Has anyone ever been to Malta?

Beaches = quite often rocks but still OK for sun & swimmimg, water v clear. loads of fish to see. St Julians nightlife pumping.

Hey Malta, get a tree!

(Yay for Mooro with the best possible answer!)

It's a fantastic place, but it all depends on what you're looking for. As your first (only) question is about the beaches and nightlife then its probably not likely to be for you. Unless you're staying around Golden Bay and a few other places then the beaches are generally rocky, although the sea is lovely wherever you go.

Nightlife not what it could be, although St Julian's is okay (several clubs all along one road, all free to get into, all more or less the same). Its not really what you go there for though.

If you want to look at fantastic old buildings, wander round now-deserted medieval towns, ride on cool looking buses, take boat trips round nice harbours or go swimming/snorkelling/scuba diving in crystal clear water then go for it.

Another thing, its *very* Anglicised. If you find yourself craving for a Next or a Marks & Spencer's then you'll find it very quickly indeed.

Does anyone know if they use the Euro there yet?

It was great, the way that Mr Moore answered the thread.

Also they were all very, very vocal in their support for England when they played Turkey while I was there. Cheering, singing, draping English flags over themselves and wearing Beckham shirts etc. Its a very friendly place.

Also eat rabbit!

in malta they have invented not only ice cream but also the foundations of the buildings in architecture not to mention the church. they are foremost a vibrant peoples of stern faith and good humour yet at the heart of it is an astonishing intelligence which can account for not only philosophy before greece but also such things you take for granted as motor cars and wireless radios and of course the printing press.
in addition they have food like no other yet at its basis is that which has spread to the far corners of the earth in many cuisines you can now find in supermarkets or retaurants. also the idea of wine was from malta, as was the idea to drink this nectar from a glass.

I wonder do they still go on about the time the Turks invaded in the late middle ages?

DV, they still use their own currency, the Maltese Lira. 0.62 Lira to the £ when we changed.

Malti (their language) has elements from Phoenician, Arabic, Italian, English. Its weird to listen to, with obviously Italian words mixed up with Arabic glottal stops, & sometimes the rhythm sounds Russian to me. Often they break into English phrases & then back into Malti.

The great siege is made much of (at least for the tourists), as is also the second one, in 1942, when the Axis air forces dropped far more bombs on the island than on England during the Blitz, (or some such statistic).

The ancient buses are cute, but after a while you begin to realise the benefits of the UK's emission control legislation as you cough & splutter on the clouds of noxious diesel fumes they belch out.

Best of all however, is that there is a bar in Valletta called Tico Tico!!!! (Sadly closed down though, I think). Real life mirrors ilx again.

I will send him his lovingly crafted MD of Murdoch on Ken Bruce.

I was thinking about a holiday there next year so I thought I'd check ilx to find opinions, and found instead the greatest post ever from Sami Jherllykanynyga:

of course you must realize first that malta is the seat not only of our modern civilisation but also all that is ancient but still good.
in malta they have invented not only ice cream but also the foundations of the buildings in architecture not to mention the church. they are foremost a vibrant peoples of stern faith and good humour yet at the heart of it is an astonishing intelligence which can account for not only philosophy before greece but also such things you take for granted as motor cars and wireless radios and of course the printing press.
in addition they have food like no other yet at its basis is that which has spread to the far corners of the earth in many cuisines you can now find in supermarkets or retaurants. also the idea of wine was from malta, as was the idea to drink this nectar from a glass.

I'm sold.