Lascaris War Rooms: The place from where General Dwight Eisenhower directed the Sicily invasion

Originally, the site where the Lascaris War Rooms are, was used by the Knights of Malta as living quarters for their slaves.

During World War II, the British forces transformed the site into the headquarters of the Royal Navy’s Mediterranean fleet and centre of operations.

The site was definitely not favourable for claustrophobic people since it is believed that a thousand people worked here … 240 at a time and changing shifts every 6 hours.

The War Rooms played a crucial role in World War II since it was from here, that the Allies managed to disrupt greatly the Axis supplies to North Africa.

From here, General Dwight Eisenhower directed and launched the Sicily invasion which led to the eventual surrender of Italy. Italy’s surrender is believed to have been the key turning point in World War II.

Today, the site has been converted into a museum. It mainly re-creates the atmosphere with wax dummies, maps and other props to illustrate what kind of work was carried out at Lascaris during World War II.

These war rooms are one of a few remaining World War II Military Operations Rooms in the world, which are open to the pubic.

Here you can relive what used to go on during the war with audio-visual displays, photographs, related material and audio-guides.

An interesting museum and a definite must see if you’re a World War II enthusiast.

Getting there

You can get to this museum either from Girolmu Cassar Street or San Anton Street. The war rooms are very close to the Upper Barrakka Gardens.

Lascaris War Rooms

Location: Lascaris Bastion, Valletta.

Telephone: 2123 4936

Opening Hours: Monday to Friday, from 9.30am to 4.00pm. Saturday and Sunday, from 9.30pm to 12.30pm.

Admission Fee: Euro 4.00

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