Introduction: Mdina Through the Lens
A Malta Mdina photo walk is a must for anyone who loves photography, values history, or wants the best views of the island. This ancient fortified city stands out for its beautiful scenery, both from the ground and from its high bastion walls overlooking the island.
Since cars are strictly limited, most people explore on foot, but some opt for a pony-and-trap. If you’re patient, you can wait for other visitors to pass and get the perfect photo. The city’s walls, facades, and cathedrals are especially striking when you look closely at their details.
Approaching Mdina – The Fortified City on the Hill
While Malta isn’t as mountainous as Madeira, any high ground stands out and offers a far-reaching view. This prominence made Mdina a stronghold for centuries. The Romans took advantage of the city’s location, but the Knights later chose Birgu on the coast, valuing its easier access and better sea connections.
During our visit, we stayed in St. Julian’s, to the east of Malta’s center. From there, we took a taxi to Telgha Tas-Saqqajja; the one-way fare was about 20 euros. Malta’s small size makes it easy to get around. Taxis are more convenient, while buses provide a cheaper, though less direct, option.
As you approach Mdina by car, the fortress city soon appears on your right. For a good photo, sit in the front or right-rear seat and try to avoid the Aleppo Pine trees, taking into account Malta’s left-side driving. If you miss your shot, walking back is possible but not ideal.
Mdina rises above its surroundings, its impressive walls giving glimpses of the buildings within. In particular, St Paul’s Cathedral with its pink dome stands out on the eastern side.
As the road curves up toward the city, you double back to reach the main entrance. Along the way, you catch sight of the ‘Historic Niche of St Paul’—an ornate religious monument, nearly 300 years old and well-preserved after recent restoration. Capture a quick photo before moving on to the fortress city’s main gate.
Arrival at The Main Gate
At the main gate, a convenient drop-off awaits by the entrance bridge, though tourist traffic may be heavy. Take a moment to admire the mellow stone walls in the sunlight, the Il-Foss gardens below in the ditch, and the shady Howard Gardens above—named for Joseph Howard, Malta’s first Prime Minister in 1921.
The bridge over the ditch is busy with people coming and going, and some cars have access, as do the tourists’ horses and traps. The gate is a very ornate, Baroque-style gate, but not the original. It was added in 1724. Getting a clear shot at the whole bridge and gate is difficult during tourist hours, but the interesting part can be snapped over the heads of the marching throng.
The Pjazza San Publiju (St Publius Square)
Once through the gate, you step into St Publius Square, encountering one of the island’s central stories—alongside ‘The Great Siege of Malta’. On the gate’s rear elevation is a relief of the Apostle Paul holding a snake and the island’s governor, Publius, referencing the Biblical tale of Paul’s shipwreck near Malta and his welcome by Publius. This explains the city’s many references to both St Paul and St Publius.
The square includes several gift shops showcasing beautiful glassware and models of medieval knights, which are worth browsing. Across the square lies the Vilhena Palace courtyard and entrance, built around the same time as the main gate and now housing the National Museum of Natural History.
From here, choose any of the narrow streets to explore. Mdina is compact, so you’ll eventually see all the key sights—its walls ensuring you never stray too far.
Streets Designed for Exploring
The narrow alleys and curved streets reveal some interesting features every few yards and are filled with visual details that make photography fun. The limestone, native to Malta, that these buildings are made of provides the ideal backdrop for the doors, windows, and balconies, which are so photogenic. These walls tell their own stories and provide texture and detail in the warm sunlight.
Doors, Details, and Knockers
Some of the best images will come from Mdina’s colourful multi-shaped doors, lintels, and arches. Looking closer, you will find fascinating door furniture to photograph, such as door knockers, letterboxes, and keyholes. They are just so striking against the often weathered limestone walls.
Pjazza Mesquita or Mesquita Square
The narrow alley, Triq Mesquita, leads to Pjazza Mesquita. The square is named after a Knight who was governor of Mdina during the period known as ‘The Great Siege’ in the 16th century, when Malta faced an Ottoman invasion. This charming small square, surrounded by buildings, is now famous for its appearance in the television series ‘Game of Thrones’. Today, it is a quiet place to meander, with a café and plenty to photograph.
Views from It-Tomba
Continuing across the square and along Triq Mesquita, you will arrive at the North West Exit Tunnel. From here, you can exit the fortress and go down the ramp, across the road, up the steps to outer fortifications above It-Tomba. From here, you can get views back at the citadel and north east to Mosta, north west across Gheriexem Valley to Mtarfa, and South to Rabat.
The Bastion Square and Views
Coming back into the fortress through the tunnel, you can head left on Triq Imhazen, through the streets and alleys to the Bastion Square. Here is a more open area with shady trees, bordered by raised walkways that have sweeping views across North and East Malta.
St Paul’s Catherdral and Square
Moving away from Bastion Square, you will walk around the perimeter and arrive at St Paul’s Cathedral. There are only two views of note, really. The view from outside the walls, and the facade from St Paul’s Square.
The facade has incredible details, so get in close to the Baroque-style details around the main door. Rebuilt in the late 1600s after the 1693 Sicily earthquake, it stands out as Mdina’s most visible building.
The square is one of Mdina’s main car-parking areas, and it is difficult to avoid getting them in the shot. However, with Adobe Lightroom Classic, you can make things disappear.
Casa Del Magistrato
Leaving St Paul’s Square and turning left into Triq IL Villegaignon, there is an outstanding baroque facade to the Casa Del Magistrato. The detail is quite magnificent, and lots to capture if you can get the right angle.
Mdina Balconies
Malta, in general, is known for its balconies, mainly enclosed but also some open style. These allow for a view up and down the street without being exposed to the elements or to those below. Mdina has a wide selection of decorative balconies that make colourful subjects. Just a little difficult in the narrow streets to get a square-on view. Squaring up in Lightroom loses a lot of the image, so it’s best to allow plenty of peripheral space to get it right.
Mdina Gift Shop Specialties
Handmade Mdina Glass is the main feature of the gift shop. A wide selection of very ornate, colourful glass pieces that show off the skills of the local craftsmen.
Due to the Knights Hospitaller’s history in Malta, from 1530 until their expulsion by Napoleon in 1798, the model Knights feature in these gift shops.
Closing Thoughts: Mdina in Frames
Mdina is a visual delight with its elevated location, solid warm limestone buildings, and more than enough arresting details. Yet, very accessible, compact, and flexible. You can take an hour or linger and lose yourself in the views, history, museums and exhibitions.
Cameras and Lenses Used
Three photos taken while travelling on an iPhone 15 Pro Max are perfectly adequate for the blog. The rest were taken on a Canon EOS R8, a full-frame, mirrorless camera that delivers excellent quality in different lighting conditions and features a medium-resolution sensor that produces very large files that aren’t needed for a blog but are good for cropping and printing.
For a photographer, using a proper camera just gives a better experience and the ability to control the process; however, you can’t deny that the iPhone is very convenient. The iPhone also has 3 lenses to cover different magnifications, but the 5x zoom images aren’t the best.
Using an interchangeable-lens camera, such as the R8, gives you the option of many RF lenses. These photos were all taken with just 2 lenses: the RF15-30mm F4.5-6.3 IS STM and the RF70-200mm F4L IS USM. Analyzing these images, I can see that the photos were taken with these zoom lenses at focal lengths throughout their range, so this is a definite advantage over a set of fixed focal length lenses for this situation.