Basilica of St Paul, Rabat

Basilica of St Paul, Rabat tickets: which one to buy

The Collegiate Parish Church of Saint Paul stands in the main square of Rabat, next to the old walled city of Mdina in the centre of Malta, and entry to the church is free; the grotto of Saint Paul beneath it, and the Wignacourt Museum next door, with its catacombs and wartime shelters, are ticketed. Most visitors to Mdina walk across to Rabat, and tours of central Malta combine Mdina, the Saint Paul and Saint Agatha catacombs, the grotto and the Dingli Cliffs.

Buses from Valletta to Rabat are frequent and take about half an hour. The grotto is small, and visits can be brief; the Wignacourt Museum's tunnels and shelters, used during the Second World War, extend the visit. The church is an active parish, and visiting pauses during services. Modest dress is required. Buses from Valletta stop at Rabat's main road, a short walk from the church.

Visiting Basilica of St Paul, Rabat: what to see

According to tradition, Saint Paul was shipwrecked on Malta in the year 60 and stayed on the island for three months, living in a cave on this site and bringing Christianity to the islanders. The grotto beneath the church, where Paul is said to have lived, holds a white marble statue of the saint, made in the eighteenth century and donated by the Grand Master of the Knights of Malta. According to legend, stone scraped from the walls of the grotto healed the sick, and the grotto never gets smaller no matter how much is taken. Pope John Paul II visited in 1990 and Pope Benedict XVI in 2010. The church above, rebuilt in the seventeenth century, possibly to designs by Lorenzo Gafa, has a baroque interior with a painting of the shipwreck of Saint Paul.

The Wignacourt Museum, in the former residence of the church's chaplains, displays paintings, silver and relics. The catacombs beneath the Wignacourt Museum include early Christian and Punic burial chambers. The wartime shelters were dug during the bombings of Malta in the Second World War and include rooms where families lived. The church's altar holds a painting of Saint Paul by Stefano Erardi. The chapel of Saint Publius, beside the church, commemorates the Roman governor converted by Paul. The church's facade is simple, facing Parish Square. The grotto's statue was carved by Melchiorre Cafa.

Basilica of St Paul, Rabat opening hours and the best time to go

The church is open daily, and the grotto keeps set visiting hours, with a break at midday. Malta is hot in summer, from June to September, and Rabat's streets and museums are cooler in the morning. Spring and autumn are pleasant, and winter is mild. The feast of Saint Paul's Shipwreck on 10 February is a public holiday in Malta, with processions, especially in Valletta. The Mdina Medieval Festival in spring brings costumed events. Allow about forty minutes for the church, grotto and museum, and walk to Mdina, a few minutes away. Saint Paul's Catacombs, a few minutes' walk, hold the largest complex of early Christian catacombs in Malta.