I paid a visit to the Lascaris War Rooms the other day, buried deep (well, 200 feet) below the rock in Valletta. And well worth a visit it is too, once you have followed a large number of signs down to the tunnel leading up to the entrance. The ten euro adult entry price is not cheap by Maltese standards, but then this is one of the better examples.
The Lascaris War Rooms are the underground chambers from which various multi-starred generals organised the allied campaign against Italy. It was purposely hewn out of the rock for that purpose, and I think it is a pretty interesting place to while away an hour or so.
First off you are sat in front of a 15 minute Pathe News short about the British fleet making a convoy to Malta whilst fending of German planes. Then you get a guided tour around the inside of the building in the company of an extremely well-informed guide. And it’s more interesting than these type of tours can be, you get a real sense of what was going on during the war from the Maltese perspective. Maybe it’s because I have a bit of the history nerd in me, but I found it pretty fascinating stuff, especially the descriptions of the air defence mounted by the tiny Maltese squadrons in the face of waves of German and Italian attacks. Sadly I had to leave before the end of the tour as I had to go to work, but if memory serves (*spoiler alert*), the Allies won in the end.
I can definitely recommend a visit if you have any interest in WWII or military history, or just want to find out a bit more about how Malta managed to endure a pretty torrid few years under siege.
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