3 weeks in Sicily without a car
I’ve wanted to go to Sicily for ages - long before I saw the second season of White Lotus! But I knew that driving around wasn’t going to be a positive experience in our marriage- driving on the ‘wrong’ side of the road, hubbie’s anxiety and my poor navigational skills - not a recipe for success. With a bit of research though I discovered using buses and trains was very doable. The best apps were Rome2Rio, BusBud and Omio. And booking them in advance saved me having to try out my very average Italian to purchase tickets.
Syracuse - our first stop after flying into Catania. Trains and buses are an easy 1 hour trip from the airport, though I admit to laziness and paying €80 for a car transfer. I balanced the books later by not eating out every night, and creating local pasta dishes at our Airbnb a couple of nights. Sooo many places to eat and drink though- and so much good food. Every morsel was worth those extra centimetres on my hips!
Syracuse was settled by the Corinthians in 734 BC and was considered the most beautiful city in the ancient world. The star attraction in Syracuse is the Parco Archeologico della neopolis, but it’s Ortigia, over the bridge, which holds the real charm, and it’s there I suggest you stay. Ortigia is a labyrinth of crumbling mansions, decaying rather than faded grandeur. It’s an area of narrow winding alleyways, where trattorias set up in the cosiest of areas. Washing hangs from the wrought iron balconies, caper bushes sprout from crevices in the plaster and unexpected ancient ruins emerge around the corner.
Things not to be missed in Syracuse/Ortigia:
Parco Archeologico della Neoplolis- if you’re keen on seeing some Greco/Roman ruins, then a 30 minute walk over the bridge into Syracuse is worth doing. The second century amphitheater is complete enough to be able to imagine the gladiators and wild animals, but the Teatro Greco is largely reconstructed. From May to early July classical theatre is performed there.
2. Fratelli Burgio (www.fratelliburgio.com) and Caseificio Borderi (www.caseificioborderi.eu) , in Via Emmanuel’s de Benedictis ( in the market) are great value for lunches of enormous panini’s and platters (tagliere).
3. Market- along Via Benedictis are stalls selling local produce- fish, salamis, cheeses, fruit and vegetables, herbs, olives- all you need to create your own Sicilian meals in your Airbnb. Or try a meal of the day at one of the small osterias- €10 for a mixed plate of Frito misto, artichokes, caponata and lots of other fish/veggie goodies.
4. Sunset drinks & passeggiata- take in the sun setting over the ocean (a thing those of us living on the east coast of Australia rarely get to see), with an Aperol Spritz, and watch the world go by.
5. Duomo- a Greek temple to Athena, in the piazza, build around Doric columns from the 5th century BCE. Stunning baroque facade.
6. Dolce- the Sicilians love their sweets. Try almond granita and brioche for breakfast, cannoli, cassata, and , of course, gelato. Remember, these have no calories whilst on holiday!
7. La Giudecca- explore the gentrified narrow streets of the Jewish ghetto. There you’ll find lots of small osterias (try the degustation platter at @usicilianu) serving small but delicious menus, or gaze up at the atmospheric buildings, or shop in the many interesting boutiques.
8. Cookery course-fabulous 4 hour cooking lesson and market tour with Ettore at his restaurant, Cortile di bacco @Ettoreanastasio_chef (booked through Trip Advisor)
9. Day trip to Noto- Catch the train (station a 15 minute walk into Syracuse). If you book online you don’t need to verify your ticket. Cost is about €20/$33 for 2 return. It’s a beautiful baroque town, with plenty of churches to visit and a lovely restored mansion - Palazzo Castellucio- which gives you an idea of how the nobles lived.
Palermo- onto Palermo by bus - 3 hours $30/€18 pp o/w.
Palermo is a mix of crumbling palaces, broken pavements, empty decrepit apartment blocks, flamboyant baroque churches, bustling markets and surprises around every corner. You can be walking along a dark, non descript alleyway and emerge onto a magnificent cathedral with Arab- Norman crenellations and cupolas, or a monastery with a blooming rose garden ( not to mention, a bakery), or stalls selling the freshest of seasonal produce.
We stayed 5 nights in an Airbnb on Via Vittorio Emanuele (Vittorio Emanuele apartment with terrace by Wonderful Italy)- so central, and no need to walk too far for amazing food or an evening tipple.
Things to do:
Just wander the streets. Get lost and find amazing churches- there’s over 300! Watch a passing parade. Stop off for an Aperol Spritz or gelato. Walk till you can’t walk anymore, then choose one of the multitude of restaurants selling amazing food. (Try superb pizzas at Cagliostr0 - www.cagliostroristorante.it. The pizzas were so good I had the same one twice!)
2. Must see is Chiesa e Monastero Di Santa Caterina d’Alessandria. Well worth the €10 to see the church (every centimetre lavishly decorated); the nuns quarters (complete with cat-o-nine-tails and crown of thorns); the climb up to the rooftop with a magnificent view over the rooftops of Palermo); and then to finish, a cake from the in-house bakery. Then take your cake and soak up the ambience of the beautiful rose garden, surrounded by lemon trees.
3. For more of the macabre visit 8000 mummies at the Catacombe dei Cappucini. These catacombs house the bodies of adults and children across all walks of life from the 17th to 19th centuries.
4. The markets are a must- especially Mercato del Capo, selling glistening freshly caught seafood, spices and herbs, seasonal fruit and veg, olives, cheeses and local treats.
5. Take a street food tour with streaty food tours ( www.streaty.com) - enthusiastic guides with a passion for Palermo and its street food- including a pani ca meusa- a roll stuffed with beef spleen- with a touch of lung and crunchy trachea for texture! There’s also panelle (chickpea fritter), Arancini, gelato, and much more. Don’t have breakfast before your tour!
6. There’s an anti- mafia tour which is worth checking out, or visit the anti mafia museum - www.nomafiamemorial.org
7. Day trip to Agrigento to see the Valley of temples (see below).
Onto Cefalu for 3 nights (train takes 50 minutes and costs about €7\$14 each). We stayed at a wonderful family run b&b- Villa di Giorgi. Up a steep hill, but the views are worth it. There’s a huge rock dominating the town - La Roca, which has ruins covering an extensive period, from megalithic buildings from around 1500 BCE to castle walls from 1061. Well worth the climb. Cefalu is a cute beachside town, but once you’ve wandered the narrow streets, eaten and climbed the rock, there isn’t much more to do- unless you have the weather to lie on the beach. On reflection, 2 nights would have been plenty.
Next stop- Taormina for 3 nights. 2 trains from Cefalu, changing at Messina. ( 4 hrs 40 minutes- about $27/€16 each). Or… do like we did and cheat! We took a car transfer from Cefalu to Taormina with stops on the way to Valley of Temples and the Villa Romana del Casale. The cost was eye-watering, but worth it to see these 2 Unesco- listed sites.
Valley of the Temples- www.parcoalledeitempli.it - once you’ve tackled the hopping from one window to the next to verify your online ticket and purchase an audio-guide, you’re set to explore this amazing site spread across 13 square kms, split into eastern and western sections. It has one of the best preserved Doric temples outside Greece- the Tempio della Concordia, constructed in 430 BCE. It was rescued from being destroyed by converting to a Christian basilica in the 6th century and then restored in 1748. Fortunately this was built upon soft clay which has protected it from earthquakes, unlike most others in the area. Other temples, including the Tempio Di Juno, are scattered around the area, and justify a 2-3 hour wander. The cafe onsite is surprisingly good for takeaway coffee and paninis.
Villa Romana del Casale- www.villaromanadelcasale.it - out of the way and tricky to get to, but well worth the visit if you can. This is a Roman villa inhabited by Marcus Aurelius Maximanus and his family (CE 286-305) and has the best preserved Roman mosaic floors to be seen anywhere. You can’t help but be impressed by this villa spread over 3535 square metres, with the bath complex, family and staff rooms, a long corridor depicting the Great Hunt, and the famous ‘bikini girls’ working out for the Olympic Games. It’s mostly undercover and there are walkways over the rooms, with plenty of information given regarding each rooms function and description of the mosaics, so no need really to get a guided tour.
As for Taormina, many will disagree, but we weren’t overly impressed. It was incredibly busy and feeling the ‘White Lotus effect’. It’s a pretty town perched quite spectacularly on top of a hill, but really has just the one main street with lots of expensive boutiques and overpriced restaurants. There is good food to be found though - we especially liked @degustibustao - great wine and pasta in an intimate osteria. The Teatro Greco is also worth checking out - built in the 3rd century BCE, it’s the second largest Greek theatre in Sicily (after Syracuse).
Catania for 5 nights- bus from Taormina (Etna bus, booked on the Busbud app- $12/7 euros). Gritty, grand, garbage! 3 words to describe it. They are trying hard to recycle and separate everything- 5 garbage bins. But the people are resisting, and there’s garbage all over the streets, and even up towards Etna. We stayed in the most beautifully restored, central and well priced Airbnb - Civita3 on Piazza San Placido.
It’s a grand city though, with some impressive buildings- many built from lava stone. And it certainly has its gritty edge, especially when you stray from the ‘Centro’. Catania has had its fair share of tragedy, having been flooded with lava from Mount Etna in 1669, killing 12,000 people, and then an earthquake in 1693 killed 20,000 people.
Things to do:
Visit and eat at the fish market - La Pescheria, on Via Pardo, open Mon-Sat 7-2pm. The fish market is exhilarating, boisterous, an overdose on all the senses. Its full of the freshest fish and shellfish, fishmongers haggling jokingly with passersby, fish being sliced open and bloody water covering the tiles underfoot. There’s some wonderful places to eat around the market, including Fiska - via Gisira, 6- a wonderful range of fish dishes, including my favourite- beccafino ( sardines rolled and stuffed with bread crumbs, pinenuts, raisins and parsley), and Scirroco (@sciroccolab) serving street food. Lining the street are stalls selling seasonal produce - oranges, lemons, artichokes, eggplants and much more, all from the rich fertile soil around Mount Etna.
2. Visit Chiesa Badia di Sant’Agata and eat the cake! Saint Agatha was a Christian imprisoned in CE 2, who, on refusing her suitor, was tortured and had her breasts removed. It is believed her wounds healed without treatment when St Peter visited her in her cell. She was then forced onto a bed of hot coals, where she lay burning, but her red cloak remained intact. The people of Catania believe that carrying Saint Agatha’s red veil in processions has saved the city from the many eruptions of Mount Etna, earthquakes, the plague and the wrath of Emperor Frederick 11 in 1231. She is the patron saint for breast cancer, rape victims, fire, nurses and natural disasters. On a lighter note, the Minna di Sant’Agata is a breast shaped pastry with a candied cherry on top, made every February in Catania to commemorate Saint Agatha.
3. Visiting Mount Etna is a must. We went with @MovingEtna tours with Fabrizio (book through Getyourguide), who is incredibly knowledgeable about all things volcano. Our only problem was that we had to meet 40 minutes from Catania at Trecastagni, which tested our decision to do everything by public transport. The bus service was sparse. We caught an AST bus at 07:10 from in front of the train station and got dropped off down the hill from Trecastagni. There was a festival happening there though, so the return bus went very infrequently from Padere. Fortunately the lovely Fabrizio took us to that village, and we ate lunch from the local bakery whilst sitting on the church steps waiting for the bus.
4. Have a wine aperitif. I can recommend Enoteca wine bar on via Vittorio Emanuele- for very knowledgeable wine recommendations- @wineandcharme_
5. Eat at one of the many restaurants -
La Capannina PizzaBistrot for amazing pizzas- Via Sant’Euplio, 110.
Deliziosa - www.deliziosacatania.it - for a slightly different take on Sicilian classics. Delicious food, great service and cosy interior. You need to book though.
6. Visit one of the 90 churches in Catania (although many are closed - due to restoration or disrepair)
On reflection:
5 nights in Ortigia- perfect
5 nights in Palermo- perfect
3 nights in Cefalu- could probably have done a day trip from Palermo ( unless you’re craving some beach time- and the weather cooperates)
3 nights in Taormina- probably could have done a day trip from Catania- thought it was over-rated and not much to do (though plenty disagree).
5 nights in Catania- probably too many nights just for Catania, but Ok if you’re going to use it as a base and do day trips.
Could probably condense into 2 weeks- 5 nights in Ortigia, with day trip to Noto, and one day exploring ruins in Syracuse; 5-6 nights in Palermo, with day trips to Valley of Temples in Agrigento and day trip to Cefalu to climb the rock and wander the streets; 4 -5 nights in Catania, with day trips to Taormina and Etna.
It was a good decision to use public transport. It certainly takes a bit of planning and juggling, but is a far more relaxing way to travel. The Sicilian traffic is beyond crazy - there are no rules. Nobody indicates, zebra crossings don’t work, parking occurs wherever there’s a tiny spot to squeeze into and you need to be assertive (whether driving or crossing the road). The Romans certainly didn’t bequeath them their sense of order!
I would recommend learning a bit of Italian before you go, and taking a phrase book, as most Sicilian’s speak very little English. And take some cash- some places won’t take cards.