Valletta in 4 days

A plain, fortress-like front hides a nave covered in gold, marble and paintings, with a chapel for each langue of the Order vying for splendour.

The seat of power since 1571, now the President's office, with painted friezes of the Great Siege and Gobelins tapestries given in 1710.

A 1580 house built for an admiral of the Order, still lived in by a Maltese noble family, with guided tours of about fifty rooms.

The star-shaped fort at the tip of the peninsula held out for about a month against the Ottomans in 1565, buying the Order precious time.

An arcaded terrace on a bastion above the Grand Harbour, laid out by the Italian knights in 1661 and open to the public since 1824.

A row of cannon below the Upper Barrakka, once used to salute warships and signal the time to the city and the harbour.

The traditional Maltese water taxi, brightly painted with a raised prow and protective eyes, crossing to the Three Cities as it did long before ferries.

Birgu, Senglea and Cospicua, the knights' towns before Valletta, facing it across the harbour with narrow lanes, painted wooden balconies and no souvenir shops.