Malta Things to Do

Take a walk through the city of Sliema. Walk around and look around: all the cute blocks with houses and appartments, all of the buildings are made of LIMESTONE, how cool is that? Every time it rains a little - a little of the limestone is deteriorated.

Observe the arrangements of the architecture, the symmetry (see photo), and the cars tightly packed one next to another, using every millimeter of space!

Also notice the locals (mostly old people of course since the young are at work) sitting outside their homes and chit-chatting. Very charming! =)

This was one of the things I did on a short "educational" visit to Malta.

It is one of the best memories I have of the place with it's stone farmhouses that are slowly being converted to holiday villas. The stone is a beautiful creamy colour and they are very substantial.

Victoria is the main town and is still quite "sleepy".

You have to either take the ferry from Malta to Gozo island or one of the old Russian helicopters.

Gozo reminds me of how Greece used to be about 25 years ago before it became a tourist trap. It is still relatively underdeveloped - but, for how long?

Zabbar is a quaint village, one of many that date from the 1600s.
The word Zabbar comes from the plant Sabbara (Aloe Vera).
Before this present millennium, archaeological remains show it to be Roman in its foundation.
It is also known as Citta Hompesch, a name given by the grandmaster of that name.

Its patron Saint is Our Lady of Graces celebrated by a feast in September.
A difference to most feasts is a pilgrimage of 2 wheeled transport.
This festa may be one of the last that least panders to Touristy glitter.

The occasional punch-up between opposing band-supporters is an added attraction and a cute reminder of when things were simpler.
No Festa is ever dangerous but some die-hards over-indulge and create a little disturbance quickly controlled by police on the lookout for such silliness.

Both shows are similar so there is not need to do them both, unless you have time on your hands. I would reccommend at least one, the information in to the Knights of St John is very useful, if you are interested in the history of Malta.

This is a walk through museum with aduio tapes explaining the part Malta played in the war. Allow a good 1hr to walk around. The rooms are how they would have been back then, plans on the table, gas masks & helmets etc.

In 2004, April, went to Malta, and stayed in Sliema (pronounced: "sleema"). If you walk along the tourist area you can find small tour bussess that take you all over, really cheap (about $14-20 us$$). In the week we were there we took 3 seperate trips.

Many places in Malta advertise excursions to Sicily which include Mount Etna and Modica. I booked mine through my hotel and it came out to £40.75 Maltese a person (US $118.37, EU €94.94). This is a one day trip where they pick you up from your hotel and take you to the port. There you board the ferry to Pozzallo, Italy. In Pozzallo you go to a cafe for breakfast and then proceed to Mount Etna with a tour guide who had every question covered and seemed to know his stuff. After a visit at Mount Etna you are taken to the city of Modica which has alot of shops etc. but as of late resembles more of Turkey than Italy. All in all it is a long journey and you spend alot of it on the bus so certainly take that into consideration if travelling with kids or on a tight budget.

Most tourists use the helicopter service that run between the island of Malta and the Island of Gozo. There is also scenic flights by helicopter or by a twin engined piper plane that would show you the islands from a birds eye point of view.