Malta
Malta is a compact archipelago in the heart of the Mediterranean, south of Sicily: the main island of Malta, greener and quieter Gozo, and tiny Comino between them. Valletta, the capital, is a fortified baroque city built by the Knights of St John in the 16th century on a peninsula above the Grand Harbour, and the whole city is a UNESCO World Heritage site. It is one of the smallest capitals in Europe, and its regular grid of streets is easy to explore on foot in a day or two. Lanes of honey-coloured limestone lead to St John’s Co-Cathedral and the Upper Barrakka Gardens, which look across the water to the Three Cities — Birgu, Senglea and Bormla, where the Knights first settled and where life still turns around the harbour. Inland, the walled hilltop town of Mdina, known as the Silent City, keeps narrow lanes, old palaces and bastion views across the island, with the old town of Rabat and its catacombs just outside the walls, while St Julian’s and Sliema on the coast are Malta’s livelier side, with seafront promenades, restaurants and evening life.
The islands’ history reaches much further back. The megalithic temples of Malta and Gozo, Ġgantija on Gozo among them, rank among the oldest free-standing structures in the world and are protected by UNESCO, as is the Ħal Saflieni Hypogeum, an underground complex carved out of the rock. Gozo moves at a slower, rural pace: fields and villages, the citadel above Victoria, sheer cliffs at Dwejra and the red-gold sand of Ramla Bay, salt pans along the north coast and quiet coves best reached by boat. The water around the archipelago is famously clear, making Malta one of the Mediterranean’s best-known places for diving, with reefs, caves and wrecks. Visibility is often excellent and many dive sites start right from the shore, while boats head out daily to the Blue Lagoon on Comino and the Blue Grotto on Malta’s south coast. Maltese cooking blends Sicilian and Arab influences — rabbit stew, flaky pastizzi, small sheep’s-milk cheeses from Gozo and fresh fish from the fishing village of Marsaxlokk — best enjoyed with wines from local vineyards.
The climate is typically Mediterranean: summers are hot, dry and sunny, winters are mild and fairly sunny, and most of the rain falls between late autumn and early spring. Sea swimming is usually pleasant from around late May or June into October, sometimes longer, while spring and autumn suit walking, sightseeing and diving without the summer heat. The sea is warmest in late summer and early autumn, while winter, with fewer visitors, is a fine time for museums, churches and long cliff-top walks. English and Maltese are both official languages, so getting around is easy. In summer almost every town and village holds a festa for its patron saint, with processions, brass bands and fireworks. Distances are short — the ferry to Gozo takes around half an hour — so a single trip can take in Valletta’s churches and museums, a day in Mdina, a beach on Mellieħa Bay and a few quiet days on Gozo. Malta suits travellers drawn to culture and history, couples, food lovers, divers and anyone looking for a short sunny break at almost any time of year.
