St Paul’s Catacombs image

St Paul’s Catacombs

Tourist attraction Museum Archaeological museum

One of the Most Revieweds in Rabat


Address

Hal-Bajjada, Ir-Rabat, Malta

Website

www.heritagemalta.org

Contact

+356 2145 4562

Rating on Google Maps

4.30 (7.8K reviews)

Open on Google Maps

Working Hours

  • Tuesday: 10 am to 6 pm
  • Wednesday: 10 am to 6 pm
  • Thursday: 10 am to 6 pm
  • Friday: 10 am to 6 pm
  • Saturday: 10 am to 6 pm
  • Sunday: 10 am to 6 pm
  • Monday: 10 am to 6 pm

Featured Reviews


Frequently mentioned in reviews: catacombs (36) visit (16) history (10) small (10) interesting (8) museum (7) catacomb (7) experience (6) tombs (6) narrow (6)
Reviews are sorted by relevance, prioritizing the most helpful and insightful feedback at the top for easier reference.
  • 5/5 Mario Domenico G. 2 years ago on Google
    Personally I liked them a lot. Well if you love history is a must, but you need to be patient. As all the museum of the Island is closing at 16:30. Personally I find it ridiculous, but it is what it is, so try to be there accordingly. The catacombs are huge. There are more than 20 different sites, Someone big, someone small some other closed. Just in one you got to see bones. If you feel to have had enough, no one is forcing you to see them all, you can leave whenever you want to. In order to explain you the history behind, the place is enriched with the initial museum plus other pavilions in which you can find interviews, explanation, tools. If you want more, you can pay an audio guide. Ticket was just 6 euros. Downside: the place is full of stairs of course, just the majority of the pavilions had ramps. Not all of them.
    13 people found this review helpful 👍

  • 4/5 Yiannis K. 1 year ago on Google
    It's a nice experience. You have the opportunity to see the burial place for pagans, Christians and Jews. Save yourself the trouble and only visit the biggest catacomb complex located at the main ticket purchase kiosk ( there are two entrances, the small one has a lot of small catacombs, no need to visit). The big entrance, where you can buy your ticket, is a bit further on, and that one has a small museum and on the outside is the biggest catacomb !
    6 people found this review helpful 👍

  • 5/5 Nick T. 1 year ago on Google
    What an eye-opening experience. Such rich history and artifacts. Make sure you have enough time to explore the many catacombs. Some are very tight fits with small entrances, but worth the effort.
    4 people found this review helpful 👍

  • 3/5 Leonardo C. 2 years ago on Google
    6 eur ticket There is a little museum with some information about the different historical periods. It is not really full of artifacts. Then outside there are different fields with catacombs you can visit, enter, take pictures. In general they are well preserved but there is an absolute lack of art pieces, not even paintings At the end it is a real journey inside soil and some structures are easily visible but very few inscriptions All thumbs are spoiled and empty.
    4 people found this review helpful 👍

  • 4/5 Mattias 2 years ago on Google
    Interesting museum to visit. There is a translucent floor through which you can see some of the old graves. It is well built and very informative in explaining the history of the burial traditions. The visits to the tombs themselves were also worthwhile. However, after three tombs you have seen it all. There was one tomb where there were still remains, but it was locked. It is difficult to imagine it without examples of bones in the tombs. Finally, the guy at the counter was very friendly and helpful. Kudos to him!
    2 people found this review helpful 👍

  • 4/5 A A. 1 year ago on Google
    Very interesting and extensive collection of catacombs. There are a lot of them and we found it to get repetitive as there is not really anything specific about each one. The experience would probably be better in the format of guided tour, but we still enjoyed looking around and the price is very reasonable.
    2 people found this review helpful 👍

  • 5/5 Laura A. 2 years ago on Google
    Wasn’t top of my list because I have seen other catacombs, but these were special. There are a lot of them - christian, pegan and jewish. The place is very well organized and you know exactly what you are visiting + the extra “cards” with explanations about the rituals and how/ why they were built like this. There are 20+ catacombs so make sure you give yourself a bit of time since there is a lot of going down and up narrow stairs. For 6 euro probably one of the best things to visit value wise. There are a number of catacombs in Rabat, so make sure you follow the signs to get to this one. There should be a visitor center type building from where you buy the tickets.
    2 people found this review helpful 👍

  • 4/5 Konstantinos L. 11 months ago on Google
    When you enter there is a room with antiquities and bones and then you go around so you see the entrances to a few catacombs. You can see the places where they put the dead. It's quite repetitive so you don't need to spend time to visit all of the time if you don't want to.
    1 person found this review helpful 👍

  • 5/5 L K. 9 months ago on Google
    Absolutely amazing! There is a small exhibit in the main building before going outside to the area where all the catacomb entrances are. There are too many to get to all of them, and most are pretty similar. There are informative signs for each catacomb regarding the interesting features that you should look at, so definitely decide which to enter based on that. Some are very vast complexes whereas others are smaller with just a couple of rooms. There are also smaller exhibit pavilions to learn more.
    1 person found this review helpful 👍

  • 5/5 Michael G. 10 months ago on Google
    An unbelievably cool catacombs. One thing of note is that if you have severe arachnophobia, stay away. There are spiders. Plan on about 45 mins in the catacombs, well worth the visit
    1 person found this review helpful 👍

  • 4/5 Bryn H. 1 year ago on Google
    Only €6 and easily walked from Mdina/Rabat. Can spend a few hours here but once you've seen a few catacombs, you've seen them all. About 50 tombs here and half are accessible, the rest are closed. Recommend seeing #1 and #8.
    1 person found this review helpful 👍

  • 5/5 Matt J. 6 months ago on Google
    Amazing place. So much history and fascinating Audi guide. Endless catacombs to explore. You think you're almost done when you finish on one side of the road, but it just goes on and on on the other side. Some very low doorways and ceilings. So be careful if you're tall or not very agile.
    1 person found this review helpful 👍

  • 5/5 Omar B. 1 year ago on Google
    The largest complex of catacombs in Malta very well maintained by Heritage Malta some large area catacombs and others quite small, need to do quite a lot of steps going up and down to do all the catacombs in the area. Nice visitors centre and souvenir shop. A must visit while in Rabat.
    1 person found this review helpful 👍

  • 4/5 Viktor K. 1 year ago on Google
    Well, it’s burial sights, a lot of them. There I are similarities, so it might get boring to look into all of them, if you are not having particular interest. But it’s very civilized, some are really small labyrinths, even using predefined tourists ways. But in overall the place is taken really good care of.
    1 person found this review helpful 👍

  • 5/5 Gabi G. 4 months ago on Google
    Great day out! Be ready to go up and down steep narrow steps lots! It was very interesting to see the catacombs and go through the narrow passages, very mysterious. It will take quite a while to visit all of the entrances, there's rest spots and a cafe to take a break. The location is divided into two. First you'll visit the interpretation centre, where you can learn about the catacombs and the history. Some must see entries are on this side too. Then you'll have to cross the road to the next location which has many entries into all different burial places. I recommend getting the Heritage Malta multi site pass if you're planing to visit a few of the locations.
    1 person found this review helpful 👍

  • 5/5 Jason W. 7 months ago on Google
    What a fantastic piece of history. We just happened to find this place from our taxi driver. Please if you're in the neighbourhood you need to experience catacombs. I was shocked at the level they went to to bring this to life for the average person. All the displays were well thought out as well.

  • 5/5 Brecht S. 5 months ago on Google
    Quite impressive location to visit! Pretty damp and moist. Spooky scary skeletons Came to mind 😅. 10/10 would want to be buried there.

  • 5/5 Joana S. 5 months ago on Google
    Great historical place worth visiting. There are plenty of catacombs and from different religions. Also, the historical explanation helps the visitors to understand rituals. Only some catacombs are quite small and can cause claustrophobia in some people, but you have a plate with info capacity before entering.

  • 3/5 Maria G. 9 months ago on Google
    The fee its too expensive €6 for adults and €4.5 for students. Approximately 25 catacombs for Pagan, Christian and Jewish people. There is a short audio-visual introduction that need to be seen before start the exploration.

  • 5/5 Abboman 5 months ago on Google
    Didn't know it existed!! But glad we found it...no good if you have any mobility issues...lots of steep steps and very low ceilings and passages to deal with😱 however loved it...makes you think about life,what are we here for,what happens afterwards🙏 To be in the place if so many graves ,weirdly warm and so quiet......

  • 4/5 YAFEA A. 8 months ago on Google
    Amazing cemetery in Mdina. Many tombs inside. They were about to close in 10 minutes when I arrived. But they let me in. I'm glad the security guard was understanding that I was flying tomorrow morning. Bless him

  • 4/5 Gabriel M. 11 months ago on Google
    It's a 22 catacombs complex, can say all of them provides a little bit of different things to see, but most of then is just cut stone. One has some bones still inside, one of them is really big. But you really don't have to see them all. If you are low on budget got to saint cathaldus church, you can see a small catacomb with the best features of the ones in saint pauls for a donation.

  • 5/5 Alex H. 1 year ago on Google
    A must visit site! The history is amazing and the newly constructed museum.around is is very interesting. The 2d movie introduction (about 20min) was very informative. The spaces can get quite cramped so if you're claustrophobic not every catacomd is right for you.

  • 5/5 Katharina K. 1 year ago on Google
    Totally worth the visit and the entrance fee. Make sure to watch the video at the beginning to get a better understanding. Quite narrow and low ceilings inside the catacombs.

  • 4/5 Ελπίδα �. 11 months ago on Google
    Area needs a good gardener! The place on the ground floor needs someone to take care of it. Down in the catacombs, the stairs installation are solid. It is a great place to visit if interested in history. I believe that audio guide is needed, just to understand what are you looking at.

  • 5/5 G D. 1 year ago on Google
    We had an amazing afternoon here. We spent about 2 hours exploring the catacombs...only problem was there were some bigger catacombs across the road and we couldn't figure out how to get in because the gates were shut... The catacombs we went to were really interesting though. They are well lit and the pathways throughout are helpful. The ticket cost us €6 each

  • 3/5 J. A. 1 year ago on Google
    Apart from the mysterious Agape Table, there wasn't much to see in the catacombs except narrow corridors where it's hard to breathe and easy to get lost. St. Paul's Grotto and the Wignacourt Museum were the more interesting parts of this ticket for us.

  • 5/5 Set_The_Controls 2 years ago on Google
    Amazing place. Great experience had checking out the catacombs. A few of them were closed which was a shame, but still a great couple of hours.

  • 4/5 Robert B. 2 years ago on Google
    The site is well preserved and has a lot of open catacombs (about 18 from 24). After the main hall at the entrance, with presentation movie and description of the site, you proceed to a garden where the catacombs are scattered around (actually there are 2 gardens, separated by a main street you have to cross). The main catacomb is huge and is in a really good condition, with lots of tombs and narrow paths, not really recommended for bigger persons or with claustrophobia. In the gardens more information cubicles, made of glass, are showing additional information, but they are not air conditioned, too hot to enter...but we liked it a lot, great experience! PS No parking places available if coming by car, but you can try on the streets nearby, we were lucky and found a place just in front!

  • 4/5 David M. 2 years ago on Google
    If exploring ancient underground burial sites appeals to you then this place certainly delivers. I found it fascinating and eerily entertaining. In the hot weather l ran out of energy before I ran out of catacombs. If six euros is too much for you there's a nearby church offering a visit to their catacombs for a voluntary donation.

  • 5/5 Iva I. 2 years ago on Google
    A fascinating place no less interesting than the pyramids of Egypt but much less known. One of the highlights of our trip. Such a big complex of catacombs with great explanations of what to expect from each tomb. A very interesting visitos' center which makes the site come to life.

  • 5/5 Saber L. 2 years ago on Google
    Great historical monument. A little more hands on than a regular museum! Be prepared to duck and bend down to see all there is to offer

  • 4/5 Scott F. 2 years ago on Google
    Large site with many catacombs. Signs at the entrance to each highlighting features within and a number of exhibits with more information about the history and significance of the place. One improvement would be signs or other indications inside each catacomb to draw attention to features of note as some are hard to find/identify once inside.


Call +356 2145 4562 Open on Google Maps

Amenities


  • Accessibility
    • ✓️ Wheelchair-accessible toilet
    • ✓️ Wheelchair-accessible car park
    • ✓️ Wheelchair-accessible entrance

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