On both trips to Malta, I bought a week's bus pass and spent the time going round on the buses. So I covered a lot of ground and saw a lot of things. In 2017 I concentrated more on underground sites such as WW2 shelters and catacombs.
The first of these was at Mellieha in the west of the island, where I went into the World War II Mellieha shelters. €2.40 entry.
During the war, Malta was one of the most bombed places on earth. In Mellieha people hid in natural caves until the government organised the digging of shelters in the soft limestone. The largest complex was opened to the public in 2004. Here there are 500 m of tunnels.
Across the road is Our Lady of the Grotto, a little chapel in a dug out grotto
My next underground excursion was to St Pauls Grotto at Rabat. St Paul supposedly lived in this cave for 3 months after being shipwrecked on the way from Crete to Rome, around AD 60.
Nearby is the St Catald Church and catacombs, entry by donation. This is only a small complex.
Further up the road is the Museum Department St Paul's Catacombs. I guess this is St Paul pointing the way -
It was only later that I realised these are the main ones, not the one at the Wignacourt Museum that I had already visited. So a couple of days later I went back to visit those. They are located on the outskirts of the old Roman capital Melite (today’s Mdina). They are under the care of Heritage Malta. The tour starts in the exhibition hall, then you can walk around the grounds visiting the 21 (?) tombs plus explanation rooms. St Pauls' Catacombs - Gateway to the Underworld -
I was very impressed by the way Heritage Malta have constructed the walkways etc.
See more on Heritage Malta St Paul's Catacombs.
