MT · Curated travel guide
Ħal Saflieni Hypogeum, Ġgantija, Azure Window and 7 more — what each one is, and why it is worth the detour.
Chosen from everything Wikidata knows about Malta and ranked by how many Wikipedia language editions describe them, which is about as close to "famous" as open data gets. One is on UNESCO's World Heritage list.
World Heritage
Neolithic subterranean structure in Malta
Often just the Hypogeum, from the Greek for "underground", a Neolithic underground structure in Paola, Malta, from the Saflieni phase of Maltese prehistory.
Photo: Unknown, CC BY-SA 3.0
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Temple in Gozo, Malta
A Neolithic megalithic temple complex on Gozo, a Mediterranean island of Malta. No other Megalithic Temple of Malta is as old, and it is older than Egypt's pyramids.
Photo: FritzPhotography, CC BY-SA 4.0
Former natural arch in Gozo, Malta
Also called the Dwejra Window, a natural limestone arch 28-metre-tall (92 ft) on the island of Gozo, just off Malta, in Dwejra Bay near Fungus Rock and the Inland Sea. One of the island's main sights, it collapsed in a storm on 8 March 2017.
Photo: anjab1593, CC BY 3.0
Catholic co-cathedral in Malta
Valletta's co-cathedral, a Catholic church honouring Saint John the Baptist. It was put up between 1573 and 1578 by the Order of St. John as its Conventual Church of Saint John, on the orders of Grand Master Jean de la Cassière.
Photo: Diego Delso, CC BY-SA 4.0
Megalithic temple complex in Malta
A megalithic temple complex on Malta, in the Mediterranean, from the Ġgantija phase (3600–3200 BC). The Megalithic Temples of Malta are among the oldest religious sites on Earth, which the World Heritage Sites committee has called "unique architectural masterpieces."
Photo: Hamelin de Guettelet, CC BY-SA 3.0
Highest elevation point of Malta
At 253 metres (830 ft) above sea level, the top of Malta, found on the Dingli Cliffs.
Photo: Felix König, CC BY 3.0
Palace in Malta
Officially The Palace, and also once called the Magisterial Palace: a palace in Valletta, Malta, built over the 16th to 18th centuries for the Grand Master of the Knights Hospitaller, the order that governed Malta from 1530 to 1798.
Photo: Karelj, Public domain
Church in Mdina, Malta
Properly the Metropolitan Cathedral of Saint Paul, and also called the Mdina Cathedral, a Catholic cathedral in Mdina, Malta, dedicated to St. Paul the Apostle. It dates from the 12th century, and tradition places it where Publius, the Roman governor, met St. Paul after the apostle was shipwrecked on Malta.
Photo: Diego Delso, CC BY-SA 4.0
Entrance to the city of Valletta, Malta
The gate at the entrance to Valletta, Malta. The present gate, the fifth on the site, was built in 2011–2014 to designs by the Italian architect Renzo Piano.
Photo: Matthew Axiak, CC BY-SA 4.0
Cave and archaeological site in Malta
A cave and phreatic tube 144-metre long on the outskirts of Birżebbuġa, Malta, holding the bones of animals that lived on Malta in the Pleistocene and Holocene.
Photo: Jean-Christophe BENOIST, CC BY 2.5
Officially the Republic of Malta, an island country in the central Mediterranean, made up of two main islands, Gozo and Malta, lying north of Libya, east of Tunisia and south of Italy. Maltese and English are the two official languages, and Maltese is recognised as the national language.
Officially The Republic of Malta. Known locally as Malta, Malta.
Based on the Wikipedia article, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0: the facts are Wikipedia's, the wording is this site's.
This guide lists 10: Ħal Saflieni Hypogeum, Ġgantija, Azure Window and St John's Co-Cathedral and others. Ħal Saflieni Hypogeum is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
By machine, from open data, with no human ranking them and nobody able to pay for a place on the list. Everything Wikidata records in Malta that is a building, a landform, a protected area or a tourist attraction, has coordinates, a photograph and an English Wikipedia article, is ranked by how many Wikipedia language editions wrote about it. Provinces, cities, airports, stations and stretches of sea shared with the neighbours are filtered out.
1 of the 10 in this guide: Ħal Saflieni Hypogeum. That is not the full count for Malta, only the listed sites that made this guide.
English, Maltese. The currency is EUR.
A travel eSIM is usually the cheapest way, and avoids a roaming bill. The plans suggested at the foot of this guide start at $2.15 for 2GB per day. The eSIM is data-only and sits alongside your normal SIM, so calls, texts and WhatsApp keep working on your own number.
Vodafone and GO. Your phone picks whichever has the best signal where you are, the same way a local phone does.
Maps, tickets and translation all want data, and roaming is the expensive way to get it. A Computatus eSIM eSIM connects to Vodafone and GO once you land, and installs by QR code before you leave.
| Plan | Data | Valid | Price | Order |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2GB per day Cheapest | 2 GB | 1 day | $2.15 | Get it → |
| 3GB for 15 days | 3 GB | 15 days | $2.69 | Get it → |
| 3GB for 30 days | 3 GB | 30 days | $2.86 | Get it → |
| 3GB per day | 3 GB | 1 day | $3.04 | Get it → |
| 5GB per day | 5 GB | 1 day | $3.67 | Get it → |
| 5GB for 30 days | 5 GB | 30 days | $4.26 | Get it → |
No app needed. Install by QR code before you fly, keep your own number for calls, and it connects the moment you land.
A commission on plans bought through these links is what pays for this guide. Nothing above depends on it: the places are chosen before any price is looked up.
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