The perfect holiday in Malta, an island of enduring charm

22 November 2024 8:00pm GMT

The Maltese islands have it all: bright sun & azure sea, astonishing history and delectable food & drink. Malta’s UNESCO World Heritage capital, Valletta, surrounded by water and centuries-old bastion walls, has an enduring charm all its own. Built by the Knights of Malta in the 16th-century, in recent years, it has undergone a revitalisation with lots of new boutique hotels, restaurants, and restoration and renovation of historic sites and museums. 

Valletta has an extraordinary density of sights and activities from unique 5,000-year-old 'Fat Lady' statues, to the ornate Baroque legacy of the Knights of St John; from Bastion-top gardens to boat trips on the Grand Harbour. And it isn’t all ancient. There’s also the City Gate redevelopment, designed by star architect Renzo Piano (of London's Shard fame) including an ultra-modern parliament building and an open-air theatre inside the bombed-out shell of the Neoclassical opera house.

Buzzing bars spill out onto the city’s limestone alleys, concerts frequently grace its copious churches, and the restaurant scene serves up everything from scrumptious traditional snacks to Michelin starred menus. And of course, it’s only a short ride to the beach.

Grab a coffee and snack at the Upper Barrakka kiosk (you'll want to leave plenty of room for supper) before taking the Barrakka Lift down to Customs House and hopping into a traditional Maltese dghajsa – a six-seater brightly painted wooden boat – for a tour of the Grand Harbour. You'll putter beneath the towering bastions of Valletta, past the shipyards, and in and out of the creeks of the Three Cities – before rounding the corner beneath the freshly cleaned face of Malta’s oldest fortress, Fort St Angelo, to disembark in Birgu/Vittoriosa.

The Knights' first base in Malta, this medieval mini-city is a gorgeous place for a spot of loafing. Stop in the square for a coffee at BeBirgu in St Lawrence Band Club – where, as in each Maltese parish, the local band meets in preparation for the annual festa. From here wander through the narrow medieval streets of the Collachio, the Knights' own area, which was once out of bounds for women and is still a traditional district. Back on the waterfront, visit Fort St Angelo – which spans more than 800 years of Maltese history – before motoring back across the harbour (this time without the tour) in another dghajsa.

Let’s get behind the walls of some of those Valletta buildings – starting with the historic home of the Provencal Knights of Malta, now the National Museum of Archaeology. Here you will find the extraordinary 5,000-years-old 'Fat Ladies of Malta', and other statues, reliefs and stone furniture from the unique UNESCO World Heritage Maltese temples. Upstairs are accessible galleries covering the Bronze Age and Phoenician eras.

A little further along Republic Street is the Knights’ church, St John's Co-Cathedral. Do not be fooled by its plain exterior. Inside is one of the most dazzling Baroque interiors anywhere in Europe. Let the audio guide take you around this symphony of gold and marble, and don’t miss the Oratory and its world-famous artistic experience: Caravaggio’s largest work, painted for this room, The Beheading of Saint John the Baptist (1608).  

In the capital’s main square, just a few metres away, pay a visit to the Grand Master's Palace, newly reopened in early 2024 after major restoration work: its state rooms were used by the princely leader of the supposedly monastic Knights, and all of Malta’s governments since.  

If it is a warm sunny day (and from June to October it usually is in Malta) you might want to head to the beach.

Otherwise, some extraordinary time travel awaits. Back in the third and fourth millennia BC, Malta’s Neolithic inhabitants began building complex stone temples before even Stonehenge was standing. Not far from Valletta is the Hal Saflieni Hypogeum (pre-book here), a Unesco World Heritage triple-layered subterranean tomb complex. It is carved, in parts beautifully, from the living rock and here the Temple people buried their dead. 

There is also an above-ground temple just 10 minutes' walk away at Tarxien, but for the most evocative temples it’s worth a little extra travelling time to visit Mnajdra and Hagar Qim on Malta’s south coast. Here are two well-preserved temple complexes – complete with monumental doorways, curved rooms, steps and carved stones, set in a landscape little changed since the temples were built.

Malta’s bus system is inexpensive and very extensive. From Valletta you can get pretty much anywhere on the island for a couple of euros. It’s not quite as quick as a cab but it’s a lot cheaper. Check routes, fares and rough frequencies here. 

The Gozo Highspeed ferry costs €7.99 (one-way) or €12 return (only if booked online).

Summer is delightful, with almost-guaranteed sunshine, blue skies and perfect Mediterranean Sea. This is the ideal time for sunbathing, swimming, diving and boat trips – as well as for outdoor music festivals and parish festas.

Spring and autumn are perfect for sightseeing and exploring, when the weather is often beautiful and the temperature comfortable. In autumn the sea is also still warm enough to swim. Winter brings greater risk of bad weather (although even in January the average daytime high is 15C), but is a good time for the budget-conscious, as flights are cheaper and accommodation often dramatically so.

Silver filigree is a Maltese speciality, and there’s a row of little jewellers along St Lucy Street. The shops are tiny, with a mix of traditional and modern designs, though the most common motif is the Maltese Cross – a charming souvenir.

Maltese delicacies make great presents to bring home: local capers, fig or prickly pear jam, honey rings (actually made with molasses) and halva (a sweet made with tahini) – to name but a few. Try Caffe Cordina or The Wembley Store. 

• Flight time: 3 hours from the UK 
  
• Time difference: GMT +1 hr
• Currency: Euro (EUR; €)
• Tourist Office: There is a tourist information office in the arrivals hall of Malta International Airport, and another in a large kiosk just outside the walls of Valletta at City Gate. For a list of all the tourist offices in Malta see mta.com.mt

• Telephone code: 00 356 from the UK, followed by the Maltese number (there are no zeros to remove in Maltese phone numbers)
• Foreign Office advice: Malta is mostly considered as safe or safer than the UK, except on the roads where standards of driving are described as ‘poor’.
• Extra reading: There is lots of useful information on visitmalta.com. The most comprehensive guidebook to the country is Malta & Gozo (Bradt Guides, 5th Edition, due to be published February 2025) by our destination expert Juliet Rix. A good holiday read which covers most of Malta’s history within a fictional narrative is Nicholas Monsarrat’s novel, The Kappillan of Malta.
• Emergency services: 112
• British consulate: British High Commission, Whitehall Mansions, Ta’ Xbiex Seafront, Ta’ Xbiex XBX 1026; 00 356 2323 0000; gov.uk/malta

• Malta is a southern Mediterranean Catholic country. It is quite socially conservative but much less so than even a few years ago. In some respects it has rather leapt into the 21st-century. Malta has now topped the Rainbow Index for LGBTQI rights for several years.
  
• Time can be 'flexible'. Try to be a bit laid back about this when waiting for food, taxis or tour guides, for example. But feel free to politely chase if you are in a hurry or need to catch a flight.
• Malta drives on the left like the UK – in theory. In practice, local people mostly drive where the road is smoothest or shadiest, so keep an eye in all directions. Driving laws are regularly flouted, but speed limits are enforced by police.