What do see in sicily

So my personnal advice for a relatively short trip would be Sicily, as traveling from place to place with a car is super easy there, you will lose a lot less time in transportation. The article is here, just in case: Rent a car in Sicily — How to avoid scam in French. We will be on the Amalfi coast for three days and i plan to go to Sicily for a couple of days by car…the 7 hour drive is bad enough so i dont plan to go all the way to Palermo…for time sake.

However I would appreciate you advice on things to do in eastern sicily… i have only two days to allow and then back to Rome for our flight back home…thanks. You can spend your 2 days like this: Day 1: Visit Taormina and go to Isola Bella beach Day 2: Go to Castelmola village less than 10 minutes drive, very beautiful!

You can read my article about Taormina: The 10 best things to do in Towwn. Anyways… We are thinking days maybe? I also read that Greece is on your list and I do have a great person for planning that, check out Fantasy Travel, they only plan Greece and Egypt however. For Sicily, i will be glad to answer your questions and help you plan your trip for free of course if you want to organise it yourself. The only scams that are problematic in Sicily are the car rental scams, but you can avoid them easily by taking an insurance, as i explain in my itineraries articles.

By the way, have you read my 10 days and 2 weeks itineraries articles? They can give you a good idea about how long it takes to visit the various places! I am currently in Greece, I have visited most of the country during the past month, so I will prepare some travel guides when i will be back. Thanks for your great tips for visitors to Sicily.

We will certainly be taking your advice and visiting many of the places you have mentioned but are a little undecided what to do about booking accommodation. We really are at a bit of a loss on this one so hope you may be able to help us out a little with you great knowledge of the country. I would really suggest you to book your accommodations in advance, Sicily is quite touristic and the hotels offering the best value for money are full quite fast.

This is especially true in Taormina, Ortigia Syracuse and next to the Valley of the Temples for example. I also suggest the best hotels for every budget in each cities. Click here for the list of the best Itineraries in Sicily. Thanks Vincent, will take your advice and book prior to going. Will also look at your recommended areas to visit. Nothing like having some local knowledge so will probably be back in touch.

Quick question. Even by staying in the most central location in the middle of Sicily, where there is nothing very interesting to do , you will have around 4 or 5 hours of driving each day to reach the main attractions and come back. Not to mention a few places deserves at least 2 days to visit, like Syracuse or Trapani if you also want to go to Aegadian islands.

My family booked a house for a week in Trappeto. We are already planning to spend a couple days going to Palermo. On top of that what would you recommend? Or does maybe an overnight, two-day trip to Mt. Etna and Taormina make sense during that week? Thank you so much and I have really enjoyed reading all of your articles! There is enough to keep you busy, with attractions such as:.

Selinunte temples in the morning, then do a loop: Marsala Salt Pans and Erice village at the end of the day. That would be a pretty awesome day of visits! A bit far in my opinion for just a week. Going back and forth, you would be losing half a day in the car. I love your blog and will use your advice for our 2 weeks in Sicily and for a few days in Rome, thanks so much for your insights.

We are seniors and the idea of navigating ourselves is a bit intimidating, I was wondering if you could recommend a driver who could take us around on our 2 week sojourn in Sicily. I suppose we can do it but it would be a real luxury to be able to look out the window and have someone else who knows the terrain get us around. I am glad my articles about Sicily are helping you to plan your trip! I think your best bet would be to contact one of your hotels in Sicily and ask them.

They generally know a few local taxi drivers. Have a great day and enjoy your trip to Sicily! Hi, My husband and I are going to have just 3 days in Sicily but have yet to decide where to stay. He wants to rent a car but I would rather hire a guide to lead us around. Which would you suggest? Also, we speak no Italian and I am really concerned about the language barrier.

Which area of Sicily would be best for English speaking Americans? It really depends on what you want to visit. If you do not have the time, you can do just half a day in catania, it is enough to visit the best attractions of the city.

You can read my 3 days in Sicily itineraries article here: the best things do to in 3 days in Sicily. Else, it is pretty straightforward, you just have to drive from A to B with the car. The city historical centers are very small, so you cannot get lost.

Great article. My daughter and I will be in Sicily for one week. She would like to do wine tasting. Thank you! The 2 best regions for wine tasting in Sicily are around Marsala and Trapani on the west coast and around the Etna volcano on the east coast.

You can read the one about the east coast of Sicily by clicking here And the one about the west coast there. The west coast itinerary is for a 10 days trip, but it can be slightly modified to fit a 7 days holidays in Sicily.

Mount Etna 5 hours wine tasting tour. Love your website. Thank you so much. My husband and I will be going to a family wedding in Trapani. The wedding is on Aug. I know, groan, August is not the best time to travel in Italy and especially not Sicily. We will be flying from NY. We were thinking of spending maybe 3 days in Rome and then flying to Sicily.

We would like to spend 2- 3 days in Trapani, perhaps Aug. And then tour a bit more of the island. We would want to spend no more than 14 days total including the days devoted to transatlantic flights.

If we take a 14 day total trip, subtract 2 days for transatlantic travel, 3 days for Rome, 3 days in Trapani, that would leave us 6 days to tour Sicily. Can you suggest an itinerary? Would flying home to NY directly from Palermo be possible? Are there flights every day?

I am assuming the total trip time will be shorter if we fly directly home to NY from Palermo, but that it will be more expensive. It also includes itineraries to visit the city in 1, 2 or 3 days. You can read it here: The 10 best things to do in Trapani. For the 6 other days in Sicily, the best would be to land in Catania and do the following itinerary:.

For Palermo to New York flights, you should have a look on a flight comparator such as Skyscanner. By the way, I have also written a detailed travel guide about Rome, with all the best things to do and itineraries to visit the city in 3 days, you can read it here: The 25 best things to do in Rome. I am researching places now but was wondering what places you recommended. I am interested in nature, culture and history. I know that it will require driving but is it possible to base myself in certain places of an area for a couple of days and then do day trips to surrounding areas?

So to visit, you really need to drive around the island. You can read it here: 2 weeks Itinerary in Sicily. As you have 3 weeks in Sicily, in addition to the itinerary I linked above, you definitely should add a few days on the Aeolian Islands. Hi Vincent There is so much to see and do I think I need a month! However, we are flying into Palermo late evening and have then 5 nights for a road trip.

We want to see Palermo, Agrigento and Syracuse and whatever you suggest along the way. We are then heading for Taormina where we have a hotel booked for a week. We went there last year and loved it so decided to see a little more of the Island first. Would really appreciate your help.

If you want to visit Palermo, Agrigento and Syracuse during your road trip before going to Taormina, I suggest you the following itinerary:. If you have time, you can also go to Monreale town to see the cathedral. Night in Palermo. At the end of the afternoon, you can head to the Scala dei Turchi beach to watch the sunset. If you have a sweet tooth, visit one of the many chocolate shops in the town and learn more about chocolate making techniques that were used by the Mayan people who prepared this sweet treat over a warm stone.

Admire the beauty of glowing golden mosaics and the Benedictine cloister with a peaceful garden and a courtyard. Perched majestically on a hill overlooking Palermo, the cathedral is one of the best examples of Norman architecture.

Located in a cute park close to the town of Taormina, this foot high gorge is famed for its cold waters that come from the Alcantara River.

To experience spectacular views of this massive rock formation, travelers can hike one of the trails. There is also an elevator that transfers passengers down to a small beach. Adrenaline junkies visiting Alcantara Gorge can look forward to body rafting in the rapids.

Fans of the Godfather trilogy have probably heard of Corleone, a small town in Sicily where the Anti-Mafia museum can be found. Visitors will find 3 rooms inside this magnificent museum that tells stories about the history of the Cosa Nostra crime syndicate in Sicily. The first room houses documents from the trials in the s, while the second room is home to photographs by famous journalist Letizia Battaglia.

Inside the third room, expect to see many photos of Mafia bosses. The acoustics here are amazing and listening to famous productions like Bolero and Madame Butterfly is simply a must for opera lovers visiting Sicily. Due to the popularity of productions at Teatro Massimo, we suggest that you purchase your tickets well in advance.

The smell of fish here is not for the faint-hearted, but the atmosphere is lively with noisy merchants selling their catch-of-the-day. Apart from selling fish and seafood, the local vendors also offer veggies and fruits, cheese, and ham.

Try the Sicilian red oranges! Located just a short drive from the city of Palermo, Adventure Park Eco Campus Casaboli is an ideal destination to visit if you are exploring Sicily with the little ones. From different adventure paths to rope ladder waling and tree climbing, there are definitely more than enough activities at this adventure park in the Casaboli forest to entertain your kids throughout the day.

Keep in mind there are no food facilities available on-site. Travelers looking for more things to do in Sicily with children can spend a day at the Salt Pans that are located near Nubia , between the towns of Trapani and Marsala on the west coast of the island.

Here, you can marvel at large piles of salt that are drying in the sun and hop on a boat ride to the nearby island of Mothya where many excellent picnic spots can be found. Welcome to Donnalucata , a small fishing village located just a short drive from Ragusa. Its elevated position, surrounded by green hills and citrus orchards, was perfectly orchestrated by the architects to allow their buildings to be bathed in an apricot glow at twilight.

While you don't need to spend more than a day or two exploring the town itself, it's worth settling in for a few days as its location is an ideal base for a range of local attractions, including the Vendicari Nature Reserve, Cavagrande del Cassibile Nature Reserve, the baroque towns of Modica and Ragusa, and the gorgeous seaside towns of Marzamemi and Portopalo.

If you have time, don't miss the now crumbled Noto Antica, historic Netum, with roots that pre-date the Roman conquest of Sicily. There are plenty of archaeological gems to be discovered in amongst the mountain vegetation that has consumed them over time, and the views from the top of the Norman fort are incredible.

You can't get there by public transport, but the drive, along wildflower-filled roads is spectacular. This huddle of volcanic islands are part of the Sicilian province of Messina, and their wild, fiery beauty isn't to be missed.

Lipari forms the central hub of the Aeolian Islands. It serves as an excellent jumping-off-point for the surrounding six islands. When visiting the smaller islands, you can explore the port towns on foot, but you can hire a moped to make the most of your time. Most people make a beeline for the island of Vulcano. Its otherworldly landscape is dominated by the smoking Gran Cratere volcano, that exudes sulphurous fumes almost constantly. Spend time on spectacular black sand beaches on Stromboli, perhaps the most beautiful of the Aeolian Islands.

The Stromboli volcano has been in a state of constant eruption since - its clouds of steam emanate continuously from the peak. From here, you can hike the foothills of the volcano and the rocky coves of the surrounding beaches.

If you love a little luxury, head to Panarea for its glitzy, high-end hotels. Nature lovers should head to Salina, Alicudi or Filicudi for their verdant landscapes. The latter two are so remote they're almost completely untouched by tourists. The park contains many a number of ancient wonders. Primarily a Greek amphitheatre, a Roman gladiatorial theatre, a sacrificial altar, and Latomia del Paradiso, a network of ancient limestone quarries and catacombs.

The latter is famed as the location of the Ear of Dionysius, a cave with an ear-shaped, slashed opening. The small, bridge-linked island is where the locals go to have a good time. But going back to Ragusa, like Noto and Modica, the town is dramatically perched on the side of a hill and was completely devastated by the earthquake.

Its reconstruction offers quite a lot to the visitor. The city is split into two sections, the small historic center of Ragusa Ibla which gets its name from the hills the city is built over and which has its origins in Greek times, and the newer part called Ragusa Superiore.

If you can only visit one I would go for Ibla. In Ibla you can find the arresting 18th century Cathedral of San Giorgio located on top of a hill and a grand set of stairs, the towering facade looks like it rises up to the sky and touches it. The three level columns at each side of the main portal and the heavily decorated three-tier facade give the cathedral the most dramatic look.

The cathedral can be visited via a side door. Inside you can find a large statue of St. George on the horse. From the cathedral, the pedestrian street runs all the way down to the Giardini Iblei, or Ibla Gardens, which are not only beautiful but also give panoramic views.

There are two small churches in the garden area that are worth a visit. Along the way you can spot museums, squares, churches and other points of interest. The Archeological Museum of Ibla is worth a visit. You will find materials from as far back as the Paleolithic excavated from across the province. Outside Ragusa lies the Palazzo Donnafugata , a fine Baroque palace that houses the private collection of Barone Arezzo and includes noteworthy pieces such as paintings from Caravaggio.

Modica is another great Baroque city and it is best known for its chocolate, no doubt this was one of the best places to visit in Sicily for a chocolate lover like myself. Perched on the side of a cliff, Modica is a very picturesque city made of sandy colored facades stacked up as if they were one on top of the other. It is famous all over Sicily and Italy because of the stone chocolate produced.

If you wander along the main road you will see a continuous string of chocolate shops all mentioning the traditional cold chocolate making technique that was used by the Mayan, and subsequently the Spanish, to make chocolate. With the discovery of chocolate from the Mayans, Spanish Conquistadors brought the chocolate beans to Spain from Mexico and then to the rest of the Spanish colonies at the time.

As part of the Crown of Aragon and then Spanish Crown, Sicily also received the beans and the wisdom taken from the Mayans. The Mayans used to prepare chocolate over a warm stone which was hot enough for the chocolate to melt but not enough for the sugar added in Europe to turn into liquid.

As a result, the chocolate made using this technique has a granular texture because the sugar crystals having not fully blended in with the chocolate. Modica continues to make chocolate this way and the most famous place to sample and buy the end product is Antica Dolceria Bonajuto , founded in , which is also the oldest shop. The store allows you try all the chocolates they make and also offers tours and guided visits to learn more about chocolate making.

I could not help but buy several chocolate bars to take home and a freshly prepared chocolate cannoli which we ate on the spot. After sampling and buying too much chocolate, wander down the street to the Chocolate Museum which has a small exhibition telling you a bit more about the history of chocolate in Modica and you can see a map of Sicily made with chocolate. Then walk all the chocolate fat on your way up to the 18th century St.

George Cathedral which is located up the hill at the top of two double staircases flanked by bougainvillea flowers and has a bell tower open to visitors for just two euro. The cathedral was built in the 16th century then rebuilt after the earthquake but the top part was only finished in the 19th century.

The cathedral overlooks the entire town and looks really similar to the one in Ragusa. Another landmark of Modica is the castle and clocktower both of which lie at the top end of the town and can be visited.

Inside there is a museum and you can explore the various rooms. I also took the tourist train which takes you around the small village for 5 euro and tells you about its main sights. Scala dei Turchi, or the Turkish Steps, is perhaps the most unique of the places to visit in Sicily. This stunning white, beachfront, cliffside, rock formation made of marl is located in the southern part of Sicily, about 20min drive from Agrigento, in the town of Realmonte.

Marl is a mineral, a lime-rich mud made with clay and silt that looks like chalk and has the same texture. You will also turn white if you sit on it. The name comes from the rock formation shape, eroded into stairs by air and water, and because the Turkish tried to invade several times by climbing them.

Access to the area is free through steep stairs that go from in front of the main parking lot down to the beach where you will still have to walk for another 10min on the sand before you reach the cliffside. In the summer months, the beach and the cliffside are pretty full of people and it can get really hot so bring a hat, put on sunscreen and shoes in which you can walk on the sand and on the steep stairs.

Once you get to the stairs, beware as the chalky surface has been polished off by hundreds of people every day and it can be very slippery, you might want to take your shoes off rather than try to climb the steep start on your flip flops. But it will all be worth it when you get there. This is also one of the best places in Sicily to fly a drone and get those dramatic shots.

Sicily is all about nature, food, culture and history but you may be missing a bit of adventure and physical activity beyond walking up and down the steep hills that are so characteristic of the island or hiking Mount Etna. The best place in Sicily for an adventure is the Alcantara Gorge, located about half an hour drive from Taormina at the footsteps of Mount Etna. The gorge and the river of the same name were most likely formed by a volcanic eruption thousands of years ago and its unique shape has been created over centuries of craftsmanship by the elements.

There are several natural paths, hiking trails and water pools to take a break in, but beware the crystal clear water is very cold. The best way to explore the area is on a tour and most of them will combine Etna with Alcantara Gorge because of the proximity between the two.

Between Marsala and Trapani, you can find another interesting place to visit in Sicily, the saltpans known as Saline della Laguna , believed to have been established first by the Phoenician at the turn of the first century. Here you can learn more about how salt has been made naturally for centuries and what some of the common household words, such as fleur de salt salt crystals , actually mean.

Salt is produced by natural evaporation of water from seawater, and harvested in the summertime. The site has a windmill which houses a museum where you can watch a video explaining the entire process and follow interactive panels to learn more. You can go up to the windmill as well. The laguna can be visited independently and there are also tours of the area by boat which you can book onsite.

There is also a restaurant on site and a small hotel with views over the saltpans. Book it here. You can find more information here. At the souvenir shop you can also buy some salt to take home. I already told you about the wines of Sicily but the island also produces dessert wines like the famous Marsala wine DOC, similar to Spanish Sherry.

There is also Passito di Pantelleria , made from grapes dried in the sun on the island of Pantelleria, the point in Italy closest to the coast of Tunisia. There are a few wineries in Marsala and Trapani, as this is the largest grape growing part of Sicily, and several of them produce Marsala wine as well.

The winery I visited is Cantine Pellegrino , which is also one of the easiest to visit because it offers tours in various languages and you can taste some of the wines at the cellar door.

Contact them before to know the timings, they are offered almost daily in English. The wine is popular in Europe thanks to Woodhouse, a British trader who saw the potential of the wine at the end of the 18th century and started to export it to the UK.

Passito di Pantelleria is a very special dessert wine made from a combination of regular and dried out grapes that are almost raisins and has been listed in the UNESCO Intangible World Cultural Heritage list. These grapes grow on the Island of Pantelleria, located south of Sicily and almost on the Tunisian coast, following traditional and ancestral methods, and planted in hollowed land to protect them from the wind.

Their UNESCO listing is thanks to the historical and communal way in which the grapes are cultivated and the wine is made, in perfect symbiotic relationship with humans. To qualify for Pantelleria DOC wine appellation , they must be grown, dried and the wine produced on the island.

If you visit, you will almost surely buy a bottle, I bought two bottles of Passito di Pantelleria and one of Marsala wine. Sicily is already an island but there are also a few other islands around it that make for a great escape to a place where time seems to have stood still. Some of the most beautiful ones are the three islands located in the Mediterranean Sea and called Aegadian Islands, Favignana, Levanzo and Marettimo.

The name of Favignana comes from the wind that often blows in the area, and believe me it does. The islands are connected to Trapani by fast ferries and hydrofoils from Siremar and Liberty Lines several times an hour, some of them will allow you to take your own car with you, but it is best you leave it in Trapani and rent an assisted bike or a scooter to explore the island, this is one of the best places in Sicily to go back to a slow pace of life.

Favignana has a few hotels, the best of which is the Hotel-apartment Pretti which is right by the ferry terminal. There are many rental homes, villas and affordable bed and breakfasts.

It is common for locals to spend a few days on the islands simply relaxing, enjoying the sun at the few bays or sailing around. You can rent a speedboat from the port, get bikes or simply grab a taxi to go to the few stunning coves. The main square and streets in the small village have lots of souvenir shops, restaurants, bars, etc. Visit Cala Rossa red cove , which got its name from a major Roman — Carthaginian battle in the 3rd century BC which washed ashore hundreds of dead soldiers.

Despite its macabre name, this is a popular beach and a stunning bay of incredibly deep blue waters. Another favorite spot is Bue Marino, a similar place to Cala Rossa with flat rocky areas where you can place your towel and a food truck in the summer. Above all, Favignana is a place where time seems to have stood still and tourism development has yet to take off so it makes for a great place to visit in Sicily if you have had enough of the crowds. But beware, despite its calm-looking coves, the winds can be really strong and nights chilly even in the summer.

Favignana can also be visited on a day trip from Trapani. Visit the counter of one of the ferry companies in Trapani port, buy tickets with day return and rent assisted bikes at the port when you get off the ferry.

There is a cycling itinerary which takes about an hour to complete and goes to Cala Rossa and the other bays in the area. Add time at each of the two main beaches, and lunch in town and you have a great day out. Palermo is the largest city in Sicily and has the second airport after Catania with the most low-cost connections to Europe.

As a result, this is the main entry point for most visitors. Because of it size and long history, Palermo has some of the most interesting places to visit in Sicily, a huge historical center and a great foodie scene arancini are typical of Palermo.

Palermo is not as posh and polished as other places in Sicily like Taormina or Syracuse, here things are a bit rough around the edges and the sheer size of the city, and orders of magnitude bigger than Taormina, make it a constant surprise. Palazzo dei Normanni is the site of the Sicilian Parliament and also houses the Cappela Palatina, a gold and precious stone extravaganza dating back from the 12th century. The chapel was built by Roger II and is breathtaking.

The level of detail of the paintings and their degree of preservation and the amount of gold and bling are stunning. You can also visit the palace from Friday to Monday.