Victoria's Archaeology Museum houses some incredible finds. There are some 'fat lady' carvings from Ġgantija Temples and Xagħra, around 3000 to 4000 years old. There are also Roman anchors, a 3rd-to-5th-century skeleton that was found buried in an amphora, Bronze Age jugs dating from 2400 to 1500 BC, and some fascinating Phoenician amulets in the form of the Eye of Osiris – an ancient link to the symbols seen on Maltese fishing boats of today.
Archaeology Museum
Lonely Planet's must-see attractions
18.4 MILES
St John's Co-Cathedral, Malta's most impressive church, was designed by the architect Gerolamo Cassar. It was built between 1573 and 1578, taking over…
19.29 MILES
The Hypogeum (from the Greek, meaning 'underground') is a subterranean necropolis, discovered during building work in 1902. To visit is to step into a…
18.88 MILES
The megalithic temples of Ħaġar Qim (adge-ar eem; 'standing stones') and Mnajdra (mm-nigh-dra) are the best preserved and most evocative of Malta's…
18.43 MILES
The stern exterior of the 16th-century Grand Master's Palace conceals a sumptuous interior. This was once the residence of the Grand Masters of the…
21.68 MILES
The reason to head to Birżebbuġa is to see the Għar Dalam Cave & Museum, 500m north on the main road from Valletta. Għar Dalam (aar-da-lam; the name means…
National Museum of Archaeology
18.34 MILES
The National Museum of Archaeology is housed in the impressive Auberge de Provence. Exhibits include delicate stone tools dating from 5200 BC, Phoenician…
14.34 MILES
The cathedral is said to be built on the site of the villa belonging to Publius, the Roman governor of Malta who welcomed St Paul in AD 60.
1.66 MILES
Perched on the crest of the hill to the south of Xagħra, the awe-inspiring megalithic Ġgantija Temples command soaring views over most of southern Gozo…
Nearby attractions
0.01 MILES
Note the Roman inscription on the left-hand inner wall from the 2nd century AD.
0.03 MILES
While the walls surrounding Il-Kastell date from the 15th century, there have been fortifications atop this flat-topped hill since the Bronze Age: it…
4. Ċittadella Visitors' Centre
0.03 MILES
Inaugurated in mid-2016 as part of the excellent restoration of Victoria's Il-Kastell, this award-winning visitors' centre includes a poignant and…
5. Cathedral of the Assumption
0.03 MILES
Built between 1697 and 1711 to replace a church destroyed by a 1693 earthquake (which was in southern Italy but caused damage as far Gozo), the cathedral…
0.04 MILES
The Old Prison served as a jail from the late 1500s to 1904, and proved particularly useful for locking up hot-tempered Knights until they cooled off. The…
0.05 MILES
There is a good panorama from here. Look for the huge dome of the Rotunda at Xewkija, with Comino and Malta in the background; the distant Gothic spire of…
8. Gran Castello Historic House
0.05 MILES
This folklore museum is a lovely maze of stairs, rooms and courtyards. The fine, rambling old building itself, dating to 1500, houses a collection of…