The secret was revealed long before HBO chose to film the second season of White Lotus here. An undisputed Mediterranean beauty since ancient times, the Italian island of Sicily shamelessly seduces anyone just by dipping the little toe of one foot into its turquoise. Water as clear as gin.
From hidden coves to exhilarating stretches of white, black and golden sand, Sicily’s iconic paradise beaches need little introduction. So is fiery Etna, granita, crunchy cannoli oozing with ricotta cream, and its top-notch gourmet scene.
But that’s just the tip of the iceberg. Look beyond Sicily’s coast and kitchen and you’ll find a kaleidoscope of destinations to visit. From hilltop villages to baroque towns to rural retreats (including wineries and lemon plantations), it’s full of artistic masterpieces, cultural gems, and natural beauty. Locate it on the treasure map. Tourist trains, buses and boats make traveling around Sicily part of the adventurer’s experience. Additionally, renting a car is the key to accessing the most remote and mountainous areas in the interior of the island.
You’ll only be in Sicily for a few days, so stay in one place. It takes him two weeks for an epic tour of the island’s arabesque cupolas, Byzantine mosaics, ancient Greek temples and volcanic vineyards. Expect something from the silver screen whenever and wherever you go.
Palermo is full of centuries-old treasures © Photon-Photos/Getty Images
1. Palermo
Perfect for urban culture
Sicily’s capital guarantees an urban adventure. Provocative street art, rough-and-tumble food markets buzzing with local life, and associated multimedia exhibitions focused on the mafia provide up-to-date commentary on this endlessly fascinating city. Meanwhile, art and architecture lovers will be overwhelmed by the treasures that remind us of centuries past. Palatine Chapel of Palazzo Normanni. The Chiesa e Monastero di Santa Caterina d’Alessandria has a hidden pasticceria (bakery and cake shop) set in a cloister. The courtyard-covered Antonio Salinas State Archaeological Museum is a veteran favorite.
Planning tip: Plan a half-day bus trip to Monreale Cathedral. You’ll be stunned to see the gleaming gold mosaics inside Sicily’s masterpiece of Norman architecture.
2. Aeolian Islands
Perfect for beaches and island hopping
Boats, beaches, and buckets of granita (crushed ice) soaked in the bounty of the earth. Enjoy the Sicilian sweet life as you island-hop around the Aeolian Islands. Milazzo, on the Tyrrhenian coast in north-eastern Sicily, is the starting point for this seven-island paradise by Liberty Lines ferries and hydrofoils. Cruise around the largest island, Lipari, climb a volcano and explore black sand beaches on pristine Stromboli, and sample sweet dessert wine and fresh capers on lush Salina. If you have the time (and leg strength), don’t miss out on spectacular hikes like the donkey-powered “Stairway to Heaven” on the old-world islet of Alicudi.
Planning Tip: In Salina, combine family beach time in the shallow pool formed by the concrete breakwater at Lingua’s Spiaggia Biscotto with enjoying Sicily’s best granita by the sea at Da Alfredo. At Pa Pe Lo al Gricine, on Salina’s south coast, the ricotta granita sprinkled with candied island capers and toasted capers are reason enough to visit the bijou fishing village of Rinella. Become.
Hike Europe’s largest volcano, Mount Etna, with a qualified guide © Christopher Moswitzer / Getty Images
3. Mount Etna
Perfect for family volcano exploration
There is no age limit to climb to the heights of Sicily’s iconic active volcano, Europe’s largest island. Three and a half centuries after neighboring Catania was buried under volcanic ash, Mount Etna still towers over the city. Combine a cable car (up to 2500 m/8200 ft from Rifugio Sapienza), a 4WD vehicle, and an expert mountain guide to explore this fiery volcano that still erupts, sending fountains of lava and bubbles of magma into the night sky. Climb the beauty with ease. If he’s an active teenager, he doesn’t ride in the car and enjoys more challenging hikes on the quiet north slopes of Mount Etna, or climbs the mountain by bike with his bike guide. Why not try it?
Planning tip: The height of self-guided ascents varies depending on volcanic activity. Contact certified guides, Guide Vulcanologiche Etna Nord, for up-to-date information and guided hikes (ages 6 and up, best March to June and September) and snowshoe and ski mountaineering expeditions (December to February).
The Cathedral of San Giorgio is an ever-present landmark in Ragusa © Amaia Arozena & Gotzon Iraola/Getty Images
4. Ragusa Ibra
Perfect for baroque aesthetics
It took an earthquake in 1693 to usher in Sicily’s glorious Golden Age. Get lost in the Baroque labyrinth of nooks and alleyways of Ragusa Ibla, in the southeast of the island, filled with decorative masks and chubby-cheeked putti (angels) carved from stone rising from the ashes. Don’t miss an intimate family tour of the Duomo, designed by superstar architect Rosario Gagliardi, and the aristocratic Palazzo Arezzo di Trifiletti of the same era. Refuel with fig, pistachio or sweet Passito di Noto wine gelato at Gelati DiVini.
PLANNING TIP: Combine Ragusa with Modica, Scicli and Note to create an itinerary for the unforgettable baroque city in the southeast corner of Sicily.
5. Zingaro Nature Reserve
Perfect for a scenic coastal walk
Stretching across a vast expanse of the Gulf of Castellammare in western Sicily, the island’s oldest nature reserve is a veritable treasure trove of beauty. Grab some comfortable shoes, some water, a swimming kit and a backpack for a picnic lunch and set off on some fantastic walking trails dotted with untouched coves and trailside hut displays showcasing local flora and fauna and traditional tuna fishing. If you love snorkelling, bring your mask, flippers and tuba. The crystal clear waters here offer some of the island’s best snorkelling and diving spots.
Planning tip: After your hike, drive 30 minutes to Segesta and admire the magnificent Greek temples, glowing in the soft golden light of late afternoon.
Climb the 142 colorful steps of the church of Santa Maria del Monte in Caltagirone © spooh / Getty Images
6. Caltagirone
Perfect for arts and crafts
From decorative grave vases spun from clay to accompany the dead, to lifelike marionettes, coral jewelry and elaborate 18th-century maiolica figurines, Sicily’s arts and crafts heritage is immense. In Caltagirone, located in central Sicily, the production of pottery has been the lifeblood of the city since the Middle Ages. The kiln fire is always burning thanks to the abundance of wood from the surrounding forests. The town’s monumental staircase, the Scalinata di Santa Maria del Monte, which has been zigzagging from the Old Town to the New since the 17th century, dazzles with its 142 steps paved by hand. Painted with majolica. Learn the stories behind the scenes, buy ceramics, and try your own pot-throwing experience at the Ceramics Museum.
Planning tip: Visit on July 24th or 25th during Caltagirone’s Festa di San Giacomo. After dark, 4,000 oil lamps illuminate the scalinata (stairs).
7. Madonie Regional Natural Park
Perfect for quickly getting off the beaten path
Sicily doesn’t get any more rugged or remote. Drive south from the beach-filled Tyrrhenian coast and into the rugged folds of Mount Madonie. Stroll through a medieval hilltop village. It offers an overwhelmingly traditional lifestyle, a clear sense of history and exceptional mountain cuisine. Stay at an agriturismo (farm stay) such as Casale Dolinzi. There, the kitchen is filled with wild mushrooms from the forest, suinonero (local black pig pork), ricotta fresh from sheep and his cheese. Take your foot off the gas and slowly detox.
Planning Tip: To get a hands-on experience of this mountain region, contact a nature guide from Madonie Explorers. Forest bath among the rowan trees and harvest manna with one of the world’s last remaining mana farmers.
Visit Catania’s fish market early in the morning to pick up some fresh catch © Agata Lagati Photography / Getty Images / iStockphoto
8. Catania
Ideal for learning about Sicilian sea fish from top to bottom
Sicily’s second-largest city, Catania, is perfectly located between the vast blue waters of the Ionian coast and the huge smoking rock of Mount Etna, making it the perfect base from which to explore the eastern part of the island. Catania’s impressive architecture is like a concise history of Sicily. Many of the characteristic black-and-white palaces and churches are built from volcanic rock that was brought down to Catania by Mount Etna in 1669.
The views of the surrounding area from the roofs of churches (the best are Sant’Agata and San Nicolo Larena in the Benedictine monastery complex on Piazza Dante) are spectacular. For foodies, he has one address of note. La Pesceria is a bustling fish market filled with all kinds of fish, including swordfish, sardines, tuna and octopus. Arrive just as they open at 7am to choose the sea.
9. Valley of the Temples
Perfect for history buffs and romantics
The UNESCO temple logo says it all: the mirror of Startern’s Temple of Concordia in Agrigento’s breathtaking Valley of the Temples. Don’t miss Sicily’s most spectacular ruins, strung along the rocky promontory along the Mediterranean Sea where the ancient Greeks built Doric temples, 2,500-year-old tombs and sanctuaries. Equally evocative are the remains of the 12 km long wall and gates that were then built around Akragas, which at that time was his fourth largest city in the ancient world.
Planning tip: In summer, visit after sunset or after dark to enjoy drinks and live jazz in the romantic citrus groves of Giardino della Corimbetra, a walled garden at the western end of the Valley of the Temples. Let’s listen.
Discover picturesque beaches in the charming coves of Favignana © Maremagnum / Getty Images
10. Favignana
Ideal for snorkeling, cycling and scootering
Most Sicilian explorers have heard of the Aeolians, but few know much about the five Egadi Islands. The Egadi Islands are an idyllic Sicilian archipelago of whitewashed cottages, creamy tufa stone pavements and bright blue calas (coves). Favignana, the largest butterfly-shaped island, is located 30 minutes by hydrofoil from the port city of Trapani in western Sicily. Walk along dirt roads that are perfect for biking or scootering, or hit the beaches of picture-postcard coves like Cala Rossa. His 19th century tuna cannery in Favignana is an interesting exhibition about traditional tuna fishing in the great blue of Sicily. The snorkeling is amazing as expected.
Planning Tip: If you want to enjoy beautiful hikes, see rare monk seals, and enjoy Giuseppe’s sensational Zuppa di Aragosta (lobster soup) at Trattoria Il Verriero, get a hydrofoil from Favignana to Marettimo. Sho.
This article was first published on November 25, 2021 and updated on March 11, 2024.
