It’s hard to imagine that an island in the Mediterranean with a view of Italy in the horizon, could need suggesting but more often than not when I told people we were headed to Malta these were the responses : Where is that exactly? What country is it in? What is there to do there anyway?
And truthfully, I didn’t know what we were in for exactly…the pictures of Valletta looked gorgeous, I had seen the travel headlines about the falling of the Azure Window, and it’s a island…but what else is Malta all about?
We hopped on a direct flight from London to Valletta and set out for a packed three days of exploring the Maltese archipelago.
So first of all, Malta is its’ own country… an archipelago of three islands in the Mediterranean, less than 100km from Sicily.
With this prime location in terms of trade and specifically during the World Wars, Malta has a rich and unique history. But it didn’t start there…Malta has remains from the Megalithic Period — many believe these temples are the oldest free-standing structures on Earth. St Paul even shipwrecked on the island on his way to Rome! The most well known bit of history for Malta is probably the Knights…the Roman Catholic Order moved to Malta in the 1500’s and remained there until the 1800’s when they moved to their extraterritorial location in Rome. (If you read my old post about my favorite hidden gems in Rome, you may remember this!) And in most recent history, evident throughout travel in Malta, is the location for WWII…at the time, it was a British Colony and so the allies used it actively go against Nazi occupied Italy. In fact, there were more bombs dropped on Malta in two months than London in the whole war! It’s amazing anything is left. But enough of my history geeking out…
WHAT TO SEE :
The Three Cities : Vittoriosa, Senglea and Cospicua.
Fort St. Angelo : the jewel in the crown of The Maltese Islands’ military heritage.
Walk through the streets of Birgu : Have lunch at Don Berto Restaurant
Take a ‘dghajsa’ ride around the harbor : dghajsa is a typical Maltese gondola shaped boat
Valletta : basically an open air museum of Baroque architecture filled with quaint cafes and rolling streets to wander through.
Casa Rocca Piccola : a beautiful privately owned palace in Valletta
Mdina : a fortified medieval town enclosed in bastions, located on a large hill in the center of Malta
Lunch at Palazzo Castelletti : particularly on the rooftop terrace!
Casa Bernard : originally a medieval fortress built on Roman foundations, the structure progressed to a double fronted Palazzo in the 1580’s and then given some Baroque additions in the early 18th century.
Dingli Cliffs : located off the village of Dingli, on Malta’s Western coast. They stage the highest point of the Maltese Islands at around 253 metres above sea-level.
Blue Grotto : take a boat ride around the caves and the Blue Grotto from Wied iz-Zurrieq.
Marsaxlokk Bay : Malta’s second largest natural harbour. It is full of colorful, traditional Maltese fishing boats.
A Day Trip to Gozo : one of my favorite parts of our holiday, more on this coming soon here!
Malta Fireworks Festival : we were lucky enough to visit during the annual festival, and have to say, it would the perfect time to plan your trip around! Every year at the end of April/early May, the MFF puts on the incredible festival culminating with the finale — a massive show over the harbor in Valletta choreographed to music!
WHERE TO STAY :
The Xara Palace Relais & Chateaux
For a full experience on Malta, you could definitely stay longer than the 3 days we did! I think combining Malta (and a day or so in Gozo) along with Sicily would make a perfect week (or week and a half!) holiday!
Save this for later :
**In collaboration with Malta Tourism Authority, but as always all opinions are my own.
2 Comments
I’d love to visit Malta
You’d love it! It’s a great country!