Sicily

Etna

southern slope, Rifugio Sapienza

Europe's tallest active volcano, three thousand three hundred metres high and constantly active — it goes through several eruptive episodes a year and its height changes by tens of metres each time. A cable car and off-road vehicles run up the southern side to two thousand nine hundred metres, from where the summit craters are reached with a guide.

Tip: Even in August it's around ten degrees up there with wind — a jacket and sturdy shoes aren't overkill, and both can be rented on site. The path to the summit craters is only allowed with a certified guide, and it closes during periods of higher activity even with a ticket already bought; the status is checked each morning.

Admission:

cable car and vehicle from 90 €

Time needed:

full day

Valley of the Temples, Agrigento

Valle dei Templi

Agrigento

Eight Doric temples from the fifth century BC on a ridge above Agrigento, including the best-preserved Greek temple anywhere outside Athens — the Temple of Concordia, which survived only because it was converted into a church in the sixth century. The site covers three kilometres and is UNESCO-listed.

Tip: The site has no shade and can hit thirty-five degrees at midday — go right at opening at half past eight, or take the evening tour with lighting, which in summer runs until eleven at night. There are two entrances with a shuttle running between them; otherwise you climb the hill back up.

Admission:

from 12 €

Time needed:

3–4 h

Taormina and its ancient theatre

east coast

A town on a cliff two hundred metres above the sea, with a Greek theatre from the third century BC whose stage frames Etna and the sea at once. The main street, Corso Umberto, runs three-quarters of a kilometre and is packed with shops; below town lies Isola Bella beach, with an islet joined to shore by a sand spit.

Tip: You can't really reach Taormina by car — the Lumbi car park above town is the only sensible option, with a shuttle bus from there. A cable car runs down to Isola Bella beach for a few euros; on foot it's twenty minutes down and forty steeply back up.

Admission:

theatre from 14 €

Time needed:

full day

Monreale Cathedral

Monreale, above Palermo

A Norman cathedral from 1174 above Palermo, its interior covered in six thousand four hundred square metres of golden Byzantine mosaics — the second-largest such surface in the world after Hagia Sophia. Next door is a monastic cloister with two hundred and twenty-eight columns, no two decorated alike.

Tip: Eight kilometres above Palermo; city bus 389 runs there from Piazza Indipendenza. The mosaics are lit only at certain hours, and without the light you see a fraction of them — go between nine and half past ten, or after half past two in the afternoon.

Admission:

cathedral free, cloister from 6 €

Time needed:

2–3 h

Ortigia and Syracuse

Syracuse

The island core of Syracuse, joined to the mainland by three bridges: the baroque Piazza Duomo, with a cathedral built directly into the Doric temple of Athena, whose columns still show in the walls; the freshwater spring of Arethusa with its papyrus right by the sea; and a fish market that looks more Arab than Italian in the morning.

Tip: The Neapolis excavations with the Greek theatre and the Ear of Dionysius are on the other side of town and need a separate ticket — treat them as a standalone half-day stop. There's nowhere to park on Ortigia; leave the car at the Talete car park by the bridge.

Admission:

Neapolis from 13 €

Time needed:

full day

Cefalù

north coast

A fishing town seventy kilometres east of Palermo, below the two-hundred-and-seventy-metre La Rocca cliff, with a Norman cathedral from 1131 and a mosaic of Christ Pantocrator in the apse. The sandy beach begins right below the old town, a rarity on the north coast.

Tip: Climbing La Rocca takes an hour on steps that end at the ruins of the Temple of Diana and an Arab fortress; there's an entrance fee, and the last admission is roughly ninety minutes before closing. The best view of town is from the old harbour pier, not from the beach.

Admission:

La Rocca from 5 €

Time needed:

full day

Villa Romana del Casale

Piazza Armerina, inland

A fourth-century Roman villa near Piazza Armerina in the middle of the island, buried by a landslide that ended up preserving it. It holds three and a half thousand square metres of mosaic floors, including the famous scene of girls in what looks like bikinis and a forty-metre corridor depicting the hunt for animals destined for Roman arenas.

Tip: It sits in the middle of the island where nothing else is — it makes most sense as a stop on the drive between north and south, not as a trip from the coast. The mosaics are viewed from raised walkways, so a pushchair works, but the roofing traps summer heat, so go in the morning.

Admission:

from 10 €

Time needed:

2 h

Scala dei Turchi

Realmonte, near Agrigento

A white cliff of soft limestone called marl, sculpted by sea and wind into stepped terraces dropping into turquoise water. It's named after the Saracen raiders said to have landed here. It lies fifteen kilometres from Agrigento near Realmonte.

Tip: Since 2020, walking directly onto the cliff has been banned because of erosion, and it's fenced off — fines are actually issued. Photos and swimming happen from Lido Rossello beach next door, from where the whole cliff is visible, and it looks best at sunset, when it turns pink.

Admission:

beach free

Time needed:

2–3 h

San Vito Lo Capo and the Zingaro reserve

northwest

Sicily's best sandy beach, on the northwestern tip: a wide strip of white sand below the two-hundred-and-seventy-metre Monte Monaco cliff and shallow turquoise water. Just beyond starts the Zingaro nature reserve, seven kilometres of road-free coastline with coves reachable only on foot.

Tip: The reserve is entered from the northern gate at Scopello or the southern gate at San Vito, with no road for cars in between — allow five hours and two litres of water per person for the round trip, as nothing is sold inside. The first coves are twenty minutes from the entrance and tend to be empty before ten.

Admission:

reserve from 5 €

Time needed:

full day