Lonely Planet Malta & Gozo

Brett Atkinson

Description

Lonely Planet: The world's leading travel guide publisher Lonely Planet's Malta & Gozo is your passport to the most relevant, up-to-date advice on what to see and skip, and what hidden discoveries await you. Wander prehistoric temples, fossil-studded cliffs and hidden coves; explore an underwater world with a scuba diving or snorkelling trip; and discover a history of remarkable intensity. All with your trusted travel companion. Get to the heart of Malta & Gozo and begin your journey now! Inside Lonely Planet's Malta & Gozo: Colour maps and images throughout Highlights and itineraries help you tailor your trip to your personal needs and interests Insider tips to save time and money and get around like a local, avoiding crowds and trouble spots Essential info at your fingertips - hours of operation, phone numbers, websites, transit tips, prices Honest reviews for all budgets - eating, sleeping, sightseeing, going out, shopping, hidden gems that most guidebooks miss Cultural insights provide a richer, more rewarding travel experience - covering history, people, music, religion, cuisine, politics Covers Valletta, Marsaxlokk Victoria, Mdina, Dwejra, the Blue Lagoon, San Blas Bay, Gozo, Comino, Sliema, St. Julian's, Paceville, the Dingli Cliffs, and more The Perfect Choice: Lonely Planet's Malta & Gozo is our most comprehensive guide to Malta & Gozo, and is perfect for discovering both popular and offbeat experiences. About Lonely Planet: Lonely Planet is a leading travel media company and the world's number one travel guidebook brand, providing both inspiring and trustworthy information for every kind of traveller since 1973. Over the past four decades, we've printed over 145 million guidebooks and grown a dedicated, passionate global community of travellers. You'll also find our content online, and in mobile apps, video, 14 languages, nine international magazines, armchair and lifestyle books, ebooks, and more. 'Lonely Planet guides are, quite simply, like no other.' - New York Times 'Lonely Planet. It's on everyone's bookshelves, it's in every traveller's hands. It's on mobile phones. It's on the Internet. It's everywhere, and it's telling entire generations of people how to travel the world.' - Fairfax Media (Australia)eBook Features: (Best viewed on tablet devices and smartphones) Downloadable PDF and offline maps prevent roaming and data charges Effortlessly navigate and jump between maps and reviews Add notes to personalise your guidebook experience Seamlessly flip between pages Bookmarks and speedy search capabilities get you to key pages in a flash Embedded links to recommendations' websites Zoom-in maps and images Inbuilt dictionary for quick referencing Important Notice: The digital edition of this book may not contain all of the images found in the physical edition.

Sujets

• Malta

Informations

• Publié par: Lonely Planet
• Date de parution: 01 février 2019
• Nombre de lectures: 5
• EAN13: 9781788681810
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 27 Mo

Extrait

Malta & Gozo

Contents

PLAN YOUR TRIP

Welcome to Malta & Gozo
Malta & Gozo’s Top 10
Need to Know
What’s New
If You Like…
Month by Month
Itineraries
Accommodation
Getting Around Malta & Gozo
Activities
Eat & Drink Like a Local
Travel with Children
Regions at a Glance

ON THE ROAD

VALLETTA
Sights
Courses
Tours
Eating
Drinking & Nightlife
Entertainment
Shopping
Around Valletta
Hal Saflieni Hypogeum & Tarxien Temples
The Three Cities
Vittoriosa
Senglea
SLIEMA, ST JULIAN’S & PACEVILLE
Sliema & Around
St Julian’s & Paceville
NORTHERN MALTA
Golden Bay & Għajn Tuffieħa
Mġarr & Around
Mellieħa & Around
Marfa Peninsula
Xemxija
Buġibba, Qawra & St Paul’s Bay
Baħar Iċ-Ċagħaq
CENTRAL MALTA
Mdina
Rabat
Dingli Cliffs
Mosta
Naxxar
Birkirkara & the Three Villages
Fomm ir-Riħ
SOUTHERN MALTA
Marsaxlokk
Birżebbuġa
Marsaskala
Żurrieq
Ħaġar Qim & Mnajdra
Għar Lapsi
GOZO & COMINO
Gozo
Victoria (Rabat)
Mġarr
Mġarr ix-Xini
Xewkija
Ta’Ċenċ
Xlendi
Għarb & San Lawrenz
Dwejra
Marsalforn
Xagħra
Nadur
Comino

UNDERSTAND

Malta & Gozo Today
History
The Maltese Way of Life
5000 Years of Architecture

SURVIVAL GUIDE

Directory A–Z
Accessible Travel
Climate
Customs Regulations
Discount Cards
Electricity
Embassies & Consulates
Health
Insurance
Internet Access
Language Courses
Legal Matters
LGBT+ Travellers
Money
Opening Hours
Photography
Post
Safe Travel
Telephone
Time
Toilets
Tourist Information
Visas
Transport
GETTING THERE & AWAY
Entering Malta & Gozo
Air
Land
Sea
GETTING AROUND
Bicycle
Boat
Bus
Car & Motorcycle
Taxi
Tours
Language
Behind the Scenes
Our Writer
Welcome to Malta & Gozo

Malta packs glorious variety into its small archipelago. You’ll find prehistoric temples, fossil-studded cliffs, hidden coves, thrilling scuba diving and a history of remarkable intensity.

Historic & Contemporary
Malta’s geographical location in the centre of the Mediterranean made it an alluring and much-fought-over prize, and the islands are full of majestic above- and below-ground defences. Valletta, built by the Knights of St John, is a harmonious grid, while Mdina and Victoria are fortress-like hilltop towns, and watchtowers dot the coast. Even Malta’s fishing boats resonate with the past, their prows painted with eyes, just like the boats of their Phoenician predecessors. After Valletta’s stint as a European Capital of Culture in 2018, it is a re-energised centre of contemporary design and architecture.

The Deep Blue Sea
Malta’s landscape contrasts rocky stretches of coast that end in dizzying limestone cliffs with sheltered bays that hide gin-clear water and red-gold beaches. The islands’ many marinas jostle with boats, and you can take to the water in sky-blue traditional craft, stately yachts or speedboats. Snorkellers and divers have much to explore underwater, while on land walking tracks negotiate view-filled pathways linking isolated coves and surprising historical structures. Even for the short-term visitor to Malta, a simple ferry journey across Grand Harbour in Valletta is a magical experience.

A Mediterranean Cocktail
Malta is staunchly Roman Catholic but is also home to a beguiling mix of cultures. Traditional Maltese food mixes Sicilian and Middle Eastern flavours, while making use of local ingredients such as rabbit and honey. The Maltese people are warm and welcoming: if you ask for directions, it’s likely a local will walk with you to help you find the way. Plenty of 21st-century sophistication can be found, but there are also pockets where you feel like you’ve gone back in time, especially on Gozo, where huge churches tower over quiet villages.

Mysterious Ancients
Malta and Gozo’s astounding prehistoric sites were constructed by sophisticated-seeming temple builders, who also left miniature figurines and mammoth sculptures of ‘fat ladies’, which have survived millennia and are housed in Malta’s fascinating museums. Gigantic temples and towers from many different eras stand proud. The most extraordinary site of all lies underground: Hal Saflieni Hypogeum, a 5000-year-old necropolis carved from the living rock. Elsewhere throughout the islands, smaller prehistoric sites are more subtle in their impact across the centuries, but still provide profound insight into civilisation’s legacy.

Skyline of Valletta | KAVALENKAVA / SHUTTERSTOCK ©


Why I Love Malta & Gozo
By Brett Atkinson, Writer
Malta is the Mediterranean’s most surprising destination. I love exploring the Knights of St John’s improbable historic fortress of Valletta, but also discovering the city’s cosmopolitan restaurants, bars and galleries. Malta’s coastline conceals coves perfect for swimming, and after an afternoon at the beach I look forward to meals packed with the influence of Malta’s history and geography. Across on Gozo, massive churches rise from sun-caressed landscapes, and I like hiking clifftop paths past historical monuments to concealed bays. All this and more, an easy day trip from anywhere in the country.
For more, see Our Writer
Malta & Gozo’s Top 10

Valletta
Malta’s capital is a remarkable place. Only 1km by 600m, with every street leading to the sea, the walled fortress city contains a harmonious ensemble of 16th- and 17th-century townhouses fronted by traditional Maltese balconies. The last few years have seen Valletta bloom, with exciting restaurants, renovated buildings and an emerging nightlife scene. New galleries, museums and art spaces have boosted Valletta’s cultural credibility, and you’ll sense the excitement immediately as you walk through Renzo Piano’s striking City Gate and view his cutting-edge Parliament Building and Opera House just beyond.

ANTONIO VIOLI / 500PX ©

Top Experiences
Hal Saflieni Hypogeum
Visiting these ancient underground burial chambers is a unique, mysterious and quite astonishing experience. Amazingly preserved, the sacred spaces hollowed from the rock are around 5000 years old, yet painted ochre patterns are still visible decorating the ceilings of some sections. It’s a window into an enigmatic ancient world that leaves a beguiling and perplexing resonance. You’ll need to book online several months ahead, but this time-travel portal to a mystical and storied time is an essential experience when visiting Malta.

DEA / A. DAGLI ORTI / GETTY IMAGES ©

Top Experiences
Il-Kastell
Also known locally as Ċittadella, Victoria’s restored fortress town is a thrilling and poignant highlight of Gozo. The 15th-century fortifications were used as shelter for the island’s entire population during Turkish raids, a defiant period of history illuminated in the excellent new Ċittadella Visitors’ Centre. Elsewhere in Il-Kastell, centuries-old marble and limestone backstreets lead to the beautiful Cathedral of the Assumption and museums showcasing archaeology, folklore and natural history. After a lunch of local Gozitan specialities, find time to wander along ll-Kastell’s ramparts taking in superb views across the entire island.

ARKANTO / SHUTTERSTOCK ©

Top Experiences
St John’s Co-Cathedral
The austere exterior of Valletta’s cathedral is no preparation for the frenzy of baroque gold and lavish decoration in its interior. The floor alone is a carpet of many-coloured marble tombs, on which symbolic pictures are delicately rendered in stone. The chapels, each pertaining to an auberge, vie to outdo each other in opulence. The outstanding highlight is Caravaggio’s Beheading of John the Baptist in the Oratory – the largest work ever produced by the artist. An excellent new cathedral museum and Caravaggio exhibition is scheduled to open in 2020.

ANTON ZELENOFF / SHUTTERSTOCK ©

Top Experiences
Mdina & Rabat
Malta’s tiny sometime capital Mdina is a walled city perched on a hilltop, filled with beautiful honey-coloured buildings. During the day it’s a treasure trove of museums, artefacts and churches (including Malta’s stunning second cathedral), but it’s appealingly mysterious at night when everything is closed and the city is dimly lit and empty. Wander around after most people have left and you’ll understand why it’s known as the ‘Silent City’. Mdina adjoins Rabat , itself a lovely town with some fascinating sights, and one of Malta’s best emerging restaurant scenes.

Mdina | TRABANTOS / SHUTTERSTOCK ©

Top Experiences
Blue Lagoon
The beautiful island of Comino has an eclectic history. Ptolemy wrote of it 1800 years ago, and it has been a hermit’s hideaway, a cholera isolation zone and a prison camp. But its most extraordinary feature is the otherworldly Blue Lagoon . This serene, limpid sea pool is so blue that it looks like an over-saturated image. It attracts hordes of swimmers in the summer months but even the crowds can’t obscure its beauty (still, try to head here in the afternoon, after most people have left).

ZGPHOTOGRAPHY / SHUTTERSTOCK ©

Top Experiences
Secret Coves
Although Malta has some lovely sandy beaches, many of the islands’ finest swimming spots are the natural pools and inlets that punctuate the rocky coast. Highlights include the searingly beautiful St Peter’s Pool , great for leaping off the rocks; the sheltered, natural, rocky swimming pool at Għar Lapsi ; and Gozo’s narrow rocky gorge that meets the sea, Wied il-Għasri , reached by a staircase chiselled into the rock. To combine swimming and dining, head to the absolute seafront Rew Rew restaurant at Mġarr ix-Xini on Gozo.

Għar Lapsi | ANTOINE2K / SHUTTERSTOCK ©

Top Experiences
Vittoriosa’s Backstreets
Vittoriosa is the most fascinating of the Three Cities. This ancient town on a narrow strip of land has stunning views and perfectly preserved streets. Still known locally as Birgu (its name before the Great Siege of 1565), Vittoriosa was the original home of the Knigh