The Three Cities — Vittoriosa (Birgu), Cospicua (Bormla), and Senglea (L-Isla) — occupy the two promontories and the connecting waterfront on the southern shore of the Grand Harbour, directly across the water from Valletta. Together they form the Cottonera district, named for the great arc of bastions the Knights of St John began constructing in 1670 to enclose all three towns.
This is where Malta's history is at its most intense. Vittoriosa was the Knights' first base when they arrived in 1530, and Fort St Angelo at its tip was the nerve centre of the Great Siege of 1565. Cospicua wraps around one of the Mediterranean's great historic dockyards, in use since Phoenician times. Senglea occupies the narrowest of the three peninsulas, almost entirely surrounded by water, with extraordinary harbour views from the Gardjola Gardens at its tip.
The Three Cities are considerably less visited than Valletta, which makes them more rewarding. The narrow streets are genuinely lived-in, the baroque churches are not overrun, and the waterfront bars and restaurants have prices that reflect local rather than tourist economics. A water taxi from Valletta's Barrakka Lift landing takes seven minutes and costs almost nothing.
