Living in Sliema
Malta’s best-known address for renters, and the one most people picture when they think of moving here. Sliema is dense, walkable and thoroughly urban: a seafront promenade, a shopping street, and behind them a grid of apartment blocks where most of the lettings are. You trade space and quiet for being able to live here without a car.
Sliema at a glance
- Lifestyle
- Urban, convenient, coastal
- Best for
- Professionals, couples, expats new to Malta
- Atmosphere
- Busy year-round, quieter in the back streets
- Property market
- Overwhelmingly apartments, from small blocks to towers
- Typical property types
- Apartments, penthouses, a few converted townhouses
Counted from our own listings at this moment, not a market average.
Why live in Sliema?
Everything within walking distance
Supermarkets, banks, pharmacies, gyms, restaurants and the ferry are all on foot. Sliema is one of the few places in Malta where not owning a car is genuinely practical.
The seafront
The promenade runs the length of the town and is used constantly — running before work, walking after dinner. It is the reason a lot of people stay once they have lived here.
Getting to Valletta
The ferry crosses the harbour in a few minutes and lands in the capital, which is faster and far more pleasant than driving round.
Rental supply
More stock turns over here than anywhere else on the island, so there is usually something available at short notice.
The lifestyle
Sliema is busy, and it is busy all year rather than only in summer. The Tower Road and Bisazza Street ends are loud, well-lit and full of people; two streets back it settles into ordinary residential blocks. Construction is a persistent fact of life — old blocks are being replaced continually, and a quiet flat can acquire a building site next door with little warning, which is worth asking about before signing. Parking is difficult and residents are frank about it. The compensation is that you will use the car far less than you expect.
Property in Sliema
Almost everything let in Sliema is an apartment. Stock ranges from unmodernised flats in older blocks — often larger and better value, sometimes tired — through to new developments with lifts, air conditioning and communal parking. Seafront and sea-view flats carry a clear premium over an identical unit one street inland. Furnished lettings are the norm and short supply is rare, though the best-value flats go quickly. Penthouses with terraces are the most sought-after category and the hardest to find.
Who is this area best for?
Professionals
Short commutes to the main business areas, and enough around the town to make evenings easy.
Couples
Well-sized one and two-bedroom flats, plenty to walk to.
Expats
The easiest soft landing on the island: English is universal, everything is close, and you can arrive without a car.
Less suited to
Families wanting outdoor space, and anyone who wants quiet. Both exist here but are the exception, and cost accordingly.
What's nearby?
- St Julian's5 min
- Valletta10 min
- Malta International Airport20 min
Approximate driving times, outside peak hours.
Properties in Sliema
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