English in Malta · Tourism

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Tourism

The Maltese islands are located in the central Mediterranean Sea, south of Sicily. They offer to the visitor crystalline waters, hidden bays and sandy beaches, prehistoric temples and a rich cultural inheritance, legacy of the many and diverse conquerors of the island: Greek, Romans, Normans, French and English. Click here if you wish to find out more about tourism in Malta.

Valletta
The capital of the islands was built towards the end of the 16th century by the Order of the Knights of St John in a fortified position on the peninsula. The city was developed around which today are the Republic, Old Bakery and Merchants streets, where can be found some exquisite examples of the baroque architecture Maltese style.
The austere outside of the St. John Cathedral lodges sumptuous marble floors and an altar made in lapis lazuli with a representation of the Baptism of Jesus completely done in marble. In the oratory, can be seen The decapitation of St John, a Caravaggio’s painting. The Palace of the Grandmaster of the Order of the Knights of St John in Republic Street was constructed 500 years ago, and lodges a number of paintings about the Great Siege of 1565, made by a pupil of Michelangelo, a set of tapestries originally designed for Louis XIV and an armory with one of the best collections in existence.
The Manoel Theater, called like that in honor to one of the most popular Grandmaster, is one of the oldest in Europe, and there are theater, opera and ballet shows between October and May. The National Museum of Fine Arts is lodged in a palace of the 18th century and has an exquisite collection of furniture, paintings and treasures related to the Order of the Knights of St John. There are two great street markets, in the district of Floriana on Sundays and another one in Merchants Street, from Monday to Saturday. Click here if you wish to find out more about tourism in Valletta.

Sliema
Sliema is a modern and cosmopolitan city, opposite Valletta, full of great hotels, stores, cinemas, coffees, restaurants and discotheques. The coast is rocky but that doesn’t mean that it’s impossible to take a sea bath. It’s in the neighboring of St. Julians, another very animated and full of activity tourist zone.

Mdina
The city is perched on a plateau from where it is possible to see the rest of the island. Once the former capital of Malta, its citadel is a perfect example of a medieval walled city. The entrance is made through a stone bridge, and inside the streets are tangled like a maze, full of churches, monasteries and palaces, all connected by small piazzas. Among the places to visit it outstands the Norman style Palazzo Falzon, with its old weapons and pottery collection, and also the cathedral and the museum where are lodged the surviving pieces of the French sacking of the 17th century.

Rabat
Very near to Mdina is the city of Rabat. There are beautiful baroque churches, the catacombs of St Paul and St Agatha and a Roman Villa. In the outskirts it is possible to visit the Dingli cliffs, the Verdala Castle and the Buskett Gardens, the only forest of Malta. In the southwest coast are the grottos where, according to the legend, lived the mermaids that enchanted the sailors with their songs. The most famous of these caverns is the Blue Grotto, where the chorales colors are reflected on the stone, giving it a bluish coloration.

Gozo
It is the second greater island of the archipelago. Its landscape includes plateaus, deep valleys, risky cliffs and the small villas among the citruses and olive trees. The capital of the island is Victoria (also known as Rabat), city constructed by the conquering Moors on a hill with a panoramic view of the entire island. Its cathedral lacks a cupola, but its interior was painted as a trompe l'oeil in its ceiling to give the impression that the cupola exists.
Some interesting places to visit are the Citadel or Great Castle, the alabaster caves of Xaghra and the basilica of Ta´Pinu, one of the official pilgrimage sites of the Vatican. It is possible to buy some of the local crafts, like embroidering, in the local houses, where the inhabitants sell them in their doors. Click here if you wish to find out more about tourism in Gozo.

Comino
The island of Comino is between Malta and Gozo, and is inhabited by not more than a dozen of farmer’s families. It has no roads, only footpaths that crawl among hills filled with wild herbs (among them cumin, that’s why the name of the island), and strange rocky formations. Their main attractions are some caves and small bays, like the Blue Lagoon.

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