4 Best Sights in Malta

The turnoff for the Blue Grotto, a dazzling series of sea caves off Qrendi's coast, is 1 km (½ mile) beyond the lookout on Triq Wied Iz-Zurrieq road, which offers parking and fine views. From there, a steep road takes you down to a rocky inlet and harbor where noisy boats (€8) leave for the grottoes and the stained-glass-blue waters that splash their walls.

For years, the site that drew visitors to Dwejra Bay was the Azure Window, a huge rock arch steeped in mythology—it even made an appearance in the first season of Game of Thrones (as did a lot of Gozo). In 2017, it collapsed into the sea during a storm and inadvertently became one of the most popular diving sites on the island. But it wasn't the only lure to Dwejra, where a rather touristy series of cafés and stalls has built up. The Blue Hole, a spectacular inland sea pool lures swimmers and divers alike, while just to its west stands Fungus Rock, famed during the days of the Knights of St. John for a rare parasitic plant that grew on its summit. They banned all locals from the rock, as they believed the plant had powerful medicinal properties—it didn't. These days, the Inland Sea, a lagoon connected to the ocean by a 100 m-long rock tunnel is perhaps the biggest draw to the bay. Once a busy haven for fishermen, now boatmen ferry visitors (€4) through the tunnel in a loop around Dwejra Point to get the best view of the unusual rock formations and to peer down to try and see the remains of the arch.

The semifossilized remains of long-extinct dwarf elephants and hippopotamuses that roamed the island some 125,000 years ago were found in this cave, on the outskirts of the seaside town of Birzebbuga, next to Marsaxlokk. The fossils are now on display in the small museum.The earliest evidence of human occupation on Malta, dating from 7,000 years ago, was found in the excavated upper layer on the cave floor.