An Insider’s Guide to Malta: 6 of the island’s hidden gems to uncover

Ask anyone in the south where they take the kids to unwind on a Sunday, and chances are they’ll point you here. Covering roughly 40 acres between Żabbar and Fgura, it’s one of the biggest open green spaces in the region. Quite a find on an island better known for limestone than lawns. Old olive trees provide plenty of shade, with play areas for toddlers and older kids, plus an obstacle course the grown-ups pretend not to enjoy.

Time Out tip: There’s no café inside, so bring a picnic and plenty of water. On sunny weekends, arrive early to nab one of the tables beneath the olive trees. Entry and parking are both free.

Behind the walls of St Catherine’s Monastery in Valletta lies a world most locals have never seen. Built in 1575 from stone quarried on the spot, it left behind a hidden warren of vaulted rooms, old ovens and a sunken garden. A handful of cloistered nuns still live there too.

Time Out tip: Dress modestly, and brace yourself for the burial chamber. It’s more fascinating than spooky, but it might give little ones the shivers.

Fair warning: someone at your table is going to get their mind read. Tucked inside an old farmhouse in Qormi, this purpose-built theatre serves up close-up magic and grand illusions alongside dinner. Most of it is visual, so it works in any language. You’ll leave wondering how they did it.

Time Out tip: Not feeling peckish? You can skip dinner and just see the show, which runs Thursday to Sunday. Seats are limited, so book ahead, and under-18s will need an adult with them.

The residential village of Naxxar isn’t on most itineraries, which is exactly why I like it. The parish church towers over a square where regulars hold court outside the band clubs. Duck into the back streets and you’ll find the 16th-century Gauci Tower tucked among the houses. Even the motto has a story: Prior Credidi (“I believed first”) comes from the legend that locals were among the first to welcome St Paul after he was shipwrecked here.

Time Out tip: Look for the ancient cart ruts carved into the rock just outside the village, at San Pawl tat-Tarġa. Nobody knows exactly what they were used for, and archaeologists are still debating it.

This tiny farming hamlet on the edge of Rabat feels like the Malta of a few generations ago. Footpaths wind through terraced fields and valleys. The ridge was inhabited during the Bronze Age, some 3,000 years ago. Pack a picnic, pick a track and you might walk for an hour without passing another soul (goats don’t count).

Time Out tip: Come on the Sunday closest to 11 November for the Feast of San Martin. There’s a village fair, roasted chestnuts and the borża ta’ San Martin - a bag of nuts and dried figs traditionally given to children.

In 1923, Anthony Xerri was digging a well beneath his home in Xagħra when he broke through into a cave. A century on, his family still shows visitors around. You’ll squeeze down a narrow spiral staircase into a grotto full of stalactites, where your host will point out formations shaped like a tortoise and a pair of elephant’s ears. Kids love it, and so will you.

Time Out tip: Combine it with the Ġgantija Temples, a short walk away. Xagħra is about a 15-minute drive from the Mġarr ferry.

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