I never visit Malta without spending at least one day in the island’s former capital – known as the Silent City, it’s easy to fill one day in Mdina with kids as well.
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These days, you’ll find plenty of fans of Game of Thrones visiting the city which was partly filmed here, including the main gate of Mdina, which is most visitors’ starting point to get into the city.
But once you get through the bustle of horses and carts and the crowds which head over the bridge and cluster around the souvenir shops by the entrance, it’s easy to find a quieter corner in this historic city, as well as more than a few family attractions.
Why visit Mdina with kids
There’s been a city on this site since around 700BCE, when it was founded by the Phoenicians – the current name is a corruption of the Arab word Medina, and the official founding of the settlement, which sits high on a hill, was during the 11th century when Malta was ruled by the Arabs.
Around 900 years ago the Normans conquered the island, rebuilding the town and repairing the walls, but by the time the Knights of St John arrived, they decided their capital needed to be by the coast, settling at Vittoriosa (also known as Birgu) before building the new city at Valletta, which went on to become the capital and has been for around 450 years.
Mdina itself was damaged in an earthquake in 1693, but despite more repairs and renovations, the city has still kept its medieval structure.
Inside the fortifications, there’s a feeling that time has stood still in this Unesco World Heritage site (especially if you can find a quiet alleyway). All honey-coloured stone, the streets are often too narrow even for a horse and carriage, and the only cars allowed inside are for residents and emergency vehicles.
Half the fun is strolling around, taking random streets to see where it leads you – Mdina isn’t really big enough to get badly lost, and you’ll stumble across all kinds of tempting places along the way.
TOP TIP: Visit outside peak season if you can and arrive early, to avoid the worst of the crowds as well as the heat. The smaller streets can often be shady but if you’re heading up to the walls and wandering across the open squares, there’s almost no protection from the sun. My last visit in April was perfect – not too busy and not too hot.
What to do in Mdina with kids
Main Gate of Mdina
You’ll almost certainly be walking in through the Main Gate of Mdina at some point, as this is one of the few entrances into the pedestrianised city, and the one where buses and most taxis will stop.
One of the filming locations used in Game of Thrones as the gate for King’s Landing, you don’t have to have watched the show to appreciate how dramatic it feels, walking across the bridge to the archway.
There’s been a fortified gate here for centuries, although the current Baroque gate was rebuilt in the 18th century. Look out for the carved lions as you walk past.
You’ll also find plenty of horses and carriages stopped here (and elsewhere inside the walls) – it’s not a cheap experience to ride in one and very touristy, but if you fancy it, you’ll have plenty of choice.
For more things to do in Malta with kids, check out my top picks
The Knights of Malta
This attraction, with its introduction to Mdina’s history, can be a bit kitschy (with occasional glitches with technology) but it’s a fun way for kids to learn more about the city.
The Knights of Malta starts with a 3D film sharing a brief history of the Crusades and how the Knights of St John came to be in Malta, the siege by the Turks and their centuries in power before Napoleon Bonaparte’s brief conquest, followed by British rule.
Then there are a string of scenes with figures showing details from the time the knights ruled Malta; each lights up in turn with an audioguide narrating and telling you when to move on to the next tableau.
Some are slightly gruesome if you have younger kids (and when the lights of each scene switches off, you are surrounded by dark areas), while some of the figures could do with a bit of a facelift. But it’s one of the more entertaining ways to get whisked through the city’s history.
Buy tickets with free cancellation here
The National Museum of Natural History
The 18th century Palazzo Vilhena was once home to the Grand Master of the Order of St John, Antonio Manoel de Vilhena (who also gives his name to Manoel Island near Sliema and Gzira).
But today, instead of powerful rulers, you’ll find dinosaurs within the National Museum of Natural History.
Keep an eye out for the tooth of the Giant White Shark (Carcharocles megalodon), as well as a 4,000-year-old mummified Nile crocodile, fossils and a flying squid which washed ashore in the 1980s.
Opened to showcase the island’s biodiversity, it also houses an impressive rock and fossil collection, as well as many bird, mammal, fish, and insect specimens from Malta and further afield.
You can get a 6-day Malta heritage pass including entry to the National Museum of Natural History, as well as unlimited use of the hop-on hop-off routes and 19 other heritage attractions across the island
Head onto the bastions
Sitting on a hilltop high above the surrounding countryside, Mdina’s location was picked for its defensive capabilities – you could see any enemy coming from miles away.
You might not spot any invading hordes during your visit (hopefully!) but the views are fantastic, right out to the sea, as well as across the fields.
There are several different places where you can climb up. Bastion Square is one of the main spots, where it’s easy to get onto the fortifications and look out across the countryside.
Or head to the Main Gate ramparts, which overlook the moat, and gaze down onto neighbouring Rabat.
Domus Romana
Just outside the city walls, you’ll find a reminder than Mdina’s history stretches back long before the knights who built the golden streets and the Arabs who gave it its name, with the remains of a Roman villa dating back to the 1st century BCE.
There’s a small museum with some of the finds, from glass and household objects to a recreated skeleton in a stone sarcophagus.
You can get a 6-day Malta heritage pass including entry to the National Museum of Natural History, as well as unlimited use of the hop-on hop-off routes and 19 other heritage attractions across the island
But the best part is being able to see the remains of the villa itself downstairs, with mosaic floors preserved intact, and boards explaining the different designs as well as the original layout of the house.
Outside, there’s also the remains of other parts of the villa, overgrown by grass and feeling unexpectedly tranquil. Parts were destroyed when the railway was built, but there’s still plenty to capture kids’ imaginations, especially if they’re learning about Roman life at school.
Older kids will also enjoy heading into the catacombs which survive in Rabat – you can visit St Paul’s catacombs which date back to the 3rd century BCE and were used as secret places of worship as well as later as an underground cemetery, as well as St Agatha’s catacombs.
The co-cathedral of St Paul
The grandest building inside Mdina, the cathedral (officially the island’s co-cathedral along with Valletta’s co-cathedral of St John) was built on the site of an ancient Roman temple and a later 12th century Norman church which was destroyed in the earthquake.
Accrding to tradition, it stands on the site where Roman governor Publius met St Paul following his shipwreck on Malta. The current cathedral was built at the end of the 17th century and early 18th century after the earthquake.
You need to buy a ticket from the little museum next to the cathedral (or you can buy online in advance), which gives you access to both the church itself and the collections on display – look out for the huge 800-year-old bell.
Inside the cathedral itself, even if your kids aren’t usually interested in visiting churches, the ornate decoration is astonishing, including gilded and painted ceilings and decorative marble on the floor.
If your kids are interested in history, you can also visit St Peter’s Church and Monastery, Malta’s oldest female convent where they sell sweet treats made to a centuries-old recipe and the Carmelite Church and Convent, with its ornate Baroque church and a chance to see the 17th century cloister and some of the original rooms.
Palazzo Falson
For a glimpse into daily life in Mdina in centuries gone by, Palazzo Falson is the second oldest building in the city, a restored 13th century townhouse belonging to a member of the nobility, now restored as a museum.
Home to artworks by Van Dyck and other 17th century artists, some rooms are recreated as they would have been in centuries past, with period furnishings and costumes. There are collections of everything from coins and jewellery to armour on display with over 3,500 items over 17 rooms
You can buy tickets with free cancellation here. Not suitable for children under six (and realistically, it’s unlikely to interest them anyway).
The Mdina Experience
Similar to the Malta Experience in Valletta, this 30-minute video experience takes you back over 7,000 years of history, with an introduction to Mdina, including the period when it was Malta’s capital.
The Mdina Experience follows the arrival of the first known inhabitants, the temple builders, to the Phoenicians, Romans, the arrival of Christianity with St Paul, and on to the building of the Arab city, conquest by the Normans and the arrival of the Knights of St John.
There’s also a medieval tavern on site if you want to complete the historical experience (including wraps as well as traditional Maltese dishes). Buy tickets with free cancellation here.
Although the two are different, there’s some overlap between the Malta Experience and the Mdina Experience so probably not worth doing both
Mdina Dungeons
Very definitely not for younger children, the Mdina Dungeons museum tells some of the story of the history of Malta, complete with historically accurate blood, gore, torture, death and drama.
Billing itself as Malta’s only Dark Walk attraction, you can expect moaning, groaning models as well as realistic torture devices – plus it’s set in the Inquisition’s former dungeons to add a few more genuine shivers down the spine.
Allow around 30-60 minutes to wander through – definitely a more unusual alternative view of Maltese history, depending as long as your kids love a few gruesome scenes rather than having nightmares for the rest of the holiday.
Where to eat in Mdina with kids
Mdina is known for its tea gardens, so if you’re hoping to stop for a drink and a cake, you’ll be spoiled for choice.
If you’re looking for something more substantial, Coogi’s is a great option. There are two branches in Mdina, including the tea garden near Bastion Square, with some great views (definitely book ahead here).
We headed to the one in Palazzo Constanzo on Triq Il Villegaignon instead, which has a lovely internal courtyard to eat in, plus some fantastic pizza on the menu and a great selection of cakes too.
Fontanella Tea Garden is another popular spot for its views by the bastion walls, while the Crystal Palace Bar just outside Mdina in Rabat is famous for its pastizzi, which are supposed to be some of the best in Malta – choose from traditional ricotta or pea fillings.
Bring them back to Il-Foss Tal, the gardens in the former ditch surrounding the city, where you can picnic on the grass – the Greek Gate takes you to the entrance, as well as to the Domus Romana nearby.
How to get to Mdina
Buses run from Valletta to Mdina, taking around 30 minutes – use route 51, 52 or 53. Alternatively you can get a taxi – it costs around 15 Euros with Bolt and took us around 20 minutes travelling back to the Upper Barrakka Gardens.
Alternatively, if you have tickets for the hop-on hop-off bus, the northern route runs to the gate of Mdina. It’s not a fast route, taking around two hours from Sliema, just over an hour from Valletta Waterfront, travelling via Mosta and Ta Qali (for the Aviation Museum and Artisan Village) before heading north to Buggiba.
This vintage bus also runs to Mdina several times a day, for a slightly more exciting bus alternative.
You can also book guided day tours of Mdina and Rabat from Valletta, usually visiting multiple locations around the island. This half-day tour from Sliema and Valletta also visits Marsaxlokk and the Dingli Cliffs, while this day tour includes Mdina along with some other highlights of Malta.
If you’re staying in the north of Malta, this day tour includes Mosta, Ta Qali, Mdina and Valletta, with a pick-up at Cirkewwa
If you’re driving to the city, you’ll need to look for parking on the outskirts which can fill up quickly during the busiest months so it’s worth getting there early.
For more things to do in Malta with kids, check out my top picks
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Palazzo Vilhena/open-top bus courtesy of Depositphotos, all other images copyright MummyTravels
