Villa Frere, the romantic garden that survived a hospital

Malta is full of knights’ palaces, which is exactly why I love the corners that tell another story. Villa Frere is the story of a cultured Englishman who came to retire in the sun and turned an estate by the harbour into a garden paradise. A third of that paradise remains, hemmed in by a hospital, and what survives we owe to a group of volunteers. For me it ranks among the most touching visits on the island.

An English diplomat retires to Malta

John Hookham Frere combined four callings, scholar, politician, poet and diplomat. He came to Malta to retire in 1821, bringing his sick wife, Lady Elizabeth, dowager Countess of Errol, and his sister Susanna. They settled in Valletta at first, and the following year Frere signed a 99-year lease with the nuns of St Catherine for a waterside property in Pietà. The house and its gardens grew from there.

What strikes me most is how much has gone. When the contract expired, the government earmarked the estate for the new St Luke’s Hospital, the works were postponed by the war, and bombs fell on the garden in the meantime. From 1952 the house had other tenants and the grounds kept shrinking, eaten up by the hospital and by a school built on top of the Japanese garden and the Wilderness. Three decades on, a helipad claimed the upper section.

Saved by its friends

In June 2013 a group of volunteers founded the Friends of Villa Frere with one aim, to save and restore what was left. A visit from the President of Malta in 2018, growing media attention and a joint management agreement with Heritage Malta led, in 2020, to Grade 1 national monument status for the house and gardens. About a third survives, house included.

It’s a story that restores my faith in heritage, because it isn’t about a state protecting everything, but about locals deciding a garden is worth fighting for. If historic gardens are your thing, Malta’s big ones are the San Anton Gardens, but this one has something they don’t.

So you do not lose the morning at the ticket office, browse tickets and tours in Villa Frere on GetYourGuide.

How and when to visit

The calendar rules here. Visits are on the first Sunday of each month, 9.30am to 4.30pm, except in July, August and September, when it stays shut. For the rest of 2026 there are three special Sundays in Heritage Malta’s diary, 4 October, 1 November and 6 December, with no times given for the last two. Adults and seniors pay €5, and anyone under 12 gets in free.

The way in is through the old St Luke’s Hospital grounds in Pietà; follow the signs from the gate and leave the car inside, behind Karen Grech Hospital. The bus leaves you around five minutes’ walk away. I’d combine it with a walk round Msida marina next door and the view of Valletta from the water.

If you would rather go at your own pace, see the car hire deals in Valletta: the earlier you book, the more cars are left to choose from.

Before you fix your dates, compare tickets to Malta: the same journey can cost very different amounts from one day to the next.