Bugibba Square, Malta: the new square and the sea out front

For most of the last two years, the heart of Bugibba was a building site. In May 2026 it reopened, rebuilt from the ground up with a €10 million investment — and it’s transformed. I live a few minutes away in St Paul’s Bay, so I’m here most days, and the new square is a genuinely lovely place to be. Better still, the sea is right in front of it. Here’s what the square is like now, and the easy coffee-swim-work rhythm that makes it my favourite spot in the north of Malta.

Bugibba Square, in brief

• What: a full rebuild of Bugibba’s main square (Pjazza Buġibba)
• Investment: around €10 million
• Reopened: May 2026
• New: wider pedestrian space, lots more seating, new paving and lighting, water features, greenery and shade
• On the square: Starbucks, McDonald’s and Fat Harry’s, with plenty of places to sit
• Right in front: the sea — a zero-minute walk to a swim

What the makeover gave the square

The square hadn’t been touched in more than 20 years, so the change is dramatic. There’s a big, open pedestrian area now, far more seating, new paving and lighting, water features, fresh greenery and — the thing that matters most in a Maltese summer — proper shade. The views out to the coast are more open too. It took longer than anyone wanted, but the result speaks for itself: it’s simply a nice place to be.

Starbucks, McDonald’s, and plenty of seats

One of the best things about the new square is how easy it is to just settle in. Right in the heart of it you’ve got a Starbucks and a McDonald’s, plus Fat Harry’s, and there’s seating everywhere. For me that means a reliable place to work: shade, air-conditioning, wifi and a coffee, with a pleasant square to look up at whenever I glance from the screen.

The swim’s right out front

Here’s the part I love most: you don’t have to go anywhere for a swim. The sea is right in front of the square — not a five-minute walk, not a ten-minute one. You finish your coffee, cross the promenade, and you’re at the water. The coast here is flat rock, so you get in off the ledge, down steps and ladders, into water that’s deep and clear straight away. It’s a Blue Flag stretch with a lifeguard, showers and sunbed hire in season, and the rocky bottom makes for good snorkelling a few metres out. Bring water shoes.

For a wilder, natural swim, the day trip to Comino’s Blue Lagoon is a different league — but for a swim you can fit around a working day, having the sea on your doorstep is hard to beat. And if the clear water gets you curious about what’s below it, here’s a starting point for beginner wreck diving.

Month	Sea temp	The feel
June	~23°C	Warming up, fewer people
August	26–27°C	Warmest — and busiest
Late September	~25°C	Still warm, crowds gone

My rhythm: coffee, swim, work — and 5pm to sunset

Here’s the loop that makes the square work for me, and the one I’d suggest to any student here for a few weeks. Through the hotter part of the day I set up at one of the cafés with a coffee and my laptop. Then, when the heat drops, I swim — and the best of the day here runs from 5pm to sunset. The midday crowd thins, the light turns golden, and the water is at its warmest and calmest. I swim, come back to the square for another hour of work as it cools, have dinner on the square, and head home.

Eating on the square

The square is ringed with places to eat. Fat Harry’s sits right in the middle of it — I’m partial to the Irish beef stew there — and around it you’ll find pizza, seafood and the usual cheerful resort mix. It’s convenient and easy rather than a gastronomic pilgrimage, and just right for dinner after a swim. For proper Maltese cooking I head elsewhere: here’s where locals actually eat.

Getting there, and when to go

Buses reach Bugibba terminus from Valletta in around 50 minutes, and the square is a short walk from there. Driving is possible, but summer parking in Bugibba is genuinely difficult, so weigh it up — often the bus is the smarter call. If you’re deciding for your whole stay, see do you need a car in Malta?. One nice thing on the way: a new ferry landing a few hundred metres away is nearly finished, with a Bugibba ferry expected from the summer.

For timing, aim for that 5pm-to-sunset window in the warmer months. And if you want the water warm but the square calm, June and September are the sweet spots — far fewer people than the August peak.