Mgarr

Mgarr ranks first in the list of the most beautiful coastal towns in Malta. The Maltese are renowned for Mgarr as one of the best locations to enjoy traditional Maltese specialties like "stewed rabbit" and "snails in garlic" in a more rural setting. Dine at one of the small bars near the Parish Church of St. Mary for authentic Maltese cuisine if you are daring enough to try these local specialties. To see a stark contrast, take a short stroll to Castello Zamitello, which is located on the road that leads to the lovely Gnejna Bay. Here, you can see one of the island's most popular locations for elegant wedding parties.

Visit the picturesque bay of Gnejna, with its colorful boat houses that provide shelter from the summer heat for families on their beach excursions, if you can manage the steep hill leading from the square down to the beach. The village of Mgarr is small, but the surrounding coastline stretches from Fomm ir-Rih, a particularly lovely, remote location to enjoy a swim in azure waters beneath steep cliffs, to the more accessible Ghajn Tuffieha Bay with its golden sands, further north. Old pirates loved to hide out in these charming inlets, so Grand Master Lascaris built Lippija Tower in 1657 to guard Gnejna and the sparsely populated Mgarr.

While Mgarr's Parish Church is renowned for having an unusual egg-shaped dome, the city is also home to some of the oldest temples ever built. Visit the Skorba temples, which are among the two oldest free-standing structures in the world according to the Guinness Book of Records. Ta' Hagrat is home to another significant collection of megalithic structures. Keep an eye out for the historic cart ruts that are scattered throughout the village. The Thermal Roman Baths near Ghajn Tuffieha Bay are not even close to being as old.

Google rating: 4.8/5.0

Location: south-eastern Gozo, Malta