Since tourism numbers are down 6 of us (3 Maltese, and 3 very lucky foreigners who all live in Malta) decided to organise some cultural days and see places we have not seen yet in Malta including the Hypogeum. On our first day of the series we decided to firstly visit The Hypogeum, Ghar Dalam, Mdina and finish off eating Rabbit in Mgarr plus some Maltese treats in between.

1. Planning where to go

Admittedly, even though I am Maltese and have been to a few temples, museums, St John's  Cathedral and some other places, I needed some help to plan our day out so I thought I'd ask the internet. I turned to Malta's popular Facebook group Are you being served? full of almost 100,000 Maltese ready to help! As we do. And the Internet answered! Here is a list of cultural things to do that people recommended in Malta.

I'll add that we were not paid for advertising any of this, we paid for the tours ourselves so this is a completely unbiased article.

 

We decided to split our visits into 3 days:

 

Day 1

Meet in Paola centre in front of the church for coffee + bfast.

Hypogeum (11am Tour)

Ghar Dalam

Mdina

Rabbit Lunch

 

Day 2

Visit the various attractions in Valletta and Birgu.

Day 3

Visit some of the other Temples and other outdoor attractions like the lesser known Ghar Hasan.

Here's our Day 1

1. The Hypogeum

Location: Paola
Our score: 9/10
Fun factor: 7/10

Being Maltese we drove in 2 cars and a motorbike and met in front of Paola Church, a stone's throw away from the Hypogeum. We stopped at the cafe in the middle of the street, drank espressos and cappuccinos and off we went. To the Hypogeum.

The Hypogeum is typically booked up months in advance. So if you are reading this article some time in the future then hi from the past, and time to book those tickets.

Before the tour we were given a headset by a chap who also explained a few rules. No cameras, no phones, mind the step excetera. The headset. Not so great. A plastic phone that you have to hold to your ear for the entire duration of the tour. First few minutes everyone was sorted, but into the second and third part of the tour we were all quite fed up with the thing trying to figure out the most comfortable way to hold them without holding them (there is none) which was rather distracting. I don't know if they didn't give us earpieces because of the Coronavirus or whether someone along the line someone decided to cut costs. Anyway. I noticed some headphone ports on the devices so if you are going to go - do yourself a favor and take your own headphones and then smirk at everyone.

The Hypogeum, located in Paola, is a Neolithic subterranean structure dating back to the Saflieni phase (4,000 BC - 2,500 BC). For the beginner Historian like me it is a 6,000 year old underground burial temple place. The whole thing is extremely impressive. Dug out of the rock, underground temples (that resemble other Temples of Malta that are found above the ground) with various rooms and pits most of which, were apparently pits for dead bodies to rot away. The place must have been dreadful back in the day. One room even has a pattern painted onto the roof in a red pigment. Imagine that - Standing in a 5000 year room with an original painting above your head.

We paid €35 each for the entrance. We could (not sure if its only for locals or not) have paid €35 for a year pass to all Heritage Malta sites and received a 50% discount on the Hypogeum site but since we couldn't do this online and we booked on the weekend we paid full price.

Added bonus to paying the full price, as part of the package - we were given €15 each in cash tokens each to use in any Heritage Malta gift stores. These stores found at the different attractions have lots of nice things. 

Next stop: Ghar Dalam. Around 10 minutes by car.

2. Ghar Dalam

Location: Birzebbuga
Our Score: 7/10
Fun factor: 7/10

Ghar Dalam is quite a large long cave that formed at the end of the valley because of erosion and stuff. At some point in history Malta was part of a connection between Africa and Europe. At some other point in history some people dug out of this cave and found remains of Elephants, Hippos, and various other animals in there. Quite a lot of bones, teeth and replica skeletons can be viewed in a room before the picturesque stairway down into the beautiful valley. There is also another Heritage Malta gift shop here, we walked away with a few books, toys, and a figurine of the Fat Lady.

3. Mdina

Location: Mdina
Our score: 9/10
Fun factor: 8/10

We met at the carpark near Mdina gate. Armed with pastizzi from Serkin (or aka Crystal Palace) Pastizzeria, Cisk (which we did NOT buy from Serkin because selling drinks is illegal during the times of the dreaded coronavirus - really, we didn't, we bought them from somewhere else) and Twistees (A Maltese snack that goes great with beer) we marched into Mdina through the main gate.

We've effed up a lot of our buildings here in Malta. But at least we haven't touched Mdina or the Citadel in Gozo. They're just magnificent, and magnificently maintained. Well done Malta.

Exactly through the gates to your right you will find The Mdina Dungeons. Happy memories from the times Christians use to lock people up and torture them. It was closed because of the dreaded Coronavirus. You will also find the entrance to The Maltese Natural History Museum next door. No dinosaurs in this museum, but lots of other preserved, dead animals - not so cool (I've been before). There's also somewhat of a Giant squid lurking in there too. We didn't quite feel like either so instead we decided to just walk around Mdina to go see to see the view.

As John Lennon once said. Life is what happens when you are busy making other plans. Towards the end of Mdina we passed Palazzo Falzon - which was incidentally recommended by Facebook. Unfortunately the House Museum was closed because of the coronavirus. The House Museum was an aristocratic house, the guy used to travel and collect things. He did such a good job that you and I can pay to see his collection. But like I said, it was closed. However! As we discovered the cafe above, Gustav Cafe  the house was not closed, free, and great! A cozy atmosphere and super view of wonderful Malta. 

4. Mgarr to eat Rabbit

Here's another tip. Google maps will send you from Mdina to Mgarr via a very boring road below (Sir Temi Zammit). Don't take that road and take Google's second suggested route (Bingemma Rd) for a much much scenic route. Or drag it even further left passed 'Santi' for an even more adventurous route. I usually bike that area - also something very fun to do in Malta on Bicycles or EBikes. 

We arrived at our restaurant of choice in Mgarr. United Restaurant which was fantastic! If they are full no worries many of the restaurants around Mgarr church serve delicious Rabbit.

Super delicious Rabbit 10/10 stars all round.

So that wraps up our first day doing a Maltese cultural tour! Keep an eye out for Part 2!! Valletta and Birgu!

Really hope you do something similar, if you do please let us know about it by emailing hello@showshappening.com.