Malé: Top 10 things to see and do

The quay where visitors initially land fronts the Jumhooree Maidan, a public square with lawns and an enormous flagpole. The stone benches placed around it provide a welcome resting place for visitors awaiting boats to the resorts. Behind is the old, fort-like headquarters of the National Defence Force, while the new headquarters is a grand, glass-fronted building on the square’s eastern side. 

Gates lead to Sultan’s Park, a favourite place for local young people to promenade. It’s also a valuable green space, perfect for a breather from the humidity. This tranquil garden, with flowers and tropical shade trees, in the centre of the capital, is all that remains of the grounds of what was once the Sultan’s Palace.  

Located in Sultan’s Park, the National Museum is an interesting space for well-explained Maldivian artefacts, such as sandstone and coral items from excavated Buddhist temples, shipwreck artefacts like torpedoes and wooden chests. Check out stone carvings of dragons and elephants, ancient technology and beautifully engraved carvings marking the conversion of the Maldives to Islam in the 12th century. 

In contrast, there are coins, spiked knuckle-dusters, a stone massage bed dating from 1721, and a signed photograph of US President Franklin D. Roosevelt. It provokes a wonderful intimacy with the past, proving to visitors that the Maldives has more to it than its tourist paradise image suggests. 

The Local Market (open every day except Friday) is one of the best places in the Maldives to really get a sense of Maldivian life. Tourists are more than welcome - you’ll be invited to sample local almonds and fudge-like candy, made from palm syrup. It’s a popular place to take photos, and the stallholders are very obliging. This long, high-roofed barn is screened with green gauze and has a calm atmosphere after the frenzy of the streets around it. Stallholders display fruit and vegetables alongside neatly stacked jars of pickle and chutney, while bananas hang in bunches from the ceilings. 

The smaller shed to the Local Market’s sea-side is not for the faint-hearted (or sensitive-nosed) since it is the dried, smoked fish market, the depot for the product known as ‘Maldive Fish’.

The elegant Wedgwood-blue and white building found nearby is the former Presidential Palace, called Theemuge. Beyond its wrought-iron gates, the palace comprises elaborately decorated reception rooms and quiet inner sanctums with traditional furnishings. It has housed the Maldives’ Supreme Court since 2008. 

The golden dome of the Grand Friday Mosque at the Islamic Centre is an eye-catching symbol of the islanders’ faith. While townhouses and coral-walled cottages are being replaced, the mosque and its tiered minaret remain constant. The centre is an Islamic library, a conference hall and classrooms, as well as the mosque. The prayer hall can accommodate 5,000 and its gold dome is hollow with a white ceiling, dazzling light reflected from the shiny marble floor. The Mosque is open to visitors and while there is no entrance fee, freelance guides might solicit tips. 

A pleasant artificial beach has been created on reclaimed land as Malé does not have a natural sand beach. The eastern coast road begins after the ferry terminal where a night carnival complex has been built, with cafés on decks raised above the sea wall and a stage for special events. There is a playing field where youths practise soccer, basketball and cricket on the seaside. 

This stretch of coast, with its view of the airport island, is used by residents for evening strolls – so be sure to dress modestly here, as it's not a bikini beach. 

Vendors sell snacks from carts at night along the boulevard of reclaimed land forming the southern waterfront. 

Between the sea defence walls and the shore, children play in the safety of the rock swimming pool created halfway along this coast. At the end of the road, the Southern Harbour forms the entire southwestern corner where dhonis, safari boats, motor launches and visiting speedboats take every available mooring and quay space. The teashops and cafés surrounding the harbour attract local young people at night and are fun to check out. Ferries for Villingili leave from a terminal at the edge of the harbour.

Down the road from the National Museum are more sights of the past. An old wooden house, Esjehi Villa, has been converted to The Royal Garden Café, enabling visitors to contemplate its carved wooden walls and screens while sipping coffee (reputed to be the best on the island). It is opposite the rear of the Defence Force compound and sentries peer down on passers-by from pepper-pot towers in its walls. 

Welcome to the Maldives of the future. On the other side of the airport from Malé, Hulhumalé is a reclaimed land island, built up out of the lagoon to relieve pressure on space in the capital. Its intent is to be ecologically sound – the island has been built 2m above sea level, making it higher than most islands in the archipelago, to give it a little bit of protection against rising sea levels – and a modern draw for the young and ambitious from all over the Maldives. 

Colour, whether the sheer blue of the sky and sea, or the bleached white of reclaimed land, characterises the island. Apartment blocks have railings painted in various pastel shades, the administration building is painted an official red, the hospital roof a soothing green, and the powerhouse an electric blue. Hulhumalé really is the creation of visionaries concerned about the ever-increasing demand for better living conditions in the capital, a true Utopian project. 

With its handy proximity to Malé, the sparkling-clean beach area is an increasingly popular area to stay in. Relaxed beachfront hotels provide affordable accommodation. Unlike at the resorts, visitors can benefit from small snack stands dotted around the beach, as well as the chance to observe local life. Hulhumalé’s residents also make the most of the beach for an evening walk or a family picnic.