In June 2022, we had a 5-days trip to Sicily with the ultimate goal of exploring this amazing island in a hardcore itinerary for those with high energy and eagerness of discovering the unique sicilian vibes. Therefore, this 5-days hardcore itinerary through Sicily is for those who do not plan a holiday to relax (though 2-3 hours sun sessions per day are included), but want to explore more. Nevetheles, do not consider this itinerary only for younsters, as in our holiday in Sicily we were accopamied by my parents, who are both 60+ (but feeling like 40 ;) ) Moreover, I would like to mention that this itinerary can be recreated anytime, as Sicily is a pleasant place to visit any month of the year.
Day 1 - Sicily's capital - Palermo
At 8:00 our holiday already started with our flight arriving on time in Catania and we headed to picking up the car, we already rented online. Tip! Rent a car from www.centauro.net as it offers by far better rates for registered users on their site, than other rent companies! So when planing your trip, register to their website and wait few days to receive the special offers. They have weekly offers which will help you save a lot of money. Make sure to pay also a Casco Insurance as driving and parking in Sicily is pretty crazy.
Interesting Information about Palermo!
Palermo has the second largest historical center in Europe
Palermo is considered the most conquered city in history, nearly 15 different cultures have occupied Palermo at one time or another, leaving a strong impact not only on the culture, but also on the architecture
Palermo is one of the cities with the largest number of UNESCO sites
From Catania Airport we drove direcly to our accommdation in Palermo and took us approximately 3 hours, so that at approximately 12:30 we were already there. In regard to the accommodation, I want to recommend you a very nice airbnb - Attico Sesto Canto, situated exactly in Palermo's old town overlooking the spectacular Quattro Quati Square, from its beautiful balcony and being in the proximity of all Palermo's main attractions. Moreover, if you come by car, as we did, a private parking is available 3 min away from the airbnb, with the price of less than €10/day. For directions to the parking spot, click here Private Parking.
After having lunch and relaxing for approximately 3 hours, we started our walking tour through Palermo. Below you can find the attractions we visited on our first day:
San Giuseppe dei Padri Teatini Church, as it was just in from of our airbnb
Piazza Bellini where we visited the Martorana Church (Chiesa della Martorana) , build in 1143 and praised as one of the most impressive churches in Italy. Afterwards we walked down the small streets following Via Vittorio Emanuella until
Teatro Massimo, the third largest theater in Europe is the place where several scenes from The Godfather – Part III were filmed here
Port of Palermo and Porto Antico della Cala
il Parco della Salute (as we had a small child with us, we stopped also here. This is a kids playing spot, situated by the sea)
Church of Santa Maria della Pieta in Kalsa
The Quattro Canti, officially known as Piazza Vigliena - a beautiful a Baroque square situated just near our airbnb. It is an octagonal square that has been created through the intersection of two of Palermo’s main roads: Via Vittorio and Via Maqueda. Each of these corners features rare and incredible statues, columns, or fountains. Tip! Go here during the evening if you want to listen to good live music, sang by sicilian street artists.
Day 2 - Palermo & Taormina
We started our 2nd day in Palermo at approximately 10 o'clock, full with energy to explore more as much as we could, as our plan was to head to our 2nd location in Sicily - Taormina, sometime around 4 o'clock. So, from 10 untill 16 we managed to visit the following attractions, just by walking from our starting point (San Giuseppe dei Padri Teatini Church) from one to another:
MEC - Meet, Eat, Connect is “a museum within a restaurant and a restaurant that’s also a museum.” , as per its founder, the Palermitan architect and entrepreneur Giuseppe Forello. This spot is not only innovative but also instagramable.
Palermo Cathedral, with architectural influences from Roman, Norman, Greek, Arabic, Gothic, Sicilian Baroque, Catalan is was during the history also christian, before turning for a while into a mosque. Currently, it is a christian church. The entrance costs €7 and it is worth it, not only because it offers you entrance to the church, but it also allows you to go up to the cathedral roof - which offers one of the best panoramas over the whole city of Palermo.
Villa Bonanno Park, with its beautiful lush palm trees
Royal Palace of Palermo (also called Palace of the Normans), with its Palatine chapel, a masterpiece of Arab-Norman-Byzantine style. The chapel is by far the most beautiful from Palermo and is considered by many, the most beautiful church in Sicily.
We ended our visit of Palermo with Chiesa del Santissimo Salvatore. I really recommend you visit this church, as in our opinion this church has a really special architecture, nevertheles not the outside structure, but the interior design
TIP! If you want to have lunch or dinner in an impecable restaurant, try Locanda del Gusto , a place which offers not only extremely delicious food, but also a memorable atmosphere you won't easily forget.
At approximately 4 o'clock we finished our visit in Palermo and headed to Taormina. After a 3 hours drive, we arrived in Taormina, our favourite spot, of all Sicily. As Taormina is situated on a hilltop, overlooking the sea, we really recommend booking an accommodation overlooking the gulf. We stayed at Taormina Park Hotel TIP! Don't be afraid of the 8.0 score on booking, as the hotel is great, offering big rooms with balcony overlooking the gulf (see 1st photo of this article was shot from our rooms balcony), the stuff are all nice, the breakfast was great and the atmosphere at the pool was just perfect!
We spend the evening walking through Taormina's busy, but romantic narrow streets, listening to live music from local artists.
Day 3 - Taormina
We dedicated our 3rd day, exclusively to Taormina, but we wished we had more days to spend here. Taormina was for us fairytale place which has so much to offer, that one could not get bored here. The unforgettable views over the gulf & the Mediterranean sea, the historic sites, the cultural and architectural blends, the narrow streets, the dazzling sicilian music, the romantic vibes floating all over, the rocky and sandy beach and last but not least, the appetizing sicilian food...all these made us all fall in love with the place and declare it as our favourite spot on the whole island of Sicily.
Interesting Information about Taormina!
It is situated on the Mount Tauro, 1 hour away from Mount Etna Taormina
It is a natural platform overlooking the sea - A splendid location of unique natural beauty, which brought Taormina the name of "The Pearl of the Ionian Sea" or "The Jewel of Sicily"
The history of Taormina dates back to 358 BC. The 1st to discover Taormina were the Greeks, who conquered and occupied it for more than 2,500 years, until the Romans took over and declared the whole of Sicily - a Roman province
During the time, Taormina was conquered by arabs, french and spanish, until it was rediscovered in recent times (approx 200 years ago) as a tourist destination full of splendour
We started our day in Taormina early in the morning and after the delicious breakfast at Taormina Park Hotel, we spend 2 good hours at the splendid hotel pool. After the relaxing morning, we started exploring Taormina's attractions. From 12 pm till approximatelly 8 pm managed to do the following:
The public gardens - Villa Comunale - an amazing park with roman ruins, offering a break-taking view over the Mediterranean Sea (!For thos travelling with kids! It also includes a kids playing spot)
We walked down to the beach and spend 1 good hour at Isola Bella (!the way down took us approximatelly 30 min and included some hundreds of stairs)
We took the cable car back the Taormina's city center and walked through The Corso Umberto - which is Taormina's main street
Duomo di Taormina or St Nicholas Cathedral of Taormina
We enjoyed dinner at Ristorante La Botte , on the terrace, unde the orange trees - where we tried traditional sicilian dishes. We can only recomment this place, as the restaurant is one of the gastronomic icons of Taormina.
Day 4 - Etna Vulcano & Syracuse
Our 4th day started as early as 7 o'clock and after breakfast we headed to Mount Etna. Etna is one of the world's most active volcanoes, being in an almost constant state of activity - it actually errupted 2 weeks before we went there. The way until the Etna cable car is paved and pretty easy to drive and it took us 1 hour from Taormina to arrive there.
Interesting things about Mount Etna
It is Europe's most active vulcano
Its tallest peak has 3,357 m (11,014 ft)
In June 2013, it was added to the list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites
Latest eruption as per today (Nov 2022), occured in May 2022
There are two ski resorts on Etna: one at the Sapienza Refuge and at Piano Provenzana
The price for the Etna cable car was as per 2022, €30 for adults and €23 for children above 5. The cable car brings you to an altitude of 2500 meters (8200 ft) and from there it is possible to climb up to 2.900m, either by foot or by 4x4 vehicles. For more information about Mount Etna tours and prices can be found under the following Link.
Our trip at Mount Etna lasted for 4 hours, considering that we had a 5 year old with us. At 1 o'clock we headed to our next destination. After 1,5 hours we arrived in Syracuse which we visited for the rest of the day.
Interesting Information about Syracuse!
Visiting Syracuse is like making a trip back in history, because the city treasures evidence from various periods, from protohistoric epochs to late antiquity and the Byzantine Empire.
Piazza Duomo - is the most central and most famous spot of Syracuse, as well as an UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Under Greek domination, respectively Dionysius, Syracuse became the most splendid and the best fortified of all Greek cities, as Cicero stated “the greatest Greek city and the most beautiful of them all”.
During Greek domination, Syracuse's naval power was vastly increased and its fleet was known as the most powerful in the Mediterranean.
Regarding our personal opinion about Syracuse, we did not enjoy Syracuse as much as we enjoyed Taormina or Palermo. We found Syracuse much more touristic and crowded than the other cities in Sicily (which were also crowded, but Syracuse was extreme), which automatically decreases the overall quality of services. Nevertheless, if you decide visiting Syracuse, here are some attractions which are worth seeing:
The Greek Theatre
Ortigia or the old town of Syracuse is the most beautiful part of the city, where you can simply walk around and admire the surroundings.
Piazza Duomo - which also was our favourite spot in Syracuse. This is an immense square, surrounded by buildings with beautiful architecture, full of restaurants where you can enjoy a delicious sicilian meal, accompanied by nice music sang by street artists. In this square, that italian vibe you maybe heard in movies, can be felt at a maximum. Or at least, this was our opinion. If you pass through here, do not miss the exceptional Cathedral, which is both a pagan temple and Christian church at the same time: it stands on the ruins of a temple dedicated to Athena built in 480 B.C., and conceals a jewel of the past behind the Baroque style of the façade, with the Doric columns still visible both outside and inside. In addition, at the end of the square, visit the Church of Santa Lucia alla Badia, which is one of Caravaggio's masterpieces.
Tip for Syracuse! Have dinner or a glass of wine at one of the restaurants in front of the sea exactly at sun down. The view here is the most romantic ever. We had the romantic dinner overlooking the see, at: Ristorante Arricriati and we loved it, but there are plenty of restaurants you can try there, all having the best view.
Day 5 - Catania
On our last day, we spend the ealry morning at the hotel's swimming pool and around noon we made our way to Catania, which is approx. 1 hour away. As my flight was only at 10 o'clock in the evening, we decided to visit Catania for some good 6 hours. Because my parents were still staying there for 2 more days, we first stopped at their accommodation to leave the luggages. There, we meet Toto, which is by far the most welcoming host, I personally ever meet. The B&B Sciara Biscari, with its perfect pool is simply an oasis of peace, in a city so restless. In advance, the cleaness of the place was impecable for all my parents stay. We arrived at Toto's place 3 hours before the established checkin time. Not only he let my parents check-in when we arrived, but he also had a beautiful conversation with us about Sicily and especially Catania, explaining the history of the city, giving us tips only locals know about, and told us how to find our way, what to visit and what is a must try in Catania. At the end of our conversation, he kindly asked us, to not rate the accommodation considering the city's mess (due to the high corruption in Sicily, the garbage is often left on the streets for days), but to only rate it for what it offers. We gave it a 10, as the place, really deserves it.
What to visit in Catania!
Piazza del Duomo and the Fountain of the Elephant, which is the city's emblem, depicting an elephant carved in black lava
Duomo di Catania or Saint Agatha Cathedral, it is free of charge everyday of the week and it holds the tomb of the famous classical composer Vincenzo Bellini
From Piazza del Duomo walk on Catania's main street - Via Etnea
From Via Etnea go to , the gardens of Villa Bellini and Piazza dell’Universita
The Massimo Bellini Theater
The Benedictine Monastery of San Nicolò l’Arena in Catania, is one of the largest monasteries in Europe and a UNESCO World Heritage Site (as a part of Val di Noto World Heritage Site). It is the second biggest Benedictine monastery in Europe (the biggest one is in Mafra). The monastery was founded in 1558 and today it hosts the Department of Humanities of the University of Catania.The place was never finished, so it is NOT the best church to visit.
If you are visiting with kids - Etnaland , a wonderful waterpark
Tips from locals:
Try some traditional sicilian food. Arancino - is the "signiature" of the traditional sicilian cuisine. The best one can be found at Pasticceria Savia
Eat at Locanda Ceramica Catania is a very good restaurants
If you love lemonade, try it at Chiosco Costa - the oldest Kiosk in Catania and the whole island
Catania was affected Etna's aggresive's eruptions for several times. Some eruptions were so violent that the whole city was destructed and it had to be rebuild. These eruptions created underground rivers. The restaurant Putia Dell'Ostello offers its guests the possibility to dine underground on the side of such an underground river. The experience is one of a kind, when you think how the river was created, so we kindly recommend trying this experience.
Additional Tipp when planning your holiday to Sicily! Do not forget about the Italian Siesta, meaning that most shops and restaurants are closed between 1 and 4 pm.
As a conclusion, remember that this 5-days hardcore itinerary through Sicily is for those who do not seek to relax, but to explore more.
We found Sicily extremely welcoming, with friendly people, with breath-taking views over the sea, rich in history and with very good prices, so definitely a place to return to. Arrivederci, dear Sicily! We hope to come back soon and we encourge everyone to visit Sicily, at least for some days, because it has extremely much to offer!
Ciao, Ciao, dear traveller!