We just had a great holiday in Malta. It’s a lovely place.

Things to do

• Stay at the Grand Excelsior Hotel. It’s awesome. The deep-tissue massage at the Spa hurts like Hell, but is completely worth it.
• Take a walk around Valletta, the stunningly beautiful walled city.
• Visit the National War Museum for the incredible story of Malta, Churchill’s “unsinkable aircraft carrier”, during the Second World War, and to see the actual George Cross presented “to the Island Fortress of Malta to bear witness to a heroism and devotion that will long be famous in history”. [Disclaimer: I have a consuming interest in the Second World War, especially the North Africa Campaign]
• On a similar note, go to the recently-restored Lascaris War Rooms, headquarters for the air defence of Malta, and the place from which Eisenhower and Alexander planned the invasion of Sicily.
• The National Museum of Archaeology has some intriguing items of prehistoric art amongst other things.
• Eat at Cafe Cordial. The food was astonishingly good, the local wine was very nice, and the service was exemplary. It’s hard to fault the place. The second-best restaurant we found was Rubino, where I had the best calamari I’ve ever eaten.
• Take the Harbour Cruise for the best views of the 16th-century fortifications of Valletta.
• Take a ride on the legendary Malta Buses, (or just hang around at the Valletta bus terminus for a bit). They are fantastic.

• Read Bluebeard. Yes, I know, you don’t actually need to be in Malta to do this, but reading Vonnegut is always a good thing to do and I hadn’t read this one before.

and things to avoid

A much shorter list, but

• Don’t have the evening buffet at the Excelsior. A meal and a bottle of wine from room-service, and a movie, were cheaper and tastier. And it didn’t cost too much more for the splendid three courses at the Cordial. The Excelsior breakfast is great, though.
• The Al Mare restaurant was also thoroughly disappointing. Fantastic location, but the food was crap. The friendly ginger cats enjoyed our prawn heads, though.

In conclusion, then, a holiday in Malta is thoroughly recommended. The rest of my photos are here.