St. Julian’s, a bustling coastal resort town in Malta, provides retirees with a mix of urban life and easy access to scenic and slower-paced escapes nearby.
The town on Malta’s eastern coast has a buzzy, sun-kissed seafront promenade, nightlife action, five-star hotels and luxury homes that cater to the international market. The former fishing village has pretty bays and lies beside Sliema, another popular resort, just 5 miles north of the island’s capital, Valletta.
While more urban than other spots, many older people chose to base themselves in St. Julian’s because everything is on their doorstep and it’s easy to escape the bustle due to the island’s compact size.
“Life doesn’t stop here just because you’re older, there’s so much to do here,” said Maxine Fraivillig of Malta Sotheby’s International Realty. The St. Julian’s area attracts expat retirees from the U.S., U.K. and elsewhere in Europe.
St. Julian’s growing skyline has a striking new addition: the Mercury Tower, a high-rise, mixed-use scheme with a futuristic, “twisted” curvilinear structure by Zaha Hadid Architects in St. Julian’s party area of Paceville. A testament to the luxury market in the city, resale units at the unfinished tower are now reselling for between 10% and 30% over their original sale prices. There’s rumored to be a new, luxe residential development in St. Julian’s St. George’s Bay, with details yet to be released, according to local agents.
St. Julian’s is at the heart of Malta’s evolving luxury homes market. In fact, it has the island’s most expensive homes per square meter, with top-end homes ranging from €7,000 (US$7,574) per square meter to €10,000 per square meter.
“In St. Julian’s property prices have not dropped since the pandemic. Between 2010 and 2020, prices in Malta rose by 42%. Malta has a strong economy, attractive tax regime, a good location between Europe and Africa and international appeal,” Fraivillig said.
Types of Homes
St. Julian’s has a mix of traditional period townhouses, typically made from local limestone, as well as modern apartment blocks, set across its four main neighborhoods. Its seafront areas are dominated by high-end apartment blocks, as sea views are always in demand, said Gianfranco Stellini, director of real estate at Henley & Partners Real Estate based in Malta.
Popular seafront spots include Spinola Bay, which oozes charm with its calm waters full of colorful wooden boats that are owned by local fishermen; Portomaso yacht marina which has the top-end Laguna apartment development; and Balluta Bay, which has a rare sandy beach and is overlooked by a dramatic stone church on one side.
Many overseas retirees buy in St. Julian’s because of its number of residential schemes within Special Designated Areas (SDAs), which are areas where foreign buyers are afforded the same rights as the Maltese. They typically encompass high-end real estate developments designed with amenities such as swimming pools, marinas, and boutique shops and restaurants.
There are no restrictions on buying multiple SDA homes either, but they are expensive.
“SDAs offer good resale values and are the best-selling homes in St. Julian’s. Many older buyers pass their homes onto their family,” Fraivillig said. Non-European buyers who want to buy a non-SDA home have to acquire a permit to do so. They are restricted to private use only and cannot be rented out.
“The majority of these foreign citizens choose apartment living, and many modern developments have sprung up over the past five years to satisfy the demand for this type of accommodation,” Stellini said.
Properties in SDAs typically cost between €1.5 million to €3 million. They include Laguna apartment complex at the Portomaso yacht marina, which has 44 homes, and Pendergardens apartments. Mercury Towers by Zaha Hadid Architects, which completes in early 2024 with the exact number of floors yet to be announced, includes more than 430 apartments, a five-star hotel under the operator’s Melia’s Me brand, a public square and shops. The project is by developer J. Portelli, run by Maltese construction and real estate mogul Joseph Portelli.
St. Julian’s streets contain many pretty, traditional townhouses, often with parking and gardens. They appeal to some overseas buyers for their charm and historic character. “With character homes, location is a must, it’s the most important thing to buyers. Renovated examples cost between €4,000 per square meter and €5,000 per square meter,” Fraivillig said.
Outdoor Recreation
Getting up early to walk along the promenade is a fun, everyday activity in St. Julian’s. People stop to admire the views and have a coffee or breakfast at the many cafes along the 5-mile route, which leads all the way to Valletta via Sliema. St. Julian’s Hilton Hotel has the Merkanti Beach Club with two adults-only pools, while Balluta Bay has the Neptunes WPSC water polo and swimming club.
St. Julian’s hustle and bustle is easy to escape, too. The island, which is only a 40-minute journey from end to end, has breathtaking cliffs, gorges and caves, which offer great climbing, hiking and cycling opportunities for all ages. Other highlights include Mdina, a beautiful medieval fortified city completely confined by its walls and Mellieħa’s preserved film set village from the original 1980 “Popeye” film. The now fun park/tourist attraction is full of rustic wooden buildings beside the coast.
Military history and relics are scattered across the island, including the 16th-century fort of St. Elmo in Valletta, built by the Order of Saint John. Malta, which was possessed by the British from 1814 and remained a British colony until 1964, was heavily bombed in World War II. The history is on display at the Malta at War Museum in Vittoriosa. There are also restored World War II aircraft at the Malta Aviation Museum and hand-dug air-raid shelters at Mellieħa, one of the largest underground shelters in Malta.
Locals say to head out onto the water to really appreciate the country’s natural beauty, which resembles the Greek islands and Capri, Italy. The island is an ideal sailing destination, formed of Malta, and its two sister islands, Gozo and Comino, which has a natural pool with cyan waters and is a designated bird sanctuary and a nature reserve. Diving is popular across the three islands as they have calm waters and great sea life. The village of Mellieħa has the Ghadira Nature Reserve, which is a salt marsh area home to 140 species of migrating birds.
Entertainment and Culture
In Malta in the summer, it’s all about the festa, which are local or village festivals celebrating patron saints, mostly taking place from May through to September. The feast of St. Julian’s is not to be missed; think lots of local foods, music, bustling streets and firework displays.
Nearby Sliema has Christine X Art Gallery, which holds a collection of local and international artists, with works covering photography, etchings, ink drawings and sculptures. The capital of Valletta, about a 10-minute drive from St. Julian’s, is the cultural heart of the island. It has Spazju Kreattiv, an art center housed in a 16th-century fort with an arthouse cinema and a venue that hosts music, comedy and drama, plus classes. There’s also the Valletta Contemporary, a well-regarded indie art gallery housed in a former 400-year-old warehouse in the lower east end of Valletta; and MUZA – Museum of Fine Arts has a collection that showcases cultural works from different ages. Malta Philharmonic Orchestra has a yearly concert season taking place across various venues countrywide. Beyond Valletta, there’s the Mill, an independent artist-run contemporary cultural center housed in a former mill, located in Birkirkara.
Every year Valetta hosts the Malta International Food Festival in July, which has stalls selling over 200 different foods from 40 different countries, including local foods, and the Pinta Beer Festival in August, which has over 300 different beers from local and international breweries.
