Living in Gżira— property, prices & neighbourhood guide

Apartments in Gżira, Malta

Gżira is a compact, densely built town wrapped around the inner Marsamxett harbour, sitting between Sliema and Msida on Malta's northeast coast. It looks straight across the water to Manoel Island and Fort Manoel, and its position — a short walk from the Sliema seafront on one side and close to the University area of Msida on the other — makes it one of the most central places to base yourself on the island.

Renting in Gżira

The town draws a mixed, international crowd: expats settling into their first Malta home, students and young professionals, and long-term renters who want Sliema's convenience without Sliema's price tag. Because of that, Gżira is above all a rental town — a lot of the housing stock is apartments, from older blocks on the tighter inland streets to newer, higher-spec flats along the harbour front. Furnished flats and shorter leases are common, which suits people arriving from abroad who want to land quickly.

Life here is urban rather than resort-like. Streets are narrow and busy, the ground floors are full of small grocers, cafés, takeaways and everyday shops, and the pace is that of a working town rather than a promenade. The reward is that almost everything is close: you can walk to the Sliema shopping streets and seafront, cross toward Manoel Island, or reach the harbour edge in minutes. The waterfront itself, looking over the marina and the fortifications, is the town's calmer counterpoint to the traffic inland.

Gżira & Manoel Island

Gżira also sits at the centre of the ongoing Manoel Island regeneration story — a long-discussed project to open up the island and its foreshore. It's a live topic locally and worth understanding before you commit, but the underlying draw is unchanged: this is a place you buy or rent for location and value, not for quiet or for space.

Buying in Gżira — value next to Sliema

For buyers, apartments here can offer a more accessible entry point into the harbour district than neighbouring Sliema, with the same walkable, well-served lifestyle. For renters, the appeal is simple — a central address, strong choice of flats, and everything you need within a short walk.