Top 5 Places to Visit

St John's Co-Cathedral is a Roman Catholic co-cathedral in Valletta, Malta, dedicated to Saint John the Baptist. It was built by the Order of St. John between 1572 and 1577, having been commissioned by Grand Master Jean de la Cassière as the Conventual Church of Saint John. The church was designed by the Maltese architect Girolamo Cassar, who designed several of the more prominent buildings in Valletta. In the 17th century, its interior was redecorated in the Baroque style by Mattia Preti and other artists. The interior of the church is considered to be one of the finest examples of high Baroque architecture in Europe.

The Upper Barrakka Gardens are a public garden in Valletta, Malta. Along with the Lower Barrakka Gardens in the same city, they offer a panoramic view of the Grand Harbour. The gardens are located on the upper tier of St. Peter & Paul Bastion, which was built in the 1560s. The bastion's lower tier contains the Saluting Battery. The garden's terraced arches were built in 1661 by the Italian knight Fra Flaminio Balbiani. They were originally roofed, but the ceiling was removed following the Rising of the Priests in 1775. The gardens were originally used to offer recreation to the knights of the Italian langue of the Order of Saint John but were opened to the public following the end of the French occupation of Malta in 1800. In the park, there are several monuments and memorials to a number of prominent people, including Gerald Strickland, Sir Thomas Maitland, and Sir Winston Churchill. A replica of the statue Les Gavroches by the Maltese sculptor Antonio Sciortino is also located in the garden. The original is to be found in MUŻA.

The Blue Grotto refers to a number of sea caverns on the southeast coast of Malta, a short distance off the fishermen's harbor of Wied iż-Żurrieq limits of Qrendi, Malta Wied Iz-Zurrieq, the blue grotto, and neighboring caves, are all located within the Qrendi village confines, as per Local Council Act 1993 and a 1910 legal dispute between the villages of Qrendi and Zurrieq over their jurisdiction, ruled in favor of Qrendi. Both the Wied Iz-Zurrieq harbor and Blue Grotto sea caves are located on the coastline right opposite to the small uninhabited islet of Filfla. The island now serves as a bird sanctuary. The location of the caves, combined with the rays of sunlight, lead to the seawater mirroring and showing numerous shades of blue on the cave walls and ceilings. Several caverns also mirror the brilliant phosphorescent colors of the underwater flora and fauna, whilst other caverns show a deep dark shade of blue. Underwater, different colors of red, mauve, green, orange, and yellow give an impressive and most welcoming picture to its visitors.

The Inland Sea, sometimes called Qawra in Maltese and also known as Dwejra, is a lagoon of seawater on the island of Gozo linked to the Mediterranean Sea through an opening formed by a narrow natural arch. It was probably formed where a geological fault in the limestone had created a sea cave and the roof then collapsed. On one side there is a gently shelving stony beach with several fishermen's huts. The boats are often pulled up on to the stony beach. The bottom of the lagoon is also mostly pebbles and rocks and is fairly shallow. As you exit through the tunnel towards the open sea, the floor drops away in a series of shelves to a depth of up to 35 meters on the outside. Jacques Cousteau said the Inland Sea was among his top ten dives. On calm days fishing boats, known in Maltese as luzzijiet, can pass through the tunnel. Some of the boats are used to take visitors through the archway and then for a tour of the nearby cliffs and other sites, mainly to the Fungus Rock and to the site of the previous large natural arch in the cliffs called the Azure Window.

The Basilica of the National Shrine of the Blessed Virgin of Ta' Pinu is a Roman Catholic minor basilica and national shrine located some 700 meters from the village of Għarb on the island of Gozo, the sister island of Malta. The church is dedicated to the Blessed Virgin of Ta' Pinu. The basilica is located in open countryside which allows visitors to enjoy beautiful views of the area and is of great national importance to Gozitans everywhere.

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