The Eden Century Cinema in Paceville features the latest technology in sound and vision. It has 16 screens showing the latest films. Other cinema complexes are Galleria Cinema in Fgura and Embassy in Valletta. Check local newspapers or respective online schedules for listings.
The Marsa Sports Club has some of the best facilities on the island. This large sports centre is about 4 km (2.5 miles) south of Valletta and lists among its numerous features: an 18-hole golf course, miniature golf, 18 tennis courts, 5 squash courts, cricket grounds and a huge unheated swimming pool. Tourists can join the club on a weekly basis. For more information one can visit: www.marsasportsclub.com
Watersports (canoes, boats, sailing boats, pedal boats, windsurfers, jet-skis, speedboats, yachts can be hired while scuba-diving courses are also offered.)
Bowling (Eden SuperBowl in Paceville)
Indoor sports (National Swimming Pool near the University of Malta)
Golf & Horse Betting (Royal Malta Gold Club at Marsa; visit: www.maltagolf.org and www.maltaracingclub.com)
Due to its long and eventful history, Malta has a large number of interesting museums, monuments and historical sites. Besides, the Maltese Islands possess some dramatic coastal scenery.
There are 313 Catholic churches in Malta, 46 in Gozo and one in Comino. Baroque churches in Malta and Gozo dominate the skyline. The dominance is not visible only architecturally but also socially. The baroque style of architecture was predominant after the Renaissance, emphasizing man’s smallness in relation to authority. This explains the spacious halls, enormous windows and entrances of the Knight’s auberges in Valletta.
There is something unusually captivating about a typical Maltese village festa. The festa is the main annual social event for each village or city. Such an event takes place over one whole week, after a lot of hard work by volunteers.
Most festas take place during summer. Families and friends meet in the central village square to chat, joke and catch up on local news. Children have an excuse to stay out late and eat traditional festa snacks, like the colourful nougat.
During this period, the church, always found in the heart of the village core, is illuminated with thousands of bulbs and adorned with decorations inside and out. The church bells ring all week, as an indication of spiritual preparation.
Village band clubs concerts, fire games and fireworks are all characteristics of such a village festa.