National Museum of Archaeology — Attraction in Valletta

Pretty steep charge for crumbling (sometimes quite literally) building, and peeling, stuck in the early 80s, set of display cabinets, sometimes with laughably amateurish decorations (see photos). Reminds one of Soviet style museums, and it is so sad that it has all been so neglected, lights flickering annoyingly, noone to fix them, lights on some of the exhibits in the already opaque cabinets switched off or broken. You don't need to paint a wall for display info not to look so appaling, just print it out again and laminate it, cheap and cheerful, and not shame the heroic and historic Maltese nation as it currently does. Nothing Roman at all on display, which is so disappointing, I was told it is because parts of the building are closed off for renovations, so one needs to go to Domus Romana in Rabat. I did but that's just 3 rooms, surely that period of Malta history warrants more! Whilst I was comforted to find out from the ticketing desk guy that renovations are being kicked off this year, they had no idea when or for how long. One of the key attractions in the museum is the beautifully decorated Grand Salon, yet sadly it was all closed off with some weird 1960s wooden stopper, so one couldn't enjoy it at all - what a shame! The ticket girl cold, rude to some customers, not to me, but not friendly at all. Signage is poor, and amazing artefacts of 7000 years of history are so poorly displayed, some just cramped, in their hundreds, into one solitary cabinet. I really hope that in their renovations they consult amazing museums, like Nimes Romanite museum of antiquities for what modern museum...

That is a museum with all the archaeological findings in a small and beautiful island of Malta. It has quite significant value in terms of history and historical monuments. Surviving after lot of attacks and one of the country faced lots of destruction during two world 🌍 wars. It came back to life and restored almost all of it's important sites. All of these era's, we can witness inside that museum which is prehistoric. There are original artifacts from different period of time. Back in history, there are many archaeological findings from the period of ~2500 years bc or may be older. These all the artifacts add in and showcase the importance of beautiful island Malta. At the museum, they utilized the use of technology to take you back in that time and enjoy the actual scene. The museum is decided into 3 floors including ground floor. Ground floor and second floor is actually displaying all the excavated artifacts. Rest first floor is not open for public nowadays. There are a number of temples excavated and found in this small site. There is an elevator as well to access upper floors. The place is wheelchair accessible ♿ so accessibility wise it is very convenient. This is located on very center location in Valletta capital city of Malta. The exact location is republic street which is very nice shopping street...

Some museums win you over with their collections, others with their architecture. This one does both, which frankly feels a bit greedy. Housed in a building so beautiful you could happily wander it empty, the museum is a reminder that the Maltese don’t do “ordinary” when it comes to stonework.

The exhibitions are superbly curated — thoughtful, detailed, and arranged with a clear sense of storytelling. You move from prehistoric figurines to intricate artifacts with the feeling that someone has actually thought about the journey you’re on, rather than just shoving things in glass cases and hoping for the best.

And yet, in the middle of all this, there’s the numismatic collection. Perfectly fine if you’re a coin enthusiast, but otherwise it’s a bit like finding a box of receipts in the middle of a grand opera. Interesting in its way, but it does feel like it wandered in from another museum and decided to stay.

Still, that’s a minor quibble. Between the building itself, the sheer depth of the collection, and the skill with which it’s presented, this is one of those rare museums where you leave feeling smarter — and only partly because you spent two hours reading captions in your “educational” voice.

Five stars, and I’d come back just to walk through that building again,...