Things to see and do North Coast

Overlooking the hill, on the road to Mistra Bay, this castle was built in the th century by Domenico Cachia, in the spirit of Verdala Castle (near Dingli). The estate was owned by a congregation created at the initiative of the Grand master Alof de Wignancourt to collect funds to buy out Christians captured and taken into slavery by the Ottomans. The nearby chapel is called Notre-Dame-de-la-Rançon.

The Shrine of Our Lady of Mellieha was originally a natural grotto housing a spring known for its healing properties on childhood illnesses. As in Lourdes, the Virgin would have appeared to visitors in this grotto, which has remained a place of pilgrimage. The present building was built in different stages, from the end of the 16th century to the 18th century, incorporating parts of the natural cave in which the church was born. Some great hospitable masters and Pope John Paul II visited it.

These Mellieha Shelters are tunnels that were used as shelters during the Second World War and it is one of the largest complexes of this type in Malta. Entirely dug by hand, they reach a length of more than 500m. They include blast-proof rooms, private rooms that could accommodate entire families, a maternity section and a section that was particularly guarded as it was reserved for the protection of national treasures. These shelters served as refuges for the local population but also for people from all over the island.