Sicily’s Most Beautiful Places
Sicily’s Most Beautiful Places
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The diversity of landscapes and cultural treasures is just breathtaking on this island. You will drive along the most beautiful scenic roads along the ocean and visit the cutest towns with beautiful Italian architecture. Sicily is the largest, autonomous and one of the most densely populated islands in the Mediterranean Sea. You have to visit Palermo, the beautiful capital and you should hike the volcano Etna!
The South – Day 1-3
The South of Sicily is the perfect area to start your trip! Plan 3 days to explore the incredible towns Syrakus, Noto and Ragusa and stop at the national park around Calamosche Beach.
1. Syrakus
Drive across the bridge and leave your car at the harbor. For me it looked a little bit like Venice here. Walk into the town until you reach the big incredible square in front of the dome. This place is beautiful for sunset, because street musicians play guitars and the light on the buildings look so romantic!! The square is framed by a lot of beautiful buildings!
2. Visit the next town Noto
This town is perfect to stay for the night and explore the dozy Noto in the early morning. The buildings and churches are really beautiful and you get a good coffee and croissant here. We went to Cafe Roma, because a lot of locals had breakfast here. In the morning Noto doesn’t seem touristic at all.
3. Calamosche Beach
It’s time for some private beach time. Drive to the parking space Agri Tourismo Calamosche in the morning. The entrance fee is 3€ or 1,50€ with a discount per person. From there you walk 15 to 20 minutes through the national park until you reach this incredible bay. The water is completely clear here.
4. Modica
On your way to the next town Ragusa drive through the town Modica. All the buildings on the hill look really cool. Unfortunately this place looked really touristic.
5. Ragusa
You definitely have to walk through Ragusa! The inner city is so cute! Don’t miss the Giardino Ibleo with the palm trees and Ragusa Ibla, the Church of Saint George.
6. Scala dei Turchi
From Ragusa it is a longer car drive to Scala dei Turchi, be here for sunset. The white rocks, the blue water and the sun is wonderful! There is a way down to the water.
The West – Day 4-8
The West of the island is the most beautiful area on the island. The big lagoon is the perfect place for kiting and the area around San Vito Lo Capo has the best views of the ocean!
1. Kiten in Lo Stagnone
We stayed 1 week in a kite camp with Magic Waters in Lo Stagnone. Here you will find one of the biggest shallow lagoons in the world. The day started with 1 hour yoga at the hotel Relais Lo Stagnone, followed by a meeting at the kite station Jama Kite. Then we prepared our kites and had 5 hours of kite lessons. You can find the camps of our two kite teachers Johanna and Katrin from Magic Waters here.
2. Trapani und Favignana
Trapani has a nice pedestrian zone with shops and restaurants in old buildings, but it was very touristic. From Trapani you can take the boat to the cute little fishermen island Favignana. Unfortunately we hadn’t enough time to visit the island, but we heard incredible things about it. You can find the whitest beaches there. The ferry costs 20€ and you will need 30 minutes to get to the island. You should stay there at least for one night.
3. Castello di Venere und Valderice
This place was one of our favorite places in Sicily. The curvy streets to the castle on the 731m high hill are really cool to drive. Use the streets for some really nice pictures. After walking around the castle and enjoying the view of the coastline, you should walk through the little village.
4. Baia di Cornino
On your way to San Vito Lo Capo at the tip of the headland, Baia di Cornino is the perfect place for a break. The view of the mountain is incredible.
5. San Vito Lo Capo
Although it’s a 30-minute drive from San Vito Lo Capo or Tonnara di Scopello it’s totally worth it! This beach directly in front of the big mountain is incredible! Blue, clear water and a white beach. However the beach is a little touristic with a few parasols and sun beds. You can leave your car at the parking space at the playground. If you drive down to the bay, stop at the great view from above.
6. Tonnara di Scopello
Tonnara di Scopello is a wonderful bay with big rocks standing in the water. In the low season the beach is sometimes closed. With sunshine the water is very turquoise here.
7. Castellammare del Golfo
We arrived here in the afternoon and enjoyed one evening with great food in the town. The view of the harbor from above is amazing! The town is not as beautiful as Syrakus or Noto, but we still loved it! We ate a very tasty risotto in the restaurant Luxor at the water.
8. Segesta (or Selinunt or Agrigent)
There are several places to see old temple and amphitheater on Sicily. Unfortunately every place is very touristic and difficult to visit without spending a lot of money. In Selinint and Agrigent you have to leave your car far away from the temples and you need to pay for a bus to get to the main area. You aren’t allowed to take any drone inside.
Segesta is the less touristic place of these three. You can leave your car at the parking space on top of the hill near the entrance for free. If you leave your car at the parking space further down the hill you need to take the bus. For 1,50€ you can take a bus to the amphitheater to the top of the hill.
The North – Day 9-11
We loved the North! Palermo is a really beautiful and vibrant city! And the little town Cefalu perfect for swimming.
1. Palermo
Palermo is such a vibrant place! We stayed the Saturday and the Sunday morning. Especially walking around the city at Sunday morning was really beautiful in the overslept city.
Cathedral of Palermo:
The details and ornaments of the cathedral are very beautiful! Look at the clock!! If you walk into the cathedral you can see all the little light domes.
Piazza Pretoria:
The white fountain in the middle of the piazza, surrounded by old buildings is absolutely stunning.
Stay at:
We stayed at Hotel Palazzo Sitano.
Eat at:
– Ruvolo La Cafeteria
– Pizzeria Timilia (they have 3 vegan pizza!!!)
Leave you car at the harbor for free. All the city center is a zona traffico limitato and it’s not allowed to drive in as a tourist.
2. Chiostro Benedettino
A few minutes away from Palermo by car, you can visit Chiostro Benedettino, the big monastery. The entrance fee is 6€ per person.
3. Sferracavallo
This beach is located in a really calm and beautiful area, there weren’t a lot of tourists around. It’s a stone beach, therefore the water is really clear here and perfect for diving pictures! From the water you can see a big mountain directly next to the ocean in the nature reserve.
4. Cefalu
You have to visit this beach! The old buildings in front of the mountain directly in front of the ocean are so cute! Walk down the footbridge to see the beautiful buildings from the water. We ate really good pizza and pasta in this town. There was a free parking space directly at the water.
The East – Day 12-14
Most people arrive in the East of Sicily in Catania. But it’s also possible to take an airplane to the smaller city Palermo. The East is famous for the volcano Etna and the touristic but still beautiful city Taormina.
1. Climb Volcano Etna
Last eruption of Mount Etna was 2018 and this volcano is still active but most of the times safe to climb. The West of the volcano is very touristic. They built a cableway up the mountain for 30€ per person up to 2500 meters. You are only allowed to walk the last meters to the top of Etna at 3.350 meter with a mountain guide.
We were more interested in a less touristic hike! And luckily there is one on the East side of the volcano! We didn’t see any tourist in October and had the best views!
You can see the exact hiking route here called “Ätna: Pizzi Deneri, 2847 m” at outdooractive.com with a very detailed description, pictures and a map you can download to maps.me.
We started the hike at sunrise and had a very clear view for the first two hours. The first birch forest and the first view on the lower craters are incredible!! They even smoke. After 2 hours it get very cloudy and cold and the view got less and less. At the highest point we could see the observatory through the clouds, but unfortunately we couldn’t see the biggest and highest crater. With less clouds the view at the observatory must be incredible! The descent through the scree fields were very hard but the complete hike was incredibly beautiful!!! We needed 7 hours for the whole hike. I remember how calm it was on the hike, no sound at all!!
Starting point of the hike in the East:
Rifugio Citelli 1741m
Ending point at the mountain:
Etna Observatory 2847m. It was really cold up here (around 0 degree) and it even started to snow in October.
Stay at:
Hotel Milomax in Milo (budget hotel but near the starting point of the hike in the East and already a few meters higher)
2. Taormina
The city Taormina is very popular for tourists. A lot of people fly to Catania and take the short ride to Taormina to stay there for a longer time. The city center is cute but very touristic and full of souvenir shops. Food is very expensive. However, the beach of Taormina is really beautiful and the buildings spread all over the mountain as well. There is an amphitheater in the center which you can visit for 10€ per person. We loved the stone beach leading to the little island. You can’t walk around the little island because it’s a nature reserve.
Stay at:
Casa al Vicolo: This airbnb is so cute and located directly in the center.
Leave your car here:
Car park Parcheggio Lumbi (very cheap). Then take the free shuttle bus to Port Messina. You are not allowed to drive in the low-traffic zone in the city center.
Eat at:
Osteria Sanicolo (not as expensive as the other restaurants and they had the best Caponata I have ever eaten.)
3. Catania
You will probably arrive in Catania by car. Get a car at the airport and start or end your road trip in Catania. You don’t have to plan too much time for Catania. Palermo is way more beautiful! 1 day is totally enough! Leave your car at the parking space at the harbor.
Things to do:
The church Sant Agata
Umbrella Street, Via Mazza
Benedictine Monastery (you can only visit it with a guided 1-hour tour for 8€ or 3€ discounted.)
Eat at:
Cafe Cuore Fresco Catania ( vegan panini and good wifi)
How to get around?
To explore the island Sicily you need to rent a car! There are busses, but they only drive hourly and only to bigger spots. If you want to drive to smaller towns or nature reserves or volcano Etna it is necessary to have an own car! We rented our car, a Fiat 500, with Leasys and were very happy with it! In the rural regions it can happen, that sheeps surround your car ;).
About the temperatures
In the summer it can get really hot on Sicily, up to 40 degree. We visited Sicily in October and still were able to swim in the ocean and to wear short closes in the during the day in the sun. In the morning or late evening you will need a sweater or jacket!
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