Lulu Boutique Hotel

Two minutes inside Mdina's main gate on Triq l-Innu Malti — the lane named for the Maltese national anthem — Lulu Boutique Hotel occupies a restored townhouse within one of Europe's smallest inhabited walled cities. Its 9.9 rating across 351 reviews is among the highest recorded for any property in Malta.

Mdina's car-free interior means arrivals proceed on foot from the Baroque gate; the Arab-era street grid keeps the alleys several degrees cooler than the coast through July and August. The hotel's position inside the citadel walls rather than in adjacent Rabat gives guests near-silent nights once the day-trippers leave.

Rabat directly outside the gates holds the nearest full-service restaurants and the entrance to St. Paul's Catacombs. Valletta is a 40-minute bus connection from the Mdina stop below the walls.