Malta

Malta has buildings that are older than Stonehenge and older than the Pyramids of Giza. The Ġgantija temples on Gozo were built around 3600 BC, the Hypogeum at Paola was carved out of solid limestone before 3000 BC, and both sit inside a UNESCO listing that runs to seven prehistoric sites across three islands. Malta itself is 316 square kilometres, the smallest country in the European Union, and it has been at the strategic crossroads of the Mediterranean for the whole of recorded history, which is the part the Knights of St John, the British and Napoleon all wanted to control.

The yacht side of Malta runs short and dense. The Blue Lagoon between Comino and Cominotto, the small island in the middle of the archipelago, is busy by ten o'clock in summer but yours alone if you arrive at six in the morning. Gozo, the second island, has the citadel of Victoria up on its central hill and the Inland Sea at Dwejra, an inland salt lake connected to the open sea by a natural tunnel through the cliff. Valletta, the capital, was built by the Knights of St John in the late 16th century after the Great Siege of 1565, and the Grand Harbour they cut around it still works as a yacht base for everything from sailing yachts to navy ships. English is one of the official languages, alongside Maltese, which makes Malta the easiest first port in the Mediterranean for English-speaking guests.

The season is long, April through November, and the wind, while changeable, is rarely difficult. Valletta is the natural pickup port. A few days are enough to take in Comino and Gozo, while a week lets you add the silent walled city of Mdina up on the hill and the Tuesday fish market at Marsaxlokk on the south coast.