INFORMATION ON MALTA

Island of Malta - Extensive information about the Maltese Islands and links to other websites.

By any standard, the Republic of Malta is a very small country. The main island Malta is less than a hundredth the size of neighboring Sicily; it's slightly larger than Elba, Napoleon's isle of exile. (Napoleon conquered Malta in his days, but the irate islanders soon tossed the French garrison out)

In recent history Malta has been regarding as an inexpensive destination for a packaged beach holiday. The weather is sunny and hot for most of the year and the sea is clear and warm.

Accommodation is good value; there's an abundance of high-quality, reasonably priced restaurants and decent nightlife in resort areas. Added to these selling points is some dramatic coastal scenery and excellent opportunities for snorkeling, scuba diving and other water sports. Malta's true highlights are not its beaches however, and this sun and sand image doesn't do the country enough justice. What makes Malta a unique destination is that so much of its intriguing past is visible today. From 5000 year old temples to immense fortifications built by the Knights of St John in the 16th century.

A few days off the beaches will confirm that there is much to discover: the magnificent fortified capital of Valletta with its glorious and bustling Mediterranean street life; stone-built villages and towns with their idiosyncratic baroque churches and exuberant annual festas; the mysterious prehistoric temples and archaeological finds that pre-date Egypt's pyramids; the elegant, medieval fortress town of Mdina; and if you want to get away from it all, the smaller and quieter island of Gozo with is quaint landscape of flat-topped hills and towering cliffs.