The country of Malta is actually three small islands in the southern Mediterranean: Malta, Gozo, and Comino. The closest country is Italy (Sicily), but the next closest country is Tunisia, in Africa.
We stayed on the north end of the main island, 1 km east of where you see “Popeye’s Village” highlighted above. I’m pretty sure most Maltese would be embarrassed to see that a small theme park dedicated to a movie no one remembers is what Google highlights on their country.
THINGS TO DO AND SEE:
- The Hypogeum. An ancient burial ground, where the oldest parts are older than the Egyptian Pyramids. It was discovered under some neighborhood houses in about 1908, and the remains of some 7,000 people were buried there. It’s incredible to think that people were able to carve out this underground cave, using only stone hand tools, six thousand years ago. Make your reservations early – only 10 people are allowed in per hour.
- Valletta. Valletta is the capitol of Malta, and the walls surrounding the city are especially impressive, even for a country where MOST cities are walled or fortified to some degree. Also worth seeing is the 5D Malta movie, which tells you a good bit about the history of Malta, albeit in an annoyingly non-linear fashion.
- Mdina. Mdina was the capitol of Malta until 1565, and it’s enjoyable to walk the super-narrow streets of Mdina (cars not allowed unless you are a resident) and see the city as it was, four hundred years ago.
- Popeye’s Village. In 1980, Robin Williams made the movie Popeye here, which nobody remembers. But the Maltese, being creative, salvaged the movie set and made a small theme park out of it, with lots of history and games for kids to play. The best part about it? The swimming hole right next to Popeye’s Village that’s only accessible from the Village.
- Blue Lagoon. This requires getting a boat to go from the main island of Malta to the tiny island of Comino. The swimming is really cool, and you can explore other lagoons, fish, and lizards. A snorkel and mask are helpful.
- Mediterraneo Marine Park. Perhaps due to coronavirus restrictions, or perhaps just due to the local economy, we were able to pet dolphins at this small marine park. They also put on a good show for the kids! Other attractions were sea lions, feeding hundreds of parakeets, watching a macaw show, and a lizard display where the girls got to pet snakes.
- Esplora Science Museum. One of the best hands-on science museums and planetariums we’ve ever been to. You could easily spend a day here, exploring, playing, learning, and having fun. They have a planetarium with shows for kids, lots of different demonstrations, and things for kids to play on, near, or around from ages 2-16.