Victoria, the Gozo capital locals still call Rabat

Most visitors pass through Victoria on the way up to the Citadel and leave without looking at what’s below. I think that’s a mistake, because Gozo’s capital is one of those small towns that behaves like a big one, with a market, two opera houses and a square-side social life that’s getting hard to find on Malta itself.

Victoria or Rabat, two names for one town

Hardly anyone on Gozo calls it Victoria. Its age-old name is Ir-Rabat, which in Arabic and old Maltese means suburb, the town that grew up below the fortress. Victoria arrived in 1887, for the Queen’s Golden Jubilee, the same year it was raised to city status as Città ir-Rabat (Victoria). If you’re searching a map for Rabat, be careful, as there’s another Rabat on the island of Malta, next to Mdina.

Its 7,671 residents (NSO, December 2025) make it Gozo’s largest locality. In the ministry’s words, every road on the island leads here, and for the buses that’s literally true.

What to see, from It-Tokk to the Citadel

The heart of town is Independence Square, known to everyone as It-Tokk. It’s dominated by the Banca Giuratale, built between 1733 and 1738, once the seat of Gozo’s municipal government and now of the local council. The square is lined with café tables, and a few steps away, in Savina Square, there’s a market in the mornings.

Behind It-Tokk, in a smaller square, stands St George’s Basilica. Its foundation stone was laid in 1672 and it was consecrated in 1755. The Ministry for Gozo calls it the Marble Basilica, and inside is a wooden statue of St George carved by Pawlu Azzopardi in 1838, the first patron-saint statue owned by any Gozo parish. Next door, Il-Ħaġar shows off the basilica’s treasures and opens daily from 09:00 to 17:00, staffed by volunteers.

The lanes around St George’s are the oldest in town, and that’s where I’d linger. Stone houses of one or two storeys, saints in wall niches, workshops between corner shops. From there you climb to the Citadel in Gozo, the fortress crowning the town, with the cathedral and ramparts that take in the whole island.

Republic Street, the theatres and the gardens

Republic Street (Triq ir-Repubblika) is the main street, with shops, banks, pharmacies and the two band clubs that each have their own theatre. The Astra, run by La Stella, opened in 1968 and seats about 1,200. The Aurora, built by the Leone society in 1976, holds 1,600 and is the largest on the island. In October 2026 the Aurora marks its 50th anniversary with La Traviata on the 17th, and the Astra stages a new Madama Butterfly on the 29th and 31st. Two full operas in a town this size strikes me as reason enough to plan a trip around.

At the lower end of the street are Villa Rundle Gardens, laid out by the British in 1910, with a fountain and shady trees. It’s where I’d stop mid-afternoon before heading back up to the walls.

Getting about from Victoria

The bus station is just south of Republic Street, beside the main car park. Malta Public Transport lists the key routes as the 310 to Marsalforn, 311 to Dwejra, 312 to Għarb, 313 to Ta’ Kerċem, 323 to Mġarr harbour on Gozo and 330 to Xlendi. The Ministry for Gozo adds that the harbour link runs every 30 minutes and the rest hourly. A ticket costs €2.50 in summer and €2 in winter.

That makes Victoria the natural base for seeing Gozo without a car. From here I’d plan the rest of the island using my ranked things to do in Gozo.

Feasts, carnival and opera

Victoria has two big festas. St George’s is celebrated in the week before the third Sunday of July (the 19th in 2026) and the Assumption in the week before 15 August, with fireworks watched from the cathedral ramparts. Gozo’s village feasts season also ends here, in mid-September, with Our Lady of Graces at the Capuchin church.

In February, the main parade of the Malta and Gozo carnival runs along the main street and finishes in It-Tokk, where each company performs its routine. In 2026 it took place from 13 to 17 February, and no dates have been announced for 2027 so far.