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Valletta, Malta

Exclusive Editor’s Tips:

Writer: Qin Xie

Feast like a Maltese at Legligin

Occupying a semi-subterranean space in the heart of Valletta, family-run wine bar turned restaurant Legligin does a no-menu concept with aplomb. You pick the wine and the kitchen will send out a tasting menu’s worth of Mediterranean dishes to match. The food is rustic and hearty rather than cheffy, with 95 percent of the ingredients sourced locally. Dishes change daily to reflect what’s in season, but you can expect a selection of tapas like pork meatballs in tomato sauce and garlicky bean dip with crusty bread before moving on to mains such as mussels cooked in white wine or a classic Maltese rabbit stew.

Explore an underground labyrinth

Located just outside Valletta in the town of Paola, UNESCO World Heritage-listed Hal Saflieni Hypogeum is unique for being the only known example of an underground labyrinth in Europe. It remains partially excavated, but the areas that have been explored revealed a series of chambers across three superimposed levels. These were used for religious rituals and burial between 4000 and 2500 BC, with one even featuring elaborate ceiling art painted using ochre. Such is the delicate state of the site that only 80 visitors are allowed each day, and no talking is permitted inside in case it introduces moisture and bacteria. Book well ahead for tickets.

Visit an air raid shelter beneath a family-owned restaurant

A British colony during World War II, Malta’s strategic position in the Mediterranean made it a vital military base for Allied troops but also a key target for air raids by Axis powers. Numerous air raid shelters remain as a legacy of this period. One of the largest and most interesting is the Il-Barri air raid shelter in Mgarr, to the north of the island, which sits under a family-run restaurant of the same name. Hand-dug into the limestone rock, the shelter featured a school room and chapel, and would have housed several hundred people. Book a tour via the restaurant and afterwards grab a table for generous portions of its signature dish, the hearty fenkata (rabbit stew).

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