Valletta

Is Valletta safe?

Yes. Valletta is a small, walkable capital with little serious crime, and Malta as a whole recorded 5 homicides in 2024, about 0.9 per 100,000 people (Eurostat). In the EU's 2023 survey, 77% of residents of the Greater Valletta area said they feel safe walking alone at night. Reported crime fell 6% in 2025 to 27 crimes per 1,000 people, and theft reached its lowest level in 25 years, according to the University of Malta's CrimeMalta Observatory.

This page covers Valletta and the two nearby resort towns where many visitors stay, Sliema and St Julian's. They share one national police force and, as far as statistics go, one set of figures, because Malta publishes most data for the island as a whole.

The weak points are concentrated. St Julian's, home to the Paceville club district, accounted for 10.5% of all crime reported in Malta in 2024. Robberies across Malta have more than doubled since 2021. And the FCDOFCDO travel adviceThe UK government's travel advice for each country, which can advise against all travel or all but essential travel to specific areas.More in the glossary describes Maltese driving as poor. We score Valletta 81, one point above Split and ahead of Palma de Mallorca (78).

Paceville and nights out

Paceville is where Malta's nightlife and much of its trouble meet. The FCDOFCDO travel adviceThe UK government's travel advice for each country, which can advise against all travel or all but essential travel to specific areas.More in the glossary warns that criminals have drugged people in some bars and gentlemen's clubs in the district, then forced them to spend large amounts of money or assaulted them. It also reports assaults in Malta, including rape and sexual assault, and advises visitors not to split up from friends or leave with people they do not know.

The CrimeMalta Observatory's 2025 review found St Julian's had more than five times the national rate of offences linked to commercial activity, the highest of any locality. In 2024 St Julian's had 1,753 reported crimes, more than any other locality, followed by St Paul's Bay (8.5% of the total) and Birkirkara (4%). Sliema had 3.8%.

None of this makes Paceville a no-go area. It does mean the usual rules matter more here than elsewhere in Malta: buy your own drinks, keep them in sight, check every bill, and agree how the group gets home.

Is Valletta safe at night?

Yes. The survey result of 77% (81% in residents' own neighbourhoods) puts the Greater Valletta area above Lisbon (68%) and far ahead of Rome (38%), though below Zagreb (80%). We take 2 points off the survey-based score because robberies across Malta rose from 101 in 2021 to 246 in 2024 and because of the FCDOFCDO travel adviceThe UK government's travel advice for each country, which can advise against all travel or all but essential travel to specific areas.More in the glossary's Paceville warnings.

Theft and pickpockets

Police recorded 4,101 thefts on the main island of Malta in 2024, about 785 per 100,000 people (Eurostat), well below Venice province's rate but well above Croatia's. The FCDOFCDO travel adviceThe UK government's travel advice for each country, which can advise against all travel or all but essential travel to specific areas.More in the glossary says crime against tourists is rare, but it lists bag snatching, pickpocketing and theft from parked cars, and singles out crowded summer buses between Valletta and St Julian's as a place where thieves work. Keep bags zipped and in front on those routes, and do not leave valuables visible in a hire car.

The FCDO also notes rising online scams aimed at British nationals, from romance to fake jobs. They are a risk for people who move to Malta more than for short-stay visitors.

Roads and getting around

The NSO counted 18 road deaths in Malta in 2025, up from 12 in 2024, according to MaltaToday. At about 3.2 per 100,000 people, that is still well below Croatia (about 6.8) or Greece (6.4), but the FCDOFCDO travel adviceThe UK government's travel advice for each country, which can advise against all travel or all but essential travel to specific areas.More in the glossary says local standards of driving are poor and some roads are in bad condition. Motorcycles accounted for 40% of road casualties in the last quarter of 2025, and the Northern Harbour district, which includes Sliema and St Julian's, had a third of all accidents. Cross busy roads with care.

Heat, sea and storms

Malta's main natural hazard is heat. The Met Office's highest temperature on record is 43.8°C in August 1999, and a July 2023 heatwave reached 42.7°C, with six days in a row between 40°C and 42.7°C. Winter storms are the other risk. Storm Harry on 20 January 2026 was the strongest storm measured in Malta, according to the University of Malta's oceanography group: a buoy off the Grand Harbour recorded a 13.1-metre wave, the highest ever measured in Maltese waters. Keep off sea walls and exposed promenades in Sliema and Valletta when a gale warning is out.

IQAir puts Malta's 2024 PM2.5PM2.5Tiny airborne particles 2.5 micrometres across or smaller. They reach deep into the lungs and are the air pollutant most linked to early death.More in the glossary average at 11.7 µg/m³, lower than Croatia's 13.8 but above the WHO guideline of 5. At the beach, the FCDOFCDO travel adviceThe UK government's travel advice for each country, which can advise against all travel or all but essential travel to specific areas.More in the glossary says people drown every year, some beaches have strong undercurrents and hidden rocks, and red flags mean do not swim.

How we scored it

Violent crime (90) is Valletta's strongest factor, held back by rising robberies and the FCDOFCDO travel adviceThe UK government's travel advice for each country, which can advise against all travel or all but essential travel to specific areas.More in the glossary's assault and spiking warnings. Traffic safety (82) reflects a low death rate but poor driving standards. Walking at night (81) comes from the EU's 2023 survey, which we use for every European city, minus 2 points. Theft and scams (74) is the weakest factor because of pickpocketing on buses and St Julian's high crime share, though the FCDO calls crime against tourists rare.