Valletta is the capital city of Malta. The whole city was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1980.

The official name the Order of Saint John gave to the city was Humilissima Civitas Valletta — a city bound to humility. However, with the building of bastions, curtains and ravelins, along with the beauty of the baroque buildings along its streets, it became known as Superbissima — 'Most Proud', amongst the ruling houses of Europe. In Maltese it is colloquially known as Il-Belt, simply meaning "The City".

Benjamin Disraeli visited Valletta in August 1830, on the recommendation of his friend, Lord Byron.

He described Valletta as "a city of palaces built by gentlemen for gentlemen", and remarked that "Valletta, equals in its noble architecture, if it does not excel, any capital in Europe".

The Palace of the Grandmasters, now used as the President's Palace and St John's Co Cathedral are just a few of the marvels of this city.

The foundation stone of Valletta was laid by the Grandmaster of the Order of Saint John, Jean Parisot de la Valette, on 28 March 1566; The Order (which was the long-time ruler of the city and the island) decided to found a new city on the Xiberras peninsula just after the end of the Siege of Malta in 1565, so as to fortify the Order's position in Malta, effectively binding the Knights to the island. The city was designed by Francesco Laparelli, while many of the most important buildings were built by Gerolamo Cassar.

Valletta, hence, is an urban area which boasts many buildings from the 16th century and onwards, but most of them were built during the time of the Knights of St. John of Jerusalem (the Knights Hospitaller, or Knights of Malta).

The Valletta peninsula, which is fed by the two natural harbours of Marsamxett and the Grand Harbour, is Malta's major port, with unloading quays at Marsa; a cruise-liner terminal has been built recently in the Grand Harbour, along the old sea-wall of the duty free stores built by Grandmaster Manuel Pinto de Fonseca.

The Grand Harbour is a natural harbour on the island of Malta. It has been used as a harbour since at least Phoenician times. The natural harbour has been greatly improved with extensive docks and wharves, and has been massively fortified.

The harbour mouth faces north east and is bounded to the north by St Elmo's Point and further sheltered by an isolated breakwater and is bounded to the south by Ricasoli Point. Its north west shore is formed by the Scebarras peninsula, which is largely covered by the city of Valletta and its suburb Floriana. This peninsula also divides Grand Harbour from a second parallel natural harbour, Marsamxett Harbour. The main waterway of Grand Harbour continues inland almost to Marsa. The south eastern shore of the harbour is formed by a number of inlets and headlands, principally Rinella Creek, Kalkara Creek, Dockyard Creek, and French Creek, which are covered by Kalkara and the Three Cities: Cospicua, Vittoriosa, and Senglea.

With its partner harbour of Marsamxett, Grand Harbour lies at the centre of gently rising ground. Development has grown up all around the twin harbours and up the slopes so that the whole bowl is effectively one large conurbation. Much of Malta's population lives within a three kilometer radius of Floriana. This is now one of the most densely populated areas in Europe.

Dingli is a village on the west coast of Malta, with a population of around 3,326 persons, 13 kilometers from the capital Valletta and two kilometers from the nearest city, Rabat. The village lies on a plateau some 250 metres above sea level, which is the highest point of Malta. The area provides not only open sea views over the tiny, uninhabited isle of Filfla, but also an excellent vantage point over Malta.

From the cliffs there are views inland of nearby Buskett Gardens and Verdala Palace. The countryside here is ideal for walking.

Dingli is a locality near the sea and is full of cultivated fields, but at the same time stands imposingly very high above the sea. The cliffs reach a height of around 300 metres – the highest place in Malta. Thus the inhabitants do not earn their living by going fishing, but by assiduously tilling their fields. Even if they never became very rich, at least they could earn their living by means of husbandry and also from the produce of the fields.

The Dingli Cliffs, in harder times than at present, were also sometimes beneficial. Century’s age, Malta was frequently devastated by sea pirates who wreaked havoc everywhere. Many people were robbed, carried away as slaves, or killed straight away.

Mosta boasts the third largest unsupported dome in the World dedicated to the Assumption.

The Feast of the Assumption is held on August 15 and it is a public holiday. The church is also known as the Rotunda of St Marija Assunta. On 9 April 1942, the church was nearly destroyed during World War 2. An Axis bomb pierced the dome of the church but failed to explode. The detonator was removed and a replica bomb is now displayed as a memorial.

The Rotunda was designed by George Grognet de Vasse, a French citizen but resident in Mosta. Mosta residents, at that time totalling not more than 1500, built this spectacular church by their own hands. It took them 27 years to complete but the result is a tourist attraction of world standard. Grognet chose the type of stone by insisting on having one slab from each quarry operating in the Islands. He then proceeded to test their durability. In the end he chose a quarry in Mosta near to Ta' Vnezja, at the gate of an old military airfield. The stone of the Rotunda bathes in the sun and spectacularly has taken a yellow/orange/red colour.

Mdina (also called L-Imdina or Città Notabile) is the old capital of Malta. It is a medieval town, with narrow quiet streets, situated in the centre of the island. It is also known as the "Silent City". It commands a magnificent view of the Island.

Evidence for settlement in Mdina goes back to over 4000 BCE. It was first fortified by the Phoenicians around 1000 BCE, probably because of its strategic location on one of the highest points on the island and as far from the sea as possible. When Malta came under control of the Roman Empire, the Roman Governor built his palace there.

It was here in 60 CE that the Apostle St Paul is said to have lived after being shipwrecked on the Islands. The city earned its present day name from the Saracens who came to Malta around 870 CE. They surrounded the city with thick defensive walls and a wide moat, separating it from its nearest town, Rabat. The Normans conquered Malta in 1091.

A strong earthquake in 1693 destroyed a large number of buildings in Mdina. After the earthquake the Cathedral was rebuilt on the designs of the Maltese architect Lorenzo Gafa.

Today, no cars (other than those of a limited number of residents, emergency vehicles, wedding cars and hearses) are allowed in Mdina and there is a calming atmosphere as one walks along its narrow streets and ways.

The city displays an unusual mix of Norman and Baroque architecture, including several palaces, most of which serve as private homes. The Cathedral is worth visiting and is fronted by a large square.

Probably the best known of the Islands’ gardens, San Anton gardens was laid out by Grand Master Antoine de Paule as grounds to his summer residence, San Anton Palace.

From 1802 until 1964, San Anton Palace was the official residence of the British Governor, after which it remained a state building and is now the residence of the Maltese President. Various heads of state have visited the gardens over the years and numerous plaques mark their ceremonial tree planting.

The garden is a botanical delight with mature trees, old stone urns, fountains, ponds and formal flower beds. The garden is formal with rustic touches and holds a wide variety of plants and flowers, such as Jacaranda trees, Norfolk Pines, Bougainvillea and Roses.

Nowadays, the garden is the Annual Horticultural Show venue and during summer, the spacious central court becomes an open-air theatre for drama and musical performances.