Let’s make one thing clear from the start: Malta is an absolutely fabulous little country. What it lacks in size, it more than makes up for in terms of things to do, places to see, and experiences to, er, experience.

For those of you who know little about this group of islands, here is a little background. First of all, Malta is compact. The entire country has an area of ​​just 316 km. But rather than work against it, this small size only serves to make visiting Malta a more intense experience with everything accessible to everyone from anywhere.

The country is made up of three islands with Malta the largest, Gozo the second, and the tiny island of Comino wedged between its two larger neighbours.

In terms of history, Malta has a lot going for it with 7,000 year old temples that are older than the pyramids and Stonehenge. There are also numerous fortified cities around the island, a legacy of the country’s long association with the knights.

Due to its geographical location in the heart of the Mediterranean, Malta has always been popular with the larger European countries, a popularity that often meant that people invaded and occupied it.

Today, however, Malta is a fully independent country and proud of it. As a member of the European Union, Malta’s economy is increasingly based on the service industry which has an excellent pool of human resources. Information technology is playing an increasingly important role in the Maltese economy, as are industries such as language training and call centres.

In terms of climate, Malta is what you would describe as typically Mediterranean. Warm, sunny days occupy more than half the year with summer lasting up to six months. And the winters aren’t exactly cold either, although they can be a little wet.

The local currency is the euro, which was introduced in January 2008 to replace the Maltese lira. The time zone is Central European, ie GMT+1 and the official languages ​​are Maltese and English.
Malta is also a very religious country with the vast majority of inhabitants being Roman Catholic. So it’s no wonder there are enough scattered churches to allow you to visit one every day for a year without having to go to the same one twice.

However, more than anything else, Malta has an excellent unique selling point: its people. You have to go a long way to find a friendlier, warmer and more welcoming collection of people.

But wouldn’t it surprise you to learn that in such a small archipelago there are more than 101 things you can do during your visit?

It is a well-known fact that Malta offers fantastic facilities to enjoy the sea: swimming, diving, diving, snorkelling, boating, sailing, yachting, canoeing, parasailing – the list is endless.

But did you know you can go hill climbing or go-kart racing in Malta, or watch glassblowers as they create mind-blowing glass objects, see Maltese lace woven as it was done hundreds of years ago, or watch the F1 powerboat race? from an impressive short distance.

Did you know that you can visit the President’s Palace and see how the Knights of Malta built their wonderful palaces, or experience the events of the Great Siege in 1565 in a two-hour musical epic?

Did you know that the Co-Cathedral of Saint John, the former conventual church of the Knights of Malta, houses Caravaggio’s famous painting “The Beheading of Saint John the Baptist” (1608), the only one signed by the reckless artist?

When you visit the silent city of Mdina at night, the city’s fortress built by the Knights of Saint John, you may be looking for the ghost of a knight who, legend has it, killed himself after the woman he loved killed him. will reject.
You can also visit Olly’s Last Pub, where British actor Oliver Reed died on May 2, 1999 at the age of 61, after a typical drinking session at The Pub, one of Valletta’s many bars.

And what about the picturesque Village of Popeye, where the blockbuster “Popeye” starring Robin Williams and Shelly Duval was filmed. Recent blockbusters “The Gladiator” and “Helen of Troy” were also shot in Malta at Mediterranean Film Studios.

So if you thought Malta was just another boring island with nothing to do and nowhere to go, you couldn’t be more wrong. Just log on to http://www.101malta.com and see for yourself – you won’t be disappointed!