Swieqi, the residential quarter above Paceville

Swieqi is the residential spread above Paceville. If you’ve searched for a group flat in St Julian’s, chances are half the results were actually here, and there’s a reason for that.

The back room of the nightlife

Visit Malta places Swieqi on the outskirts of Paceville and describes it as a residential area within striking distance of the nightlife of Paceville and St Julian’s. It includes several communities, Madliena, St Andrew’s and Ta’ l-Ibraġ, and its name means water channels, a reminder of the fields that were here before the housing estates.

It’s a sizeable place; the NSO counted 15,884 residents at the end of 2025, split between 8,809 Maltese and 7,075 foreign nationals.

A flat in Swieqi? Make it licensed

This is why most visitors end up here. On 28 September 2026 the MTA had just one hotel on its books here, along with three guesthouses and 504 licensed holiday lets, and 13 more lets in Madliena. Only San Pawl il-Baħar, Sliema, San Ġiljan and Valletta have more. For a group of friends heading out in Paceville, St Julian’s party district, a flat here usually beats three hotel rooms, and you’ll sleep better.

A word of warning, though. On 14 July 2026 the MTA ordered the immediate closure of a Swieqi apartment block where many flats were breaking the terms of their licence, and said it would keep inspecting the area with the Community Police and the local council. It also reminded operators that an unlicensed short let is barred from applying for a licence for three years. My advice is to book only flats that show an MTA licence; how to check is in Malta apartments.

A British fort with a swing bridge

Swieqi has more history than it lets on. Visit Malta says it sits on the eastern stretch of the Victoria Lines, the British defensive line, and keeps Fort Madliena, built in 1880, with an oddity, a revolving bridge over the ditch instead of a drawbridge. UNESCO’s entry on the Victoria Lines puts Madliena at their eastern end. Nearby are Madliena Chapel and, on the coast, Madliena Tower, part of the Knights’ chain of watchtowers.

I haven’t found official opening times or prices for any of the three, so I won’t give any. I cover the whole line in the Victoria Lines in Malta.

Getting about

The TD13 calls at Swieqi (Pembroke Park and Ride 2), from where you can head to Valletta via St Julian’s and Msida, or north to Qawra and Buġibba. From the airport, the TD2 reaches Paceville and Pembroke half-hourly for €3. Swieqi sits up the hill, so the walk back from the seafront is one your legs will notice, worth bearing in mind if you’re carrying the shopping up from the promenade.