Travel: Leave the rain behind and jump on a direct four-hour flight from Belfast to Malta

But as she described the flavours and ate with gusto, even this vegetarian of some 30 years, admitted it did look delicious.

Rabbit is Malta’s national meat and most restaurants will serve it up in one form or other. Epicures will also delight in unfamiliar plates such as snails, octopus and goat! The local beer Cisk is a popular choice with everyone and I particularly enjoyed the Kinnie, a delicious Maltese bittersweet soft drink brewed from bitter oranges and extracts of wormwood.

Food may not be the first thing that springs to mind when someone suggests Malta as a holiday destination, but for a tiny island measuring just over 16 miles long and 14 miles wide, it packs a weighty culinary punch. Malta’s name probably derives from the Greek word ‘meli’, meaning honey (to this day, one of the island’s treasured products), and on a recent short break we enjoyed standout cuisine in high-end restaurants and more informal places.

Malta sits at the heart of the Mediterranean Sea, roughly equidistant from the shores of Sicily and North Africa. It enjoys 300 days of a sunshine a year, is roughly a four-hour flight from Belfast and when I was there earlier this month the temperature was a balmy 21 degrees Celcius.

English is a co-official language (with Maltese), driving is on the left, you find British dailies on the newsstands and familiar supermarkets like Lidl and Marks & Spencer.

Valletta is the capital and also a UNESCO World Heritage site. The city was built by the Knights of St. John in the 16th century and is known for its impressive architecture, including St. John's Co-Cathedral, which is adorned with stunning baroque frescoes. It is also home to Caravaggio’s painting The Beheading of St John.

As our tour guide Audrey, who has doubtless seen the work of art countless times, steers our small group towards the huge, nearly cinematic masterpiece, which was painted in 1608 by the Italian artist, she seems in fresh awe, her enthusiasm infectious as she points out the vivid red colours, the use of light and the artist's signature which he placed in red blood spilling from the Baptist's cut throat.

Malta, itself, is like a work of art, with baroque architecture, neolithic temples, pretty, sun-dappled limestone alleys and honey-coloured streets. With its dramatic cliffs, stunning landscapes and ancient buildings, it’s a popular film location, and it seems everyone has been an extra in something or other –the aforementioned Audrey was in Game of Thrones.

Sights galore

The Saluting Battery is one of Malta’s most vibrant visitor attractions where history is brought to life daily, when the canons are fired at noon. Located high along Valletta’s eastern historic ramparts, it enjoys unrivalled spectacular views of the Grand Harbour and its surrounding fortified towns.

Visit the nearby Grand Master’s Palace, now the seat of Malta's parliament; it is awash with marble, gilt and ornate coats-of-arms, or simply wander Valletta’s streets. Malta’s titchy capital is a seriously cultured, beautiful city, designed on an orderly grid with the sea on three sides: as you stroll the main Triq ir-Repubblika, blue water can be seen to both left and right. Everywhere you look are buildings with brightly coloured enclosed wooden balconies.

Malta's medieval walled city of Mdina, the island’s thriving capital until 1530, is visible from most of the island, sitting 200m above sea level on a high plateau. A ‘Silent City’ now it has fewer than 300 residents, a strict no-cars policy (except for locals). It is a joy to get lost among the labyrinth of its cobblestone streets.

A visit to the Three Cities (Vittoriosa, Senglea and Cospicua) and the Grand Harbour, where some seriously expensive-looking yachts bob alongside water taxis, small colourful boats, the Malta version of a gondola, is a must. A great way to get around is by hiring a Rolling Geek (www.rolling-geeks.com), a quirky self-drive electric car, complete with pre-programmed GPS that not only takes you on tour, but explains what you’re looking at. Tootling around the Three Cities in our talking car, we get an intriguing insight into authentic life in Malta..

For something completely different, visit Captains Cut (https://captainscutleather.com), and have a go at crafting your own leather product. Located in the oldest leather shop in Valletta since 1951, charismatic owner Keith John Caruana, a former army captain, produces bespoke leather goods, belts, handbags and more, and offers workshops where you can create your own items.

Gozo - Malta’s little sister

The gorgeous rural island of Gozo, barely nine miles by five, can be reached in 20 minutes by ferry (www.gozochannel.com) from Cirkewwa, Malta.

We take a Yippee (yippeemalta.com) tuk tuk on roads lined with prickly pears to Ġgantija Archaeological Park, a UNSECO World Heritage Site, home to the oldest architectural stone buildings in the world, older even than Stonehenge and the Great Pyramids.

For spectacular views visit L-Għar tal-Mixta (Mixta Cave), which overlooks the beautiful red sands of Ramla l-Hamra bay. By descending a small rock-hewn passage and some steps, one enters the enormous cave which was home for ancient inhabitants.

Gozo’s capital, Victoria, (the name was given to the town in 1887 in honour of the British Queen’s Golden Jubilee), but known locally as Rabat, is pretty as picture. We saw red telephone boxes, bustling cafes, houses named Ave Maria and Saint George, and copious churches – whilst Malta is said to have 365, one for each day of the year, Gozo has 52, one for each week.

Dwejra Bay with its dramatic coastal formations and sea spilling over the rocks, is a magical attraction. Here you can swim in the spectacular deep sea of the bay, in the calm shallows of the inland sea or

in the foamy waters around the Blue Hole – one of Gozo’s top dive sites.

Where to eat

Ta’ Rikardu Restaurant on Gozo is a must. We enjoyed pickled goat’s cheese produced by the owner’s flock, with home-pickled capers, sun-blushed tomatoes, and homemade bread. Sublime.

OKA’s at the Villa. located within an imposing 19th-century palazzo in St. Julians, I enjoyed a stunning meal of sea bass, the most delicious strawberry tart and inventive cocktails on the terrace whilst drinking in the fabulous sea views.

Villa Corinithia in the high-end Corinithia Palace serves up exquisite cuisine in its Italianate dining room, where I tasted, and fell in love, with Amberjack fish, which has a buttery, slightly sweet flavour.

Cent’Anni: Located in the quaint, charming village of Għargħur, Cent'Anni is a traditional wine bar with a history dating back to the end of the 19th Century. Walls are decorated with local artworks and the food is out of this world.

Where to stay

Corinthia Hotel St. George's Bay (www.corinthia.com). This large waterside five-star resort has loads of facilities, including six swimming pools and nine restaurants and bars. The palatial foyer, with towering columns and glitzy little bar, is the essence of opulence. Staff are super friendly and breakfast is an extensive buffet. Rooms have little balconies.

More information

Visitors can fly to Malta from Belfast International Airport with Ryanair. See www.ryanair.com for best available offers. All information on the Maltese Islands and things to do is available at www.visitmalta.com