In short
Valletta measures eight hundred metres by six hundred. It is one of the smallest capitals in Europe, and the entire city is a World Heritage site.
It was built in one piece by the Knights after the siege of 1565, on a grid plan. St John's Co-Cathedral holds two Caravaggios, including the only canvas he ever signed.
What it really costs
Malta is in the eurozone. Housing has risen sharply with the arrival of company headquarters and English-language schools, and Valletta is dearer than the rest of the island.
Buses cover the archipelago for two euros a trip and twelve for a weekly card. There is no train and no metro, and a car is useless in the centre.
What nobody tells you
English is an official language alongside Maltese: everything is settled in English, which makes moving here simpler than elsewhere in the Mediterranean.
The island is small and dense — half a million people on three hundred and sixteen square kilometres — and there is almost no wild country. Anyone coming for space will not find it.
Tap water is desalinated and safe to drink, but the taste puts people off. Nearly everyone buys bottled, and it is a real budget item.
