This reports one of the best vacations i've had and certainly the best place I can recommend for anyone wanting to learn/practice english by travelling or get away from cold european winters...
Valletta harbour from the boat "Fernandez"
Malta, Gozo and Comino are small Islands in the Mediteranean, main harbour and capital is Valletta/Valetta. You won't find them easily on a map, the total land area only 316 sq km, they're just south of Sicily but closer to Africa. St.Paul was shipwrecked here and started a rollercoaster military history envolving romans, muslims, normans, spanish, french and british influences. That all makes the people Maltese and proud of their past! Now intergrated into the EU, european and yet unique and special.
Favourite spots:
Slema from St.Elmo Fort
Fort St. Elmo - of classical star-design, built by the Nights of Saint John in 1552 to guard the harbours on both sides of it, last used in WW2 against attacks on the city. A time-capsule and nice views over the city and harbours.
Trivia: the inside of the fort was used as a set for the filming of Midnight Express.
What's really great:
Famous Maltese Bus Sevices
1) highlights in any direction and within short distance of the city Valletta 2) "hop-on-and-off" buses take one almost anywhere on the main island for a few cents 3) the churches and devotion of the people 4) snorkelling and boat trips 5) multi-media shows and fireworks (daily Jun-Sep) 6) well organised day-trips 7) the weather 8) the food
Sights:
Grandmasters Parade
The narrow streets of the old city and the Sunday parade
Fort St. Alamo
Upper Barracca Garden
St Johns Cathedral
San Anton Palace at and its garden at Birkirkara
"Malta Experience" (a fantastic multimedia show)
Vittoriosa and Senglea harbour and dockyards Tip: by "dghajsa", a type of gondola
Nearby Mosta and the St.Marys dome Trivia: Third largest dome in the world after St.Paul (Vatican) and Hagia Sofia (Istanbul). During WW2 a bomb came through the dome during a church service but did not explode!
FTI-Touristic arrange groups for 4x4 tours of the islands, participants may drive (atleast one). This is a fantastic way to discover the backroads of Malta and remote sights.
Accommodations:
Hotel Forum at St.Julian
Best for nightlife, centrality and convenience for travellers is the neighbouring city Sliema. Hundreds of Hotels and Guesthouses.
Most the hotels support the agencies for sightseeing who arrange picking guests up from the hotel for the day trips.
Nightlife:
Marina at Paceville
Nightlife and discos for the young are in and arround Paceville.
For the exclusive, Casino at Dragonara Point and the new marina near Spinola Fort.
Hangouts:
St. Julians nightlife
Sliema and specialy St.Julians offer a range of english and irish style pubs.
Most hotels anyway, great for exchanging ones experiences of the day and planning the next exiting day.
Restaurants:
St. Julians Bay
Everywhere, small and big, fancy or plain.
Malta offers a delicious mix of mediteranean cuisine, something like between turkish-italian-english if you can imagine that!
Day-trip agencies arrange super lunches at group prices at the varios targets.
Other recommendations:
Ggantija Prehistoric Temple
Daytrips:
Mdina and surrounding farms
Comino Island & "Blue Lagoon" by boat from Valletta or Gozo
Gozo Island by ferry from Marta (north point) After getting there, take a taxi for the day (about $8 an hour) to get around the small island. Not to miss: 1) the ancient ruins at Ggantija (5200BC!) which make Stonehenge pretty modern!!! 2) Azur Window, a natural geological wonder of the world 3) Xlendi Bay, a romantic scuba diving village 4) Calypso's Cave, legendary 5) "Popeye" Lagoon, village built as set for the movie
Sicily, 90 minutes to by hydroplane!
Usefull Websites: www.aboutmalta.com (slow but great!) www.hmml.org (study center - good info) www.searchmalta.com (well used by locals) www.manicmalta.com (events up-to-date) www.malta-live.de (german) http.//louishenwood.com (detailed history of malta - one of the best personal websites I know!)
Rudi, Nice report on Malta. I have posted one as well. I also see you are from Munchen. I have been there several times dealing with a company called OCE in Poing. Have been to the Octoberfest and done the tourist thinh at the Hofbrauhaus. Stay usually at the Park Hilton not far from the English Garden. I have recently posted t reports on St Lucia nd Sedona Arizona and some pics. Have look and let me know what you think.
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