A Luxury Guide to a Long Weekend in Malta
This Mediterranean island has been dramatically overlooked.
The country is crammed with architectural marvels and dramatic natural wonders / ©Victor Elzerman
It turns out Malta has been misrepresented. It’s true that it’s almost always sunny — locals bask under more than 300 blue-sky days each year — and it’s still tremendously good value, but this tiny Mediterranean nation (comprising the main island of Malta and its more spiritual, serene sister island Gozo) is so much more than a budget-holiday mainstay.
Discerning travelers started to take a second glance at this overlooked destination after Michelin threw a slew of stars at its restaurants, and years-in-the-making luxury hotel Iniala Harbour House finally opened its doors.
They liked what they saw. Beyond the bastions of dainty Valletta (incontestably one of Europe’s most charming capitals), the country is crammed with architectural marvels and dramatic natural wonders: From millennia-old temples and the most extravagant Renaissance-era churches, to its towering coastal cliffs and Comino island’s radiant Blue Lagoon, whose temperate shallow waters gleam the most brilliant Maldivian hues. The country’s humble footprint means everything is within relatively easy reach, too.
What to do in Malta
Hagar Qim Temples
This archeological treasure is the best-preserved of Malta’s prehistoric sites
A megalithic complex that predates the pyramids at Giza, this archeological treasure is the best-preserved of Malta’s prehistoric sites. By a cliff face, the structure incorporates a series of chambers (the roof long ago collapsed). An adjacent museum makes some sense of the setting, though this is a Maltese marvel that will always be shrouded in mystery.
heritagemalta.org
EYOS Expeditions
Its strategic position between Europe and Africa also means that Malta’s waters teem with shipwrecks, from the luxury steam yacht HMY Aegusa (felled in 1916) to the British submarine HMS Olympus. Intrepid-adventure specialist EYOS Expeditions can arrange once-in-a-lifetime access to these sites, alongside various other underwater wonders, aboard a U-Boat Navigator submersible capable of dives up to 1,000 meters deep.
eyos-expeditions.com
Gozo by tuk-tuk
Fun customized tours might explore Victoria’s picturesque citadel, ornate churches, traditional villages and dramatic cliff tops
Gozo’s tranquility isn’t tarnished by these increasingly popular tuk-tuk safaris: The all-electric vehicles traverse this tiny island without making a sound. Fun customized tours might explore Victoria’s picturesque citadel, ornate churches, traditional villages and dramatic cliff tops dressed with scraggy tufts of wildflowers.
yippeemalta.com
St John’s Co-Cathedral
This 16th-century Baroque beauty features a riot of rich golds on all sides
One of Europe’s most glorious and grandiose cathedrals, this 16th-century Baroque beauty features a riot of rich golds on all sides and a series of intricately detailed marble tombstones underfoot. There’s so much to take in here, but don’t miss a visit to the Oratory. The out-of-the-way annex houses The Beheading of Saint John the Baptist, a 1608 painting considered one of Caravaggio’s most significant works.
stjohnscocathedral.com
Superyacht sailing
Superyachters are increasingly gravitating to Malta as a sailing destination
With the island a bridge between Italy, Spain, France, Montenegro and Greece, superyachters are increasingly gravitating to Malta as a sailing destination. The recently launched Carblu Malta provides charters through these waters, with use of the 135-ft Lady in Blue coming in at about $16,800 per day or $84,400 per week.
