Gzira holidays

Holidays to Gzira place you in easy reach of Malta’s culture, nightlife and rugged coastline.

Cosmopolitan Malta

Sandwiched between Valletta – Malta’s ancient walled capital – and Sliema, where a promenade of buzzy bars line the waterfront, Gzira offers a best-of-both-worlds location that’s hard to beat. The town sits in a pocket of land in a corner of the natural Marsamxett Harbour, with a yacht-dotted backdrop. Strolls along the waterfront are part-and-parcel of a holiday here, with the popular Sliema Promenade within flip-flopping distance. Meanwhile, the modern criss-cross streets of Gzira itself are peppered with independent bistros and primary-coloured shutters.

A close-by capital

Just 20 minutes away from Gzira in the car, by bus or by ferry, Valletta is one of the island’s highlights. Perched on a peninsula that juts into the sea, it looks straight out of Game of Thrones, with creamy walls in a thousand shades of sand. You can walk the entire length of it in less than 20 minutes, but the island’s complex history has left behind a chequerboard of culture, architecture and religion to discover. Pop your head inside the ornate St Johns Co-Cathedral, which flaunts a dome draped in marble and gold. Or, get your history fix with a harbour tour that brings to light battles fought on the water in front of the fortressed city.

Heart of the action

The natural harbour in which Gzira sits feels like the very heart of the island, with roads and ferry routes branching off in every direction. This makes exploring further afield a breeze. You’re hardly more than a half an hour drive from some of the island’s most famous attractions, including the impressive stone archway known as the Blue Grotto. You’ve also got the ancient old capital of Mdina, and rocky coves popular with cliff-diving locals close by. For something more off-radar, you can hop on a ferry all the way to Gozo, Malta’s lesser-trodden littler sister.