Upper Barrakka Gardens

Upper Barrakka Gardens is a raised public garden on the bastions of Valletta, Malta, offering the classic panorama over the Grand Harbour. The gardens were laid out as a private retreat for Italian knights of the Order of St John and later opened to the public. Today an arcaded terrace of limestone loggias, shaded paths, fountains, flowerbeds and a series of statues and busts of notable Maltese and foreign figures make up the grounds. From the parapet, visitors look across the water to Fort St Angelo, the Three Cities of Birgu, Senglea and Cospicua, and the working harbour, where cruise liners, ferries and traditional boats pass throughout the day. Below the terrace, the Saluting Battery is reported to fire a gun salute at 12:00 and 16:00 daily, a ceremony that draws a crowd along the railings a little before each time. The Barrakka Lift connects the gardens with the waterline at Lascaris Wharf and gives a second viewpoint on the way down. Most visitors spend between thirty minutes and an hour, longer if they stop at the small cafe within the gardens. For photography, the arcade frames the harbour well in the late afternoon, when the low sun warms the stone of the Three Cities opposite, while mornings give clearer light over the water. The gardens are free to enter and are at their busiest around the gun salutes, especially at midday when cruise groups gather; the quietest periods are early morning and the hour before closing. The gardens are a short walk from City Gate along Valletta's streets, and are often combined with a visit to the nearby Lower Barrakka Gardens and the Siege Bell Memorial.