Carnival always runs up to Shrove Tuesday, the day before Ash Wednesday (Wednesday 10 February 2027). The official programme by Festivals Malta is added once announced.
Where to be
The two big ones
The official carnival · Family-friendly · Free
Valletta & Floriana
The main event: a defilé of giant hand-built floats led by King Carnival, costumed dance companies, band marches and competitions through the capital’s streets, with late-night street parties in town. Busiest from Friday to Sunday; Shrove Tuesday closes the show. Organised by Festivals Malta.
The spontaneous carnival · After dark · Adult-leaning
Nadur, Gozo
Malta’s legendary counter-carnival. No programme, no rules — thousands cross to Gozo for dark humour, home-made costumes and biting satire that takes over Nadur’s square after sunset. An experience you won’t find anywhere else.
Once a year isn’t enough
More carnivals across the islands
Il-Karnival tas-Sajf · Mid-August
Summer Carnival — Buġibba, St Paul’s Bay
Carnival’s second round: Festivals Malta brings floats, costumes and dance companies to the Buġibba seafront at the height of summer, with evening parades. The 2026 edition ran 21–23 August on the Buġibba seafront and in Marsaskala.
Organised parades · February
Gozo’s village carnivals
Beyond Nadur, Gozo runs an organised carnival of floats, dance companies and grotesque masks across its villages — Victoria, Xagħra, Xewkija, Għajnsielem, Qala, Għarb, Munxar, Żebbuġ, San Lawrenz and Sannat.
Local flavour
Village carnivals in Malta
Towns across Malta hold their own smaller parades and parties during the same February days — check your local square.
The traditions
What to look out for
The giant floats
Enormous, colourful floats built by hand over months by local enthusiasts — the heart of the Valletta defilé.
Grotesque masks and satire
Caricature, parody and poking fun at the powerful have been part of Maltese carnival for centuries.
Dance companies
Costumed troupes compete in choreographed shows — months of rehearsal for five days of glory.
Prinjolata
The carnival sweet: a mountain of sponge, cream, pine nuts, cherries and chocolate in every pastizzeria window for the season, washed down with a handful of perlini, sugared almonds.
Almost 500 years of it
A carnival older than Valletta itself
Carnival in Malta goes back to the time of the Knights of St John in the 1500s — older than the capital city itself. What began as feasting and masquerades before the fasting of Lent grew into the islands’ loudest week of the year, and the tradition has never stopped: floats, costumes and satire handed down through generations of Maltese families.
Good to know
Tips for carnival week
School’s out
State schools are on holiday for Carnival (Monday 8 to Wednesday 10 February 2027), so the parades are packed with families — see the school holidays.
Going to Nadur?
Catch the Gozo ferry early — the spontaneous carnival draws huge crowds from Malta, and the action starts after sunset.
Book ahead
Valletta hotels fill up for carnival weekend, and prices rise around festival dates.
Can’t make February?
The Summer Carnival in Buġibba and Marsaskala in mid-August is the warm-weather rerun — seafront parades on a summer evening.
Sources: Festivals Malta — Il-Karnival · Gozo Carnival programme (GuideMeMalta). Unconfirmed dates are marked and updated once the official programme is out.
Plan carnival week
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