Browse the full food and drink calendar for every confirmed event with dates and details.
Food festivals in Malta
The islands run a steady programme of dedicated food festivals through the year, and most are free to enter.
The Valletta Local Food Festival each July turns the capital into an open-air celebration of Maltese cuisine, with dozens of vendors, cooking demonstrations, tastings and live entertainment across a long weekend. It is one of the best single introductions to the island's food culture, set in the heart of the UNESCO World Heritage city.
The Gozo Food and Wine Festival in June brings the smaller island's produce, wine and traditional cooking together at It-Tokk Square in Victoria, a more intimate affair that rewards the ferry crossing. And the Hamrun Chocolate Festival each spring is exactly what it sounds like, a town given over to chocolate for a weekend, and a firm favourite with families.
Wine festivals in Malta
Malta has a growing wine festival scene, and 2026 brings two distinct events worth planning around.
The Delicata Classic Wine Festival is the grandest of them, held across several evenings in August at the Upper Barrakka Gardens in Valletta. The setting, a formal baroque garden with panoramic views over the Grand Harbour, is one of the most beautiful outdoor spaces in the capital. Entry is free; you buy wine coins at the gate and exchange them at the Delicata stalls for pours of their local and international range, with live music through the evening. It is a sophisticated event done simply, and one of the most enjoyable summer nights in Valletta.
Earlier in the summer, the Malta International Wine Festival runs across several days in June at the Argotti Botanic Gardens in Floriana, showcasing wines from Malta and around the world in another beautiful garden setting. Between the two, wine lovers are well served across the summer.
Beer festivals in Malta
The Farsons Beer Festival is not just Malta's biggest beer festival, it is one of the biggest events of any kind on the Maltese calendar. Running for ten days from 23 July to 2 August at Ta' Qali National Park, it transforms the park into an outdoor festival site with multiple stages for live music, hundreds of beer and food stalls, and a crowd that ranges from families in the early evening to serious revellers as the night goes on. Entry is free; you buy beer tokens on site. It has been running for over thirty years and has the relaxed confidence of an institution. Go on a weeknight for breathing room, or a weekend for the better live acts.
Alongside the Farsons behemoth, several villages run their own beer festivals through the summer, usually tied to the parish festa programme. The Zabbar Beer Fest in early July is the most notable, booking genuine touring acts: ATB and a U2 tribute headlined the 2026 edition. The formula is the same across all of them: outdoor, free entry, beer and food stalls, live music, a village crowd.
Markets in Malta
Beyond the festivals, Malta's markets are where the island's food culture lives day to day.
The Marsaxlokk Fish Market every Sunday morning is the most atmospheric of them all. The harbour fills with the week's catch, fishing boats bob in their traditional luzzu colours of red, yellow and black, and you can buy fresh fish directly from the fishermen before having lunch at one of the waterfront restaurants. There is nothing to buy a ticket for. Get there early, because by midday the fish is mostly gone and the atmosphere shifts from working market to tourist attraction.
Malta Artisan Markets rotate around several venues through the year, bringing together small-batch food producers, ceramicists, jewellers and makers. The eco markets at the Phoenicia gardens in Floriana lean toward organic, sustainable and locally sourced goods and run throughout the year. And as winter approaches, the Valletta Christmas Market brings festive stalls, food and drink to the capital across December, one of the most popular seasonal events in Malta.
Cooking classes and food experiences
For those who would rather make the food than just eat it, GoGather's workshops calendar lists a full programme of cooking classes across the island. The Mediterranean Culinary Academy in Naxxar runs the most comprehensive schedule, refreshed constantly, from handmade Maltese ravjul and fresh pasta to steak masterclasses, Mediterranean mezze and couples' cooking classes. Diar il-Bniet in Dingli brings farm-to-table cooking to a historic farmhouse setting. These run year-round, so there is almost always something on whatever week you are visiting.
When is the best time for food festivals in Malta?
The peak is summer. July and August bring the Farsons Beer Festival, the Delicata Wine Festival and the Valletta Local Food Festival within weeks of each other, so a summer visit catches the biggest events. June adds the Gozo Food and Wine Festival and the Malta International Wine Festival. But the markets run year-round, the cooking classes never stop, and December brings the Christmas markets, so there is genuinely no bad time to eat and drink your way around Malta.
Planning your visit
The GoGather food and drink calendar keeps a running list of every confirmed food festival, wine festival, beer festival and market with dates, venues and prices. New events are added every week as they are announced.
For more of the local, traditional side of Malta, our guide to village festas covers the celebrations where food, fireworks and community come together, and our local's guide to Valletta points you toward the best of the capital.