St Julian’s, Malta’s lively seaside and nightlife hub

Paceville: the heart of Maltese nightlife

Paceville is, without question, the party hub of St Julian’s. The epicentre of Maltese nightlife, this district, barely more than a single street, is packed with dozens of bars, clubs and entertainment venues. The drinks flow freely and hundreds of young revellers, mostly aged 17 to 30, gather here every night to a deafening soundtrack. Beyond its clubs, Paceville also has a cinema, a bowling alley and a shopping centre, the Bay Street Shopping Complex.

St George’s Bay beach

St George’s Bay is a small beach just below the nightlife district, one of the few beaches in Malta. With its charming little lagoon, it is hugely popular with tourists and language-school students.

Spinola Bay

Just steps from the buzz of Paceville begins St Julian’s loveliest bay, stretching from Spinola to Exiles Bay on the edge of Sliema. Spinola Bay, with its famous « Love Monument », is a former fishing harbour where you can still see luzzu, the traditional Maltese boats. The perfect spot to stroll by the water or sit down for a meal facing the sea.

Balluta Bay

Balluta Bay is the next bay along from Spinola. It offers a slightly quieter alternative, with a small man-made sandy beach ideal for sunbathing and a swim. A charming spot too, with its landmark neo-Gothic Balluta church, dedicated to Our Lady of Mount Carmel.

Portomaso

Portomaso is St Julian’s other face: that of luxury and exclusivity. The district is home to a spectacular marina where yachts and luxury boats gather, ringed by some of Malta’s most expensive apartments and the landmark Hilton hotel. The refined restaurants and cafés lining the marina invite an exceptional dining experience. An upmarket, quiet setting just metres from the bustle of Paceville.

The Mercury Tower

The Mercury Tower is Malta’s tallest building, at 121 metres. Designed by architect Zaha Hadid, it stands out for a distinctive twist between the 10th and 13th floors. Opened in 2023, it houses a three-level shopping mall, a lively public square and a mix of residential and hotel space, including the five-star ME by Meliá. It is now the place to shop in Malta.

St Julian’s takes its name from a chapel dedicated to Saint Julian the Hospitaller, built in the late 16th century on the hill overlooking Spinola Bay. For centuries, San Ġiljan was no more than a modest fishing village clustered around its bay, extended in the 17th century by the Spinola palace and gardens, whose name has stayed with the harbour.

Everything changed with tourism. From the 1960s, the seafront setting, the sheltered bays and the closeness to Sliema drew hotels, restaurants and nightlife. In some thirty years, the village became the archipelago’s main seaside resort: Paceville turned into the heart of the party scene, Portomaso rose from the ground with its marina and Malta’s first tower (2001), and the cranes never left the skyline.

Today’s town embraces that identity: dense, vertical, geared towards entertainment, crowned since 2023 by Zaha Hadid’s Mercury Tower. Yet traces of old San Ġiljan remain, starting with the church of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, still watching over the luzzu of Spinola Bay.

St Julian’s lies on Malta’s east coast, just north of Sliema, whose long seafront promenade it extends. The town stretches along a succession of bays, from Balluta to St George’s Bay via Spinola, and climbs inland towards the Paceville and Swieqi plateaus. Balluta Bay, the first bay on the Sliema side, has a small man-made sandy beach and the elegant neo-Gothic Balluta church. Malta International Airport is about a dozen kilometres away, in Luqa.

The bus is the easiest way to reach St Julian’s. Many routes serve the town and Paceville from the Valletta terminus, the airport, Sliema and the north of the island; the ticket, valid for two hours including transfers, is bought from the driver.

From Sliema, the nicest option is to walk: about twenty minutes along the seafront promenade are enough to reach Balluta and then Spinola. By car, it’s best to avoid Paceville in the evening (heavy traffic and scarce parking); the Bolt, eCabs and Uber apps quote the fare before you ride.

St Julian’s can be visited year-round, but late spring (May-June) and September offer the best balance: warm sea, lively terraces and still-reasonable crowds. In July and August the town runs at full tilt, beaches and bays included; aim for the morning to swim, for instance at the small St George’s Bay beach. Paceville’s nightlife, for its part, has no low season: it’s in full swing every weekend, and every night in summer.

How long to plan for? Half a day is enough to walk the seafront from Balluta to St George’s Bay, with time for a coffee in Spinola and a photo at the Love Monument. But St Julian’s is above all a base: very well connected, full of hotels and restaurants, it serves as a day-and-night camp for many travellers, who then branch out to Valletta, Mdina or the Blue Lagoon.

At Spinola Bay, the terraces line the water’s edge (CUBA, Gululu, San Giuliano, MÉŻ): the perfect spot for brunch, a drink or dinner facing the luzzu. It’s also a good place to try fenek, Maltese-style rabbit, the island’s signature dish. Over at Portomaso, the mood turns chicer, around fine-dining tables lining the marina.

Paceville, meanwhile, runs on fast food and the post-night-out kebab. For a view from above, several rooftops open their pool and bar to the panorama (the Infinity at Hugo’s, the FLO Skypool, the SKYBEACH at the InterContinental), often accessible without being a hotel guest.

St Julian’s divides opinion, and that’s fair enough: you don’t come here for the charm of an old Maltese village, but for the energy of the island’s liveliest resort. Seen that way, it delivers. The Spinola seafront at sunset is a genuine postcard; water sports reign; the choice of hotels, restaurants and bars is unrivalled in Malta; and its location, right next to Sliema and fifteen minutes from Valletta, makes it an ideal base.

The flip side is just as clear. The town is a permanent building site, bristling with cranes, and its runaway development has erased much of its fishing-port past. It is also overrun by language-trip students in high season, turning Paceville and its surroundings into one big holiday camp. Paceville is a fantastic playground for under-30 night-owls, but literally a nightmare for travellers seeking quiet: noise, tipsy crowds and unapologetic concrete. The beaches, finally, amount to very little. To each their own: St Julian’s rewards those who come for the buzz and will delight younger travellers under thirty, but will probably be a bit too hectic for more mature visitors.