San Max Hotel
Catania is the perfect starting point for a tour of Sicily, for two excellent reasons. Its airport is the most important in the region, which means you can easily find affordable flight deals. Its location almost in the centre of the east coast makes it an ideal starting point for both itineraries in northern Sicily and southern Sicily.
Most travellers landing here, however, prefer to head their cars southwards. It’s an excellent choice because from Catania heading south you can easily reach splendid destinations, each quite different from the other, which allow you to pack some of Sicily’s top attractions into just 7 days.
We’ve devised an itinerary through eastern Sicily that touches the most beautiful of these locations and allows you to relax by the sea, visit archaeological sites, admire artistic masterpieces, sample the delights of Sicilian pastry-making and feel, for a day, like you’re the protagonist in a film or television series.
This itinerary is designed for those who hire a car in Catania. Some locations are reachable by public transport, but you’ll need much more time for travel and you’ll have to exclude from your itinerary small towns and natural areas not accessible by train and bus.
Finally, if you have more time available, you might consider a two-week itinerary of Sicily.
On the first day we suggest staying put in Catania1 to recover from the fatigue of your flight: it’s a city brimming with splendid palaces nestled in a valley of citrus groves with views over the Ionian Sea. An excellent start to your holiday!
The car will be useful for quickly reaching your hotel and dropping off your bags; you can easily leave it parked the next day – Catania’s centre is a compact hub that’s easy to navigate on foot.
The best way to appreciate the city’s beauty is to follow a walking tour of the Baroque palaces: the three you must not miss are the Palazzo Municipale, the Duomo and the Badia di Sant’Agata; to these you can add many others of equal charm, though less well-known.
After your cultural visits, unwind at La Plaia, a city beach with fine sand, perfect for soaking up the sun and enjoying an aperitif with sea views.
Another splendid city awaits as your second stop: Syracuse2, a city that in ancient times rivalled Athens in importance and beauty. Unlike its rival, it didn’t become a capital, but it can boast of being one of Sicily’s most visited destinations.
The most enchanting area of Syracuse is Ortygia, a district that blends the harmony of classical art with the splendour of Baroque architecture. From here, just thirty minutes on foot takes you to the unmissable Neapolis Archaeological Park, where you can admire a well-preserved Greek Theatre and other evocative ancient ruins.
Check the programme for the Puppet Theatre to catch an exciting performance with armed marionettes. If times don’t fit your schedule, try at least to visit the Puppet Museum, which traces the history of this ancient tradition peculiar to Sicily.
If you’d like to end today at the sea as well, head back to Ortygia and lay out your towel at Lido Maniace, the city beach.
With Catania and Syracuse, you’ve had an excellent taste of Sicilian Baroque beauty. Take a step further (or rather, drive about thirty kilometres) and visit the city universally recognised as Sicily’s Baroque capital: Noto3.
Half a day is enough to fall head over heels for the chiaroscuro effects created by the sinuous forms and convex curves of the white stone monuments. A walking tour of Noto’s centre must obligatorily include the Porta Reale, the Cathedral of San Nicolò, the Municipal Theatre and at least a couple of the city’s most famous palaces.
In the afternoon, make your way to the Vendicari Nature Reserve4 to immerse yourself in a breathtakingly beautiful landscape and recharge your batteries.
The reserve’s most famous attraction is Calamosche Beach5, which you’ve surely come across mentioned in a list of Sicily’s most beautiful beaches. It’s a beach with sandy areas and rocky sections, sheltered by two rocky promontories that seem to embrace each other. The waters, of a splendid blue colour, are calm and inviting.
We recommend returning to Noto for the night to enjoy the spectacle of the illuminated palaces; if you prefer to cut down on driving, you can head to the next stop instead.
Day four is entirely dedicated to Sicily’s inseparable bond with the sea: the day’s stops are two fishing villages that have recently come into the international tourism spotlight.
The first is the small Marzamemi6, situated at the meeting point between the Ionian Sea and the Mediterranean. From a humble fishing village it’s transformed into a chic resort, used multiple times as a location for films and TV series. Fortunately it’s retained its old-world charm and if you don’t stay overnight, you won’t break the bank.
Spend the morning visiting the historic tuna fishery, photograph the Brancati Islet and treat yourself to some sun at Isola delle Correnti Beach.
Stop for lunch at one of the delightful waterfront restaurants, then get back in the car and head to Punta Secca7. It’s another example of a seaside town that was virtually unknown just a few years ago, now an unmissable stop on any eastern Sicily tour.
Its success is entirely due to the celebrated Inspector Montalbano television series: here you’ll find the villa that in the series is the protagonist’s home. Today it’s a luxury B&B – it’s up to you whether to spend the night there or admire it from outside and move on to Modica.
Whether you slept in Punta Secca or Modica8, on the morning of day five allow yourself time to visit one of Sicily’s most indulgent towns.
Modica chocolate is one of Italian pastry-making’s finest products, so you have a good excuse to visit the themed museum and stop at the historic Dolceria Bonajuto pastry shop. After getting your fill of sweetness, dedicate some time to literature by visiting the Salvatore Quasimodo Birthplace, a museum dedicated to the Nobel Prize-winning poet from Modica.
After a stroll through the centre, get back in the car to head to Ragusa9, another magnificent example of a Baroque city in the Val di Noto. Ragusa’s symbolic monuments are the three bridges connecting the historic centre with the southern part, built in different historical periods using different materials and techniques.
Those who love the sea and Montalbano can opt for a day of relaxation at Donnalucata10, a beach much beloved by locals where several scenes from the TV series were shot.
Day six is dedicated to two wonders located just a few kilometres from the city of Agrigento: the Scala dei Turchi11 and the Valley of the Temples. They are top attractions not just of southern Sicily, but of the whole region.
The first is a particularly distinctive beach: to call it unique is no exaggeration. It’s a very thin strip of sand and pebbles at the foot of what looks like a mountain of ice: in reality it’s a stepped promontory, its icy-white colour comes from the particular rock it’s made of.
Most visitors prefer to lay on the steps rather than on the beach to admire a bird’s-eye view of the sea and experience something truly original.
The Agrigento Valley of the Temples12 needs no introduction. It’s Sicily’s most famous and for many its most evocative archaeological park, and some would say the same for Italy and even Europe (some find it even more beautiful than Athens’ Parthenon: in our view, the choice is truly difficult).
Organise your day so that you visit the temples at sunset: the sunset is the best time to fully appreciate this millennia-old place of wonder.
On the morning of day seven, a drive of about two and a half hours awaits you to reach the final stop of your journey. Leave as early as possible, both to travel without the midday sun and to have more hours to spend in Taormina13, the diva city of eastern Sicily.
The Greek Theatre in Taormina alone is a valid reason to come all this way: it’s one of Italy’s best-preserved ancient theatres and one of the few that boasts a magnificent position with sea views. Other attractions in Taormina’s centre are the Duomo, the Villa Comunale, the Church of San Giuseppe and panoramic spots in Piazza IX Aprile.
If you don’t want to miss the sea on your last day of holiday, head to Isola Bella, a pebble bay with views of the small island of the same name.
Depending on your flight’s departure time, you can return to Catania in the evening or stay overnight in Taormina and travel directly to the airport the next day.
In the following map you can see the location of the main places of interest mentioned in this article.
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