Sicily · Italy
Greek temples, Norman churches lined with Byzantine mosaics, Arab street food and an active volcano, on an island that has been conquered by everyone.
Photo: Cayambe · CC BY-SA 4.0
Sicily has been invaded by the Phoenicians, the Greeks, the Carthaginians, the Romans, the Vandals, the Byzantines, the Arabs, the Normans, the Swabians, the French, the Spanish and the Bourbons, and every one of them left something behind. That is the whole point of the island. A Norman king built a chapel in Palermo with Byzantine mosaics on the walls and an Islamic honeycomb ceiling made by Fatimid craftsmen, and nobody at the time thought it odd. The cathedral at Syracuse is a fifth-century-BC Doric temple with the gaps between its columns filled in. The street food in Palermo's markets is closer to Tunis than to Turin.
The Greek layer alone would justify the trip. Agrigento's Valley of the Temples has a row of Doric temples along a ridge above the sea, one of them — the Temple of Concordia, built around 440 BC — standing almost complete because it was turned into a church in the sixth century and never abandoned. Syracuse was the greatest city of the Greek west, big enough to defeat Athens, and its theatre is cut into the rock above the town. Segesta's temple stands alone in empty hills. Selinunte is a whole ruined Greek city on the sea.
Then there is Etna, which is over three thousand metres, permanently active and visible from half the island; the late-Baroque towns of the Val di Noto, rebuilt in honey-coloured limestone after the earthquake of 1693 and listed by UNESCO for it; and the food, which most Italians will quietly concede is the best in the country. Sicily is roughly the size of Wales, it takes two and a half hours to cross by motorway, and a week is the minimum that does not feel like a raid.
Why visit
Sicily gives you more distinct civilisations per kilometre than anywhere else in Europe, and charges southern Italian prices for it.
Agrigento, Segesta, Selinunte and Syracuse. The Temple of Concordia is among the most complete Doric temples anywhere, and Segesta's stands alone in open country with nothing modern in sight.
Twelfth-century churches with Byzantine gold mosaics, Islamic muqarnas ceilings and Norman structure, all in the same room. Monreale's apse mosaics cover thousands of square metres.
Etna is over 3,300 metres, erupts regularly and can be climbed to around 2,900 with a guide. Vineyards on its lower slopes make some of Italy's most interesting wine.
Noto, Modica, Ragusa and their neighbours were flattened by an earthquake in 1693 and rebuilt at once in a coherent late Baroque — an entire region designed in one style, in golden limestone.
Arab, Spanish and Greek influences on an island that grows everything: street food in Palermo, granita for breakfast, pistachios from Bronte, cannoli filled to order and cold-worked chocolate in Modica.
Main attractions
These are spread over an island 250 km wide, so group them geographically: west around Palermo and Agrigento, east around Syracuse, Etna and the Baroque towns.
A ridge above the sea lined with Doric temples of the fifth century BC, dominated by the near-complete Temple of Concordia, plus the Temple of Juno, the ruins of a colossal Zeus temple and a fallen giant telamon.
Tip Enter at the Juno end and walk downhill. Evening opening in summer, floodlit, is the best way to see it.
The Palatine Chapel with its Byzantine mosaics under an Islamic wooden ceiling, the cathedral, La Martorana, the red domes of San Giovanni degli Eremiti, Teatro Massimo, and three street markets that feel North African.
Tip Two full days. The Capuchin catacombs, with thousands of clothed mummified bodies, are an unsettling optional extra.
Eight kilometres above Palermo, a Norman cathedral whose interior is covered in more than six thousand square metres of gold-ground mosaic, with a cloister of 228 paired columns, no two carved alike.
Tip Go in the morning when the light hits the apse Pantocrator. Buses run from Palermo in about 40 minutes.
The Greek city that beat Athens. Ortigia, its island core, has a cathedral built inside a Doric temple of Athena with the columns still in the walls; the Neapolis park has the rock-cut Greek theatre and the Ear of Dionysius.
Tip Stay on Ortigia. It is compact, walkable, full of good restaurants and completely different after the day visitors leave.
Europe's most active volcano, over 3,300 metres and UNESCO-listed. Cable car and 4x4 from Rifugio Sapienza on the south side take you to around 2,900 m, from where guides lead walks among the summit craters.
Tip Take layers whatever the coastal temperature — it is often twenty degrees colder and windy on the upper slopes.
A cliff town 200 metres above the sea with a Greek theatre of the third century BC positioned so that Etna and the coastline fill the space behind the stage. Concerts are still held in it.
Tip Extremely busy and expensive by day. Go early, or stay the night and have the theatre and the corso to yourself.
A late Roman country villa near Piazza Armerina with around 3,500 square metres of mosaic floors — a sixty-metre hunting corridor, and the famous group of girls in what look like bikinis.
Tip Inland and awkward without a car, and worth the detour. Two hours, on raised walkways above the floors.
Eight towns rebuilt after the 1693 earthquake in a unified late Baroque and listed together by UNESCO: Noto's honey-coloured corso, Ragusa Ibla on its ridge, Modica stacked up a gorge, and quiet Scicli.
Tip Base in Ragusa Ibla or Noto for two nights. They are twenty to forty minutes apart and best at either end of the day.
Things to do
Sicily is a driving destination. The best days pair one major site with one town, and end late over dinner.
Ballarò, Capo and Vucciria: panelle and crocchè in a roll, sfincione by the slice, boiled octopus, and pane ca meusa — spleen in a bun — for the brave. Shouted, chaotic and cheap.
Tip Go in the morning when they are working markets. A guided food walk is useful here for the first pass.
Cable car and 4x4 from Rifugio Sapienza, then a guided walk between the summit craters over black scoria and steaming vents, with the whole east coast below you.
Tip Guides are compulsory above a certain level and worth it lower down too. Access changes with volcanic activity — check on the day.
Almond, coffee, mulberry or lemon granita in a glass with a soft brioche col tuppo to dip into it. It is breakfast, not dessert, and it is the best thing about a Sicilian summer morning.
Tip Catania and Messina take it most seriously. Almond and coffee together — 'mezza e mezza' — is the local order.
Noto, Modica, Ragusa and Scicli within an hour of each other, all rebuilt in the same golden stone after 1693, all with theatrical staircases and church facades built to be seen from below.
Tip Late afternoon light on Noto's corso and Ragusa Ibla at dusk are the two moments worth planning around.
The Aeolians north of Milazzo — Stromboli erupting every twenty minutes, Salina's vineyards, Lipari's town — or the Egadi islands off Trapani for clear water and no crowds.
Tip Stromboli's guided evening climb to watch the explosions is limited and regulated; check what is currently permitted.
Vineyards on volcanic soil at 600 to 1,000 metres make lean, mineral reds from Nerello Mascalese that taste nothing like the rest of southern Italy. Many estates take visitors.
Tip The Etna north slope around Randazzo and Passopisciaro is the heart of it. Book tastings a day or two ahead.
Local food
Sicilian cooking is the island's history on a plate: Greek olives and wine, Arab almonds, saffron, raisins and citrus, Spanish chocolate and tomatoes from the Americas.
Fried rice balls with ragù or butter and ham — arancine in Palermo, arancini in Catania, and the argument is taken seriously. Alongside them, panelle chickpea fritters and sfincione, a thick oniony focaccia-pizza.
Where to try it Friggitorie and market stalls in Palermo, and any bar in Catania at eleven in the morning.
Norma, from Catania, is fried aubergine, tomato and salted ricotta, named after Bellini's opera. Pasta con le sarde, from Palermo, mixes sardines with wild fennel, raisins, pine nuts and saffron — pure Arab influence.
Where to try it Norma in Catania and the east, sarde in Palermo and the west. Both are everywhere in between.
Caponata is aubergine cooked down with celery, olives, capers and a sweet-sour vinegar finish, served at room temperature. Sarde a beccafico are sardines rolled around breadcrumbs, raisins and pine nuts and baked.
Where to try it Antipasto tables in trattorias across the island. Caponata is better on the second day and everyone knows it.
A fried pastry tube filled with sweetened sheep's ricotta — filled to order, never in advance, or the shell goes soft. Cassata is the sponge, ricotta, marzipan and candied fruit cake behind every Sicilian celebration.
Where to try it Pasticcerie in Palermo, Erice and Noto. If the cannoli are pre-filled in a display, go elsewhere.
Crushed flavoured ice with a texture between sorbet and slush — almond, coffee, mulberry, lemon, pistachio — eaten for breakfast with a soft brioche topped by a knob of dough called the tuppo.
Where to try it Catania, Messina and Acireale, from about seven in the morning through the summer.
Modica works chocolate cold with sugar that never dissolves, a technique that arrived with the Spanish from Mesoamerica, giving a grainy, intense bar. Bronte, on Etna's slopes, grows Italy's finest pistachios.
Where to try it Modica's historic chocolate shops; Bronte pistachio in everything from pesto to gelato across the east.
Accommodation
Sicily works as a loop with three or four bases. Trying to day-trip from a single hotel means spending the week in the car.
Transport
Two main airports at opposite ends of the island, which makes an open-jaw itinerary the obvious way to plan.
Hire a car. Sicilian public transport connects the cities adequately and everything else barely.
When to go
Sicily's summers are severe and its shoulder seasons are long. It is one of the few Italian destinations where March and November are usable.
The island is green, the wildflowers are out among the temples, temperatures sit at 18–28°C and the sea becomes swimmable in June. The best window of the year.
Frequently 35–40°C inland, with no shade at Agrigento, Selinunte or Villa Romana. The coast is full of Italian holidaymakers and prices double. Etna and the sea are the compensations.
September has the warmest sea of the year and thinning crowds; October is warm, quiet and the grape and pistachio harvests are in. Arguably the single best month is October.
Mild at 14–18°C on the coast with some rain, almond blossom in February, snow and skiing on Etna, and the archaeological sites almost empty. Coastal resorts and island ferries wind down.
Worth planning around: Inland archaeological sites in the middle of a July or August day. Agrigento, Selinunte and Segesta are unshaded and exposed, and midday temperatures inland regularly pass 38°C.
Itinerary
Fly into Palermo and out of Catania, with a hire car throughout. Three bases, one long drive, and everything else short hops.
Markets, mosaics and a very loud city.
The Arab-Norman circuit.
Doric temples above the sea.
Roman mosaics, then across to the east.
The greatest city of the Greek west.
An entire region rebuilt in one style.
The volcano, and out.
Travel tips
Sicily is bigger, hotter and slower than people plan for. Most of these tips are about that.
FAQ
Seven at an absolute minimum, and ten is better. The island is 250 km across with mountains through the middle, and the great sites are spread from Agrigento in the south-west to Syracuse in the south-east. A week covers Palermo, Agrigento, Syracuse, the Val di Noto and Etna with three bases. Ten days adds the west coast, Cefalù or the Aeolian islands.
Yes, for anything beyond the main cities. Agrigento's temples, Villa Romana del Casale, Segesta, Selinunte and the Val di Noto towns are poorly served by public transport, and buses between them are slow and infrequent. Coaches connect Palermo, Catania and Syracuse perfectly well, so a common approach is to use buses for the cities and hire a car for the middle of the trip.
Yes. Organised crime exists and has nothing to do with visitors; the practical risk is ordinary petty theft in Palermo and Catania's crowded markets and around the stations. Keep bags closed and in front of you, do not leave anything visible in a parked car, and the trip is straightforward. Sicilians are markedly welcoming to visitors.
You can go high on it. From Rifugio Sapienza on the south side a cable car takes you to about 2,500 metres and 4x4 buses continue to roughly 2,900, from where authorised guides lead walks around the summit craters. Guides are compulsory above a set height. Access varies with volcanic activity and weather, and it is often twenty degrees colder and much windier than the coast, so take layers and check conditions on the day.
April to June and September to October, with October arguably the single best month — warm, quiet and harvest season. Spring brings wildflowers among the temples. July and August frequently reach 35–40°C inland with no shade at the archaeological sites, and the coast is at capacity. Winter is mild at 14–18°C, the sites are empty, and there is skiing on Etna.
Neither, exclusively. Palermo suits the western half — Monreale, Cefalù, Agrigento, Segesta and Trapani — and is the more compelling city, with the markets and the Arab-Norman churches. Catania suits the east — Etna, Taormina, Syracuse and the Baroque towns. The best plan is to use both, flying into one and out of the other, with a base on Ortigia in between.
Substantially. Arab rule left almonds, saffron, raisins, pine nuts and citrus in savoury dishes — pasta con le sarde is the clearest example. The Spanish brought chocolate, still worked cold in Modica by a method derived from Mesoamerica. Add Greek olives and wine, Bronte pistachios from Etna's slopes, granita eaten for breakfast and street food closer to North Africa than to Tuscany, and it reads as a distinct cuisine rather than a regional variation.
Keep exploring
Places that pair well with Sicily, whether you have a few spare days or are building a longer route.
Campania, Italy
A UNESCO-listed historic centre of Greek street plans and Baroque churches, the museum holding everything dug out of Pompeii, and the birthplace of pizza.
Don't miss Pompeii — 66 hectares of a Roman town stopped mid-morning in AD 79, with the volcano that did it still on the skyline.
Explore Destination — Naples & PompeiiPuglia and Basilicata, Italy
The heel of Italy and the region above it: 800 km of coast, olive groves that have been worked since antiquity, three UNESCO sites and the best value in the country.
Don't miss The Sassi of Matera — a whole town carved into a ravine, lived in for millennia, emptied in the 1950s and reoccupied since.
Explore Destination — Puglia & MateraCampania, Italy
A UNESCO-listed stretch of Campanian cliff with lemon terraces, ceramic-domed churches, a Norman-Arab cathedral at Amalfi and Ravello's gardens hanging over the sea.
Don't miss The Path of the Gods — a ridge trail 600 metres above the water, looking down on Positano and across to Capri.
Explore Destination — The Amalfi CoastAndalusia, Spain
A hillside city beneath the Sierra Nevada, holding the Alhambra — the finest surviving Islamic palace complex anywhere — and a tapas culture where the food still comes free with the drink.
Don't miss The Nasrid Palaces: honeycomb vaulting, carved stucco and courtyards designed entirely around water and light.
Explore Destination — GranadaRead next
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A UNESCO listing tells you a place matters; it does not tell you whether it is worth two days and a detour. This is how to read the list usefully — and which sites reward building a trip around them.
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Seasons
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