Malta.

Malta's capital packs palaces, churches and harbour views into a fortified peninsula. Visit for a concentrated architectural walk, with individual interiors to select rather than trying to enter everything.

The pleasure is seeing a whole city shaped by the Knights Hospitaller, rather than one isolated monument. Gardens and defensive walls frame the water, while the streets bring religious and civic architecture close together. Valletta rewards a walk that alternates buildings with pauses at the edges of the peninsula.

Valletta's buildings tell a longer story than its predominantly Baroque appearance suggests. The Knights Hospitaller created a capital whose architecture expressed religious authority, civic life and military power within the same walls. Its palaces and churches are therefore part of the same urban project as its bastions and other defences. Look beyond the decorative façades to see how firmly the city occupies its peninsula between two harbours. Later Mannerist, Neoclassical and modern interventions mean the streets are not a frozen picture of one period. The Second World War also left a visible break in that continuity, notably through the destruction of the Royal Opera House. UNESCO recognised the historic city in 1980. Its significance lies in this surviving urban ensemble: buildings, fortifications and waterfront setting make sense together, even when you enter only a few individual sites.

• Marsamxett Harbour and the Grand Harbour flank opposite sides of the city.
• Baroque palaces and churches sit within a continuous fortified city.
• Modern architecture adds another layer to the historic streets.

Build a street-and-harbour walk first, then select the interiors that interest you.

Treat museum and church visits as separate commitments within the city walk.