Lascaris War Rooms

The Lascaris War Rooms are an underground complex in Valletta, Malta, located beneath the Upper Barrakka Gardens. Used as the Allied headquarters during World War II, they housed operations for the defense of Malta and the coordination of the Mediterranean campaign. Visitors can explore the original command rooms, equipment, and displays detailing their pivotal role in wartime history.

Remarkably, this hidden complex comprises different operations rooms for all the fighting services from where the Malta air defense was coordinated and some of the greatest battles were fought in the Mediterranean region.


The Lascaris War Rooms involves a secret underground compound of tunnels and chambers that encompasses the War Headquarters. During the Second World War, the defense of Malta was conducted from here. Notably, General Eisenhower and his Supreme Commanders Admiral Cunningham, Air Marshal Tedder, and Field Marshal Montgomery administered Operation Husky – the Invasion of Sicily in 1943, from this advanced-level Allied HQ. Later, these rooms were used by Nato. In 2009, the Malta Heritage Trust – Fondazzjoni Wirt Artna assumed the demanding task of rehabilitating this classical complex into an open museum that people are visiting today. Here, you get to learn a lot about Maltese history.