Malta, one locality at a time.
All 68 local councils in Malta and Gozo, plus the named bays that get looked up on their own, with what each place is like, who a stay there suits, and what is worth going for. Each one also carries the things only an operator asks about: the collection time, what the council enforces, and how much of the local short-let stock is estimated to be unlicensed.
Eastern Region
- BirkirkaraOne of Malta's largest towns by population. Inland, with a substantial old core and no coast at all.Collection 8am
- GharghurA small hilltop village in the north-east with long views and a quiet, traditional core.Collection 9am
- GziraA dense harbour-side town between Sliema and Msida, cheaper than its neighbours and used heavily by students and short lets.Collection 8am
- IklinOne of Malta's newest localities, and almost entirely housing. There is no centre to speak of.Collection 9am
- LijaOne of the Three Villages, known for its baroque core, its citrus gardens and its August fireworks.Collection 9am
- MsidaA harbour and university town, built around a yacht marina, busy with traffic and with students.Collection 8.30am
- PembrokeA planned district on the north-east coast, built on former British garrison land and greener than anything around it.Collection 7am
- PietaA small harbour-side locality between Msida and Floriana, dominated by the main hospital and by through traffic.Collection 7.30am
- SliemaMalta's densest short-let market, built along a seafront promenade facing Valletta across the harbour.Collection 7pm, 1pm Saturdays
- St Julian'sMalta's nightlife centre, wrapped around a working marina, with Paceville at its noisy heart.Collection 7.30am
- SwieqiA modern residential hill above St Julian's, popular with families and with anyone who wants Paceville nearby but not underneath.Collection 8am
- Ta XbiexA quiet, green diplomatic and yachting district on the harbour, with the calmest streets in the area.Collection 9am
Port Region
- BirguThe oldest of the Three Cities, a dense fortified peninsula across the Grand Harbour from Valletta.Collection 8.30am
- BormlaThe largest of the Three Cities, wrapped around the head of the creek. Less visited than its two neighbours, and cheaper for it.Collection 8am
- FguraA dense residential town in the south, almost entirely modern housing.Collection 7.30am
- FlorianaThe fortified suburb immediately outside Valletta's walls. Same period, more space, far fewer visitors.Collection 9am
- IslaA narrow fortified peninsula beside Birgu, densely built and tightly knit, with a famous harbour view.Collection 8am
- KalkaraA creek-side village beside the Three Cities, noticeably calmer than any of them.Collection 7.30am
- PaolaA large residential town in the south, best known for the Hypogeum, a prehistoric underground burial complex.Collection 9am
- TarxienA residential town beside Paola, with a major prehistoric temple complex at its edge.Collection 7am
- VallettaThe capital, a fortified 16th-century city on a peninsula between two harbours, and a UNESCO World Heritage Site in its entirety.Collection 7am
- XghajraA plain seaside village on the south-east shore, with a rocky coast and almost no tourist infrastructure.Collection 9.30am
- ZabbarA large southern town with a substantial baroque sanctuary and a strong local feast tradition.Collection 7am
Northern Region
- AttardOne of the Three Villages, the greenest part of central Malta, and home to the presidential palace gardens.Collection 7am
- BalzanThe smallest of the Three Villages. A compact old core, walled gardens, and very little to visit.Collection 7.30am
- MelliehaA hillside town in the far north above Malta's best sandy beach, with the quietest large-scale tourism on the island.Collection 7am
- MgarrA rural village in the north-west, surrounded by farmland, with prehistoric temples and a wartime shelter beneath it.Collection 7am
- MostaA large central town built around one of the biggest church domes in Europe.Collection 7.30am
- MtarfaA small hilltop town beside Mdina, built as a British military station, with long views west.Collection 9.30am
- NaxxarA large central town with an old core, a stately home and a good deal of modern growth around it.Collection 9am
- San GwannA modern town between the centre and the coast. Its value is where it is rather than what it is.Collection 7am
- St Paul's BayThe largest tourist area in the north, taking in Bugibba, Qawra, Xemxija and Burmarrad under one council.Collection 7am
Western Region
- DingliA cliff-top village on the island's highest ground, known for the views west and the sunsets.Collection 6.30pm
- KirkopOne of Malta's smallest villages, a few minutes from the airport and under the approach.Collection 7.30am
- MdinaThe former capital, a walled silent city on a hilltop, almost entirely without cars and with very few residents.Collection 8.30am
- MqabbaA small southern village known for its limestone quarries and its summer feast fireworks.Collection 7.30am
- QrendiA quiet southern village between two of Malta's most important temple sites and the south coast cliffs.Collection 7.30am
- RabatThe town outside Mdina's walls, with catacombs beneath it and most of the area's accommodation and restaurants.Collection 7.30am
- SafiA small quiet village in the south near the airport, almost entirely residential.Collection 7am
- SiggiewiA large rural village in the south-west, with a wide square and open country running down to the cliffs.Collection 7am
- ZebbugA large inland town in the west with a fine baroque church and a long crafts history.Collection 7.30am
- ZurrieqA southern village near the Blue Grotto, with a small fishing inlet at Wied iz-Zurrieq.Collection 8am
Southern Region
- BirzebbugaA southern coastal town with a sandy bay, sitting alongside Malta's container port.Collection 7am
- GhaxaqAn unhurried southern village between the airport and the south-eastern coast.Collection 7.30am
- GudjaA quiet village near the airport with a long history and a small old core.Collection 7.30am
- HamrunA long high street on the main road into Valletta, densely populated and one of the most mixed parts of the island.Collection 9am
- LuqaThe airport town. Convenient for an early flight, and loud for everything else.Collection 9am
- MarsaAn industrial and transport district at the head of the Grand Harbour, not a visitor destination.Collection 9am
- MarsascalaA south-eastern seaside town around a long bay, popular with Maltese families and quieter than the northern resorts.Collection 7.30am
- MarsaxlokkMalta's best-known fishing village, where the painted luzzu boats fill the harbour and the Sunday market runs along the front.Collection 7.30am
- QormiA large, densely built town known nationally for its bakeries and its two rival feasts.Collection 7am
- Santa LuciaA small planned garden suburb in the south, unusually green and entirely residential.Collection 7.30am
- Santa VeneraA central town strung along the main artery into Valletta, with the old aqueduct arches still standing beside it.Collection 7.30am
- ZejtunA large southern town with a substantial old core and one of the finest parish churches on the island.Collection 7.30am
Gozo Region
- FontanaA very small village on the road out of Victoria, built around a spring and a washhouse.Collection 7am
- GhajnsielemThe village above Mgarr harbour, where the Malta ferry arrives, on Gozo's south-eastern corner.Collection 7am
- GharbOne of Gozo's prettiest villages, in farmland, with the national shrine standing alone in the fields nearby.Collection 7am
- GhasriThe smallest locality in Gozo by population. A scattering of houses in farmland, with a cliff inlet below.Collection 7am
- KercemA village on the edge of Victoria with farmland beginning immediately behind it.Collection 7am
- MarsalfornGozo's main seaside resort: a bay of restaurants and apartments on the north coast, and where most visitors to the island sleep.Collection 7am
- MunxarA quiet village on the ridge above Xlendi, whose council covers the bay below.Collection 7am
- NadurA hilltop town in eastern Gozo with wide views, quiet streets and two beaches below it.Collection 7am
- QalaGozo's easternmost village, on the tip that looks across the channel to Comino.Collection 7am
- San LawrenzA quiet western village near Dwejra, where the Azure Window stood until it collapsed in 2017.Collection 7am
- SannatA village on Gozo's southern cliffs, quiet, with the Ta' Cenc plateau beyond it.Collection 7am
- VictoriaGozo's capital, in the middle of the island, under a fortified citadel, and the best-connected base on it.Collection 7am
- XaghraA large hilltop village in northern Gozo, with the Ggantija temples at its edge and Ramla bay below.Collection 7am
- XewkijaA central Gozo village dominated by a rotunda whose dome is visible from most of the island.Collection 7am
- XlendiA steep-sided bay on Gozo's south-west coast, smaller and more scenic than Marsalforn, with clear water at the head of it.Collection 7am
- Zebbug GozoA hilltop village in northern Gozo with long views, whose council also covers Marsalforn on the coast below.Collection 7am
Questions about the localities.
- How many localities are there in Malta and Gozo?
- Sixty-eight local councils, fifty-four in Malta and fourteen in Gozo. They are grouped into six regions: Eastern, Port, Northern, Western, Southern and Gozo. The region is who to contact about a missed waste collection, because residential collection is run by the regional councils rather than by WasteServ.
- Where is the best place to stay in Malta?
- It depends on whether you have a car. Without one, Sliema and St Paul's Bay put almost everything in walking distance and both have frequent buses; Valletta suits anyone who wants history at the door. With a car, Mellieha reaches the sandy beaches and Rabat reaches Mdina and the west. For nightlife it is St Julian's, and Paceville within it runs until dawn. On Gozo, Victoria is the best connected and Marsalforn and Xlendi are the two places on the sea.
- Does waste collection happen at the same time everywhere in Malta?
- No. Which bag goes out on which day is national and identical in every locality, but the collection time is set by each of the 68 local councils and ranges from 7am to 7pm. Two collect in the evening: Sliema at 7pm on weekdays and 1pm on Saturdays, and Dingli at 6.30pm. Bags may go out up to 4 hours before the collection time of the locality.
- Which parts of Malta have the most unlicensed short lets?
- Gzira at about 46%, Sliema at about 30% and St Paul's Bay at about 28%, against roughly 24% nationally, according to Amphora Media in October 2025. Every licensed short let must display its licence number on its adverts and on a sign at the door, which is the quickest way for a guest to tell one from the other.
- Do Malta short-let rules differ by locality?
- The licensing rules in L.N. 92 of 2026 are national. Two things are local: the waste collection time, set by each council, and enforcement, which is concentrated where the pressure is. The MTA may also impose locality-specific criteria and local councils can add conditions through bye-laws, so a locality can end up with rules of its own.
Every one of these doors needs a sign.
A licensed short let in Malta has to display a sign at the door under L.N. 92 of 2026, Sixth Schedule Standard 1.1.2, carrying the address, the licence number, and the name and 24-hour contact of the responsible person. Ours is free, print-ready, and the QR on it opens a page carrying the collection times above.