Going to Sicily...

[chillimartini]

I am off to Sicily for around 9 days in July...I'm hoping to visit Catania, Palermo and maybe one more place. Does anyone have any tips / suggestions for sightseeing and restaurants or must do's?
Very grateful for any ideas xx

Syracuse is stunning. So much history.

Etna is good if it’s not erupting and Taormina is very nice

I went back in April. I took my bike and cycled around.
Don't forget that it is a large island, 10,000 sq miles. Cross island driving can take a time.
Some trains but slow, some busses again slow, allegedly.
Vineyards are worth a visit.
Good cheap Pizzas
Good wine. Must try a glass of Marsala
Locals are very friendly.
I visited Trapani, pleasant
Erice, take the cablecar.
Castelmarre, better
Partanna, not good
Salemi, even more not good
Palermo, just a big city with hundreds of churches. Bit hot and dusty. I found the artist quarter. Excellent modern art gallery.
Selinunte, good ruins, quiet. Nice little town.

We went to Celfalu and did the boat trip to Stromboli. I can definitely recommend it - we saw proper rivers of lava.

Hoping to go in September, saw a BBC4 programme on it at xmas, sounds fascinating. Can you hire a car there?

Agrigento in the middle has amazing temples with stunning views. Worth a visit if you like that sort of thing, but hard to get to as the roads across the middle are terrible!

and we hired a car and was quite reasonable. Was fine, though Catania airport is a bit of a hassle and pick up was very slow service.

But go through a company that provides excess insurance for everything as Sicily has a reputation for trying to rip people off on things like tyres and windscreens. It means if you get charged you have to pay but you claim it all back through the insurance with the car hire company.

We went with auto Europe, it explains all on website.

Sicily is so beautiful ... and quite a unique place. I love Italy. I especially love Naples (and Palermo is a little like Naples, so not for everyone) but you will have a wonderful time. As a PP says, Syracuse is just gorgeous.

I'm vegetarian so it's a bit more challenging for food (although I've never had a bad meal and people are generally very nice about it!). But if you are not, just eat everything. I understand the fish is wonderful. Many restaurants don't have a menu as such - but what they offer will be delicious.

I'm very jealous.

If you want something thoroughly unusual there's always the Capuchin Catacombs in Palermo ... somewhat grisly but fascinating

www.atlasobscura.com/places/capuchin-monastery

In palmermo count your change when leaving cafes and restaurants, we were often shortchanged but when you go back in they will sheepishly hand over the remainder. A Sicilian explained that they don’t just do this to tourists, but to locals too. It’s always been a poor place and people just try to get what they can.

Aside from that, it was a really great place to visit. Cefalu is beautiful.

Amazing experience going up Etna

Sounds dreamy OP. almost went at Easter but the flight prices shot up whilst I was still dithering. Maybe next year xx

Acireale best bathing in The Mediterranean. And amazing Baroque architecture.

Syracuse/Noto

Beautiful baroque towns

Syracuse is nice, the ruins at agrigento are amazing

The roman mosaics at Villa Romana del Casale are amazing. There are what seems like acres of them!

boat trip to the aeolian islands. sicily is a huge island, you won't be able to see all the sights.

I second the catacombs @Puzzledandpissedoff I have never been anywhere quite like it. It's macabre but fascinating.
Palermo is amazing, remember to look up the architecture is stunning! Pay a visit to the cathedral too & go up on to the roof.

Another vote for Cefalu. Gorgeous, gorgeous place, wonderful feel to the old town, really nice beach, and the rock and its castle and ancient remains are amazing.

Also Monreale - the cathedral is utterly extraordinary. The whole of the bible in mosaic, with loads of gold leaf.

Also the Roman Villa at Piazza Armarina, with its fabulous mosaics.

And the Baroque architecture in Ragusa Ibla and Noto.

This thread is really making me want to go back to Sicily. [Looks out the window at the grey drizzle]. Preferably tomorrow.

Agree with PP car hire at Catania Airport is always a bit mad - take photos of any scratches before going and be prepared for a bit of a wait around at pick up and drop off.

There’s a little village called Punta Secca which is beautiful and setting for the Montalbano show. A restaurant called Enzo A Mare is my favourite. Great sea food and the tables are set out on a veranda in the waves.

Oh god, driving round Catania - terrifying! The rest of Sicily is surprisingly okay, but Catania just seems filled with nutcases. I ended up dropping the car back a day early and getting the bus back into town before our flight home.

Etna is definitely worth a visit. Is a lot cooler so far up so take warmer clothing. The pizza at the restaurant you can drive to is fab.

You'll need a car and a sat-nav! We love Sicily, went after watching Montalbano, it's wonderful.
Ragusa Ibla is well worth a visit, there's a cafe at the bottom of the Duomo steps that does fantastic and huge bruschetta. We were told that Quattro Gatto was a good place to eat but it was always booked up when we were there.
Noto is well worth a visit, not far from Catania.
From Palermo you can visit Monreale, the Cathedral is amazing.
With a week you should be able to see most if the sites, there's a Roman villa in the centre Piazza Armerina that's also worth seeing, it gets very busy.

Gatti, not Gatto.

If you are near Palermo then Zingaro National Reserve is lovely. The temple of Segusta is worth a visit are the hill top town of Erice and the salt flats at Trapani.

I’m jealous OP!