Home » Malta island » St. Julian's and Paceville
The village of St. Julian’s (locally referred to as San Ġiljan) is located along the northern coastline of Malta, adjacent to Sliema and a few miles to the West of the capital city Valletta. It’s known as a more urban town in Malta, home to some of the tallest buildings on the island, and is a tourist and nightlife hotspot.
Once a small fisherman’s town, the locality developed rapidly in the 20th century into a more modern village. With a large concentration of restaurants, bars and clubs in the area, it’s a popular destination for locals, although it only counts around 14,000 residents.
Paceville is an area at the core of St. Julian’s, which is known as Malta’s centre of nightlife and clubbing, offering a variety of bars and nightclubs for a great night out.
The St. Julian’s area is also a popular place for some of its entertainment venues. In Paceville, you can find Malta’s largest cinema complex, a bowling arena, a shopping complex, a number of hotels and a small man-made beach at St. George’s Bay.
Although Paceville offers a few good restaurants, there’s a wider variety of choices in other parts of St. Julian’s as well, particularly Spinola Bay, which you’ll encounter along the promenade as you walk in the direction of Sliema. Balluta Bay (the second bay on your way to Sliema) has a small square with a number of smaller cafes, which are great to unwind during the day.
Despite the various package deals offered for St. Julian’s, the town is mostly popular among couples and groups of travellers who are looking for entertainment, good food and nightlife as an important part of their holiday. It’s also popular among singles and groups of youths for its nightlife around the Paceville area.
With a few of the country’s biggest English language schools around in Paceville, it’s a relatively young crowd that frequents the area.
If you’re wondering what the best place is to stay in Malta and whether St. Julian’s is the place for you, here are a few reasons for/against staying there to help you decide.
For other methods of transportation, such as grabbing a taxi or hiring a car, refer to my article on transportation in Malta.
Tip: When staying in a hotel in St. Julian’s, make sure the hotel offers private parking if you plan on renting a car. Public parking is notoriously limited in this area.
Get more detailed info here: How to easily get from Malta Airport to St. Julian’s
St. Julian’s is a modern town that developed rapidly after the 1960s. Before that, it was mainly agricultural land used as hunting grounds by the Knights and later by the British. So, in contrast with other areas in Malta that are overly rich in interesting places to visit, in St. Julian’s, you will only find a handful. Though, in any case, if culture and exploration are very important on your holiday, this wouldn’t be the best place to stay for you anyway.
If you’d like to venture out of St. Julian’s for some sightseeing, these are a few options you can consider:
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Some of the best hotels in Malta are located in St. Julian’s. For all of my recommendations, have a look at this guide: The Best St. Julian’s Hotels.
These are a few quick recommendations for some of the more popular hotels:
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Restaurants in St. Julian’s are everywhere, on every street and every corner. To give you an indication of the cost for a starter and main course with a basic drink, I’ve marked each restaurant with Euro symbols ranging from € (€15-20 pp) to €€€€ (€50+ pp).
This is a list of personal favourites:
Paceville is the place to be for clubbing and a bustling nightlife, with a mixed audience and various styles of music. Different clubs offer different styles of music, from R&B to Hip-hop and EDM to Rock. Most places have free entrance, which makes Paceville ideal for simply hopping from one bar/club to another. At a handful of others, you have to pay a low entrance fee.
If you’re into doing pub crawls, consider joining one organised by Malta Pub Crawl. Throughout the year they organise pub crawl events that take you past some of the best pubs in the St. Julian’s area. It’s a great way to meet new people from all over the world and their fees include a bunch of drinks, combined with fun games and challenges.
The other parts of St. Julian’s offer mainly restaurants, wine bars and pubs, which all come in different flavours and in the case of restaurants, cater for different budgets.
It is obvious, from the name of the town, that the patron saint of St. Julian’s is in fact none other than Saint Julian. Like many other Maltese and Gozitan towns, St. Julian’s holds celebrations in honour of its patron saint. The St. Julian’s festa is held late in August, with the participation of two band clubs – St. Julian’s Band Club, formed in 1927 and Spinola Band Club, formed in 1987.
The bands provide merry music in the streets, while fireworks are shot off a raft in the middle of Spinola Bay.
Lapsi Feast is an annual event held in June and organised by St. Julian’s local council in collaboration with other local entities. During this feast, the streets near Spinola Bay are transformed into an exhibit of folklore and traditions, with music, food and lots of activities.
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There are three bays in the St. Julian’s area, of which two offer sandy (manmade) beaches for swimming:
If you’re staying in the area and don’t feel like taking a trip to other beaches around Malta, you could make use of swimming pools at a few of the local hotels. Most hotels offer paid entrance to their swimming pool where you can spend a day relaxing by the pool. Sliema also offers a few options, some within walking distance (or a short bus ride) from St. Julian’s.
Scuba diving in Malta and Gozo is a popular outdoor activity. Whether you’re on your own or with friends, you can join one of a number of diving schools based in St. Julian’s that offer diving packages for everyone. Their offerings range from instructor-led scuba diving courses for beginners to expert-level experiences. Planning, logistics and equipment are taken care of by the respective diving centre, so all you have to do is plan your dive days.
The following is a list of diving centres In St. Julian’s:
Although there are over 14,000 residents in St. Julian’s and many more visitors during the year, there are only a few supermarkets in the area. That said, they’re located in convenient places across town:
St. Julian’s is a relatively young village that was practically undeveloped until the 1800s, having traditionally been a fisherman’s village. the area where today lies St. Julian’s started being used for hunting by the Knights of St John, who also built the first chapel (known as Lapsi) in about 1580. This was later demolished and rebuilt several times until the final version was erected around 1716. During this time, the village continued to grow slowly.
The construction of Spinola Palace, overlooking Spinola Bay, started in 1688 and proved to be a first step in the slow development of the coastal area of St. Julian’s. Under British rule, St. Julian’s was transformed into an important seaside village boasting several prestigious residences. The St. Julian’s parish church in use today was built in 1961.
St. Julian’s is within walking distance of Sliema – the two towns are separated by a mere 2-kilometre walk (less than half an hour away). If you enjoy walking, you could try the promenade, a lovely stretch of pavement that joins the two towns on their sea-facing sides.
Although there are only a few kilometres separating St. Julian’s and Valletta, there’s the harbour to take into account. It separates the two cities and walking around takes an hour and a half.
You can take a bus, which takes about 30 min. You can also walk the short distance from St. Julian’s to Sliema and then catch a ferry boat and cross the harbour. The ferry trip takes around 10 minutes.
St. Julian’s might not be the best choice if what you’re looking for is a peaceful holiday. The nightlife in Paceville tends to fill the evenings and nights with quite a lot of commotion and you should avoid staying in the area if you’re not into clubbing and partying.
Compared to St. Julian’s, Sliema is much quieter and relaxed.
Edward is the Founder and Editor of Malta Uncovered and author of two guidebooks on Malta and Valletta.
As a tourist-turned-expat with Maltese roots, he knows the islands inside out and helps thousands of visitors enjoy a memorable trip every year.
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Hi I am looking into Malta for this summer. Just four days in June after I finish my university semester. Me and my partner have fallen in love with the look of pergola spa hotel but were worried Malleha is going to be difficult to get around as we do not plan on hiring a car. We have looked at St Julians but not sure if if its too party for us. Effectively I want cute squares for a coffee or a wine, some nice bars overlooking the sea or in the area of the hotels, perhaps a nice beach and a traditional feeling Malta experience. Were getting past the age of wanting an ibiza sort holiday which with a quick google paceville gives that energy. So any area to stay that can include those factors please please recommend and that is easily accessible without a hire car.
Hi Chloe, since it’s just for four days, I would still recommend you stay in Mellieħa because I do think it ticks all the boxes you describe. I tend to recommend car hire for staying there to visitors looking to stay longer and wanting to venture out in the surrounding areas and other beaches, which I don’t think you care about on this trip. The one challenge with transport is the fact that the village is located on a hill and to get down to the beach you’ll need to take a bus. Several routes pass between Mellieħa and Mellieħa Bay, so as such, it’s very doable, but in summer bus stops at the beach are pretty busy at the end of the day. Alternative options are 1) Some local hotels offer bus transport as an extra service – often without additional charge), 2) Worst case, get an Uber/Bolt.
I hope that helps. Happy trip planning!
Edward
We are planing on coming to Malta oct 17 for 3 nts. I am a travel agent and have looked at Airbnb’s in the old part of Valletta but am also able to get a great rate at the new Holiday Inn Express in St Julian’s. We are not planning on renting a car but rather use public transport and also perhaps some Viator options to explore some other areas as my husband is interested in history and the countryside. Any suggestions as to our accommodations would be appreciated! I am so enjoying your information and will be sure to share with any of my clients.
Hi Beverly, thank you for the compliment! The new Holiday Inn Express is right in the heart of Paceville, the nightlife centre of St. Julian’s. In other words: That’s a pretty busy area and not ideal as a base to explore other parts of Malta. I’d suggest staying closer on the Sliema side of town, where it’ll be easier to get a ferry to Valletta and boat trips to Gozo and Comino, for example. I hope that helps!
We are visiting Malta May 11, 2018 for a few day and staying at the Westin. Will it be relatively warm then and possibly swimming weather but not as crowded?
Hi Richard, it might still be a little early for swimming – it’s right around the time of year when the swimming season starts but it’s hard to predict exactly how warm it’ll be. In any case, it’ll be pretty quiet at the beaches still, especially on weekdays.
How much do the clubs fill up in St. Julian’s? Does it make the place unsafe? Are there drugs and rape because of it?
Hi Cecilie, it’s hard to give you an exact answer because it depends on the club. In general, yes, clubs in Paceville (part of St. Julian’s) can get pretty crowded, particularly on Fridays and Saturdays. Would I say the area is “unsafe”? No, it’s not uncommon for people to get caught doing drugs and drunken fights occur fairly regularly. Rape cases aren’t very common but they do happen from time to time. To summarise: You can go out in Paceville alright, but if you’re concerned about safety don’t get completely wasted, stay out of trouble and don’t leave your drinks unattended to be safe.
Hi, we are looking to stay at the Hilton St.Julians Hotel from 5th – 10th December this year. Whilst I realise that the weather won’t be hot, will all the bars and restaurants still be open or will we be restricted to our hotel for food & drink?
Thanks for any info you can provide.
Hi Karen, you’ll find that most bars and restaurants are open all year round. Quick tip: Fri 8th Dec is a public holiday so I’d advise you to book a restaurant in advance if you’re looking to dine out on the 7th and 8th. Saturdays are always busy so the same goes for the 9th.