, Asian, and burger options within a 5-minute walk of each other.

The crossing is also the cheapest sightseeing on the island, giving you the full bastion frontage from the water for the price of a bus ticket. The last boat back is earlier than most people assume, so check the timetable before planning dinner in the capital, or budget for a bus or taxi home.

Day trips from Sliema

Almost everything on the island is reachable and back within a day from here, which is the main argument for basing yourself in Sliema rather than moving hotels. The ferry does the heavy lifting for Valletta and the bus network covers the rest.

Where	How you get there	Journey time
Valletta	Marsamxett ferry from the Strand	5 to 7 minutes
Spinola Bay	Walk the seafront	About 15 minutes
St Julian’s and Paceville	Walk the seafront	About 20 minutes
Mdina and Rabat	Bus with one change, or taxi	30 to 45 minutes
Golden Bay (sand)	Bus from the Ferries stops	About 45 minutes
Cirkewwa, for the Gozo ferry	Bus 222	About 45 minutes
Comino and the Blue Lagoon	Seasonal boat from Sliema, or bus and ferry	An hour or more

7. Valletta by ferry

The Marsamxett ferry runs every 30 minutes from the Sliema ferry terminal to Valletta in 5-7 minutes, €1.50 single, €2.80 return. Far faster than driving and avoids Valletta’s parking nightmare. Read my complete Valletta things-to-do guide.

The walk splits into two different halves. Spinola Bay is where you would eat, with the boats and the restaurants around the inlet. Paceville, five minutes further on, is the nightlife strip and stays loud until very late. If you want dinner rather than a night out, stop at the bay.

8. St Julian’s by foot

A 20-minute walk along the seafront. Spinola Bay’s restaurants, the marina, and Paceville’s nightlife are all walkable from Sliema.

Buses run from the Ferries stops with one change, or a taxi takes about half an hour. Go late in the day: most coach tours have cleared by five, and the walled streets after dark are the reason it is called the Silent City. Bring a layer, since it sits high and catches the breeze.

9. Mdina, the silent city

Bus or taxi to Mdina takes 30-45 minutes. Best done in the late afternoon, when day-trippers leave.

Seasonal boats also run direct from Sliema in summer, which saves the bus out to Cirkewwa. Whichever route you take, go early. The lagoon is at its worst between eleven and three when the day boats stack up, and at its best before ten when the water is still empty.

10. Comino and the Blue Lagoon

Day trip via Cirkewwa-Comino ferry, ~45 minutes by bus to Cirkewwa from Sliema. Best in May, June, September, or October.

It is genuinely useful rather than a sight: a supermarket, a pharmacy and the food hall are all here, which matters if you are self-catering for a week. It is also the reliable wet-weather option between December and February.

Shopping and practical

Between the mall at Tigne Point and the independent stretch on Bisazza Street, Sliema covers most practical needs without a car. That matters more than it sounds if you are staying a week and self-catering.

11. The Point shopping mall

All the major international brands plus the Pavilion food hall at Tigne Point. Open daily.

Most of these are independents rather than chains, so hours are less predictable than the mall’s and many close for a couple of hours in the afternoon. Saturday morning is the surest time to find everything open at once.

12. Bisazza Street

The best stretch of independent shops in Sliema — bookshops, gift shops, gelaterias, small designers.

Buses are cheap and reach almost everywhere, but they fill up and run late in summer traffic. Allow more time than the app suggests for anything crossing the island, and lean on the ferry or a taxi for evening trips, when the timetable thins out.

13. Public transport hub

The Ferries bus stops on the Strand connect Sliema to almost everywhere on the island. Routes 13, 14, 15 to Valletta; 12 to St Julian’s; 222 to Cirkewwa for the Gozo ferry. Buy a Tallinja card for €21 unlimited 7-day travel.

More to Explore

Is Sliema the right base for your trip?

Sliema suits people who want to walk to dinner, reach Valletta without a car, and swim before breakfast. It is residential rather than resort-like, so you get real shops and a supermarket instead of a strip of hotels, and it stays awake in the evening without turning into a nightlife district.

It is the wrong pick if you have come for sand, or if you want somewhere quiet enough to hear the sea at night. St Julian’s sits closer to the clubs and is louder for it. Mellieha is nearer the beaches but further from everything else. Valletta is beautiful and empties out after dark. For a first trip, and for anyone travelling as a group, Sliema is the easiest place to say yes to.

The practical test is the ferry. If your plans include Valletta more than once, and most first trips do, being a five-minute crossing away rather than a drive and a parking hunt changes how much of the capital you actually see.

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