ANWB · Italy

Sicily: An Island Full of Stories

Greek temples, Etna and baroque towns

Ten fully catered days across the Mediterranean's most storied island: the smoking Etna, Greek theatres of Taormina, the markets of Palermo, the Valley of the Temples and the honey-coloured baroque of Ortigia and Noto.

Sicily: An Island Full of Stories — Photo by ANWB on ANWB

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The story

The flight into Catania lands you beside a volcano that actually smokes, and somehow that sets the tone for everything. You spend two mornings eating brioche col tuppo at a marble counter, sugar on your fingers before 8am. Then Etna pulls you upward through ashen fields and twisted lava rock, and Taormina rewards the climb with a Greek theatre hanging over a blue that has no business being that blue.

The middle days blur beautifully — Cefalù's Norman cathedral catching gold light, Palermo's markets loud and fragrant with blood oranges and grilled meat, the Byzantine mosaics at Monreale glittering like something dreamed. Agrigento's Valley of the Temples arrives at dusk, columns standing against a tangerine sky, older than any story you know how to tell.

Syracuse slows you down in the best way. Ortigia's narrow streets smell of salt and jasmine. Noto hands you baroque architecture in honeyed stone. By the time Catania reappears on day ten, Sicily feels less like a place you visited and more like something that happened to you.

The route

Highlights

Excursion up the smoking Etna
Valley of the Temples at Agrigento
Greek theatre of Taormina
Baroque of Noto and Ortigia
Fully catered: 9 breakfasts and 7 dinners included

Day by day

1
Catania
Day 1-2

Arrival on the east coast: a lava-stone baroque city at the foot of Etna, with one of Italy's liveliest fish markets.
Explore Catania →

Photo by ANWB on ANWB
2
Mount Etna & Taormina
Day 3

Up Europe's largest active volcano in the morning; in the afternoon the Greek theatre of Taormina with its postcard view over the coast.
3
Messina & Cefalù
Day 4

Along the north coast via Messina to the fishing town of Cefalù, crowned by its Norman cathedral and golden beach.
4
Palermo
Day 5-6

Three nights in Sicily's exuberant capital: street markets, Arab-Norman palaces and the mosaics of Monreale.
Explore Palermo →
5
Agrigento & Piazza Armerina
Day 7

The Valley of the Temples — the best-preserved Greek temples outside Greece — and the Roman mosaics of Villa Romana del Casale.
- Valle dei Templi (Valley of the Temples), Agrigento
- Tempio della Concordia (Temple of Concordia)
- Tempio di Giunone (Temple of Juno)
- Villa Romana del Casale, Piazza Armerina
6
Syracuse & Ortigia
Day 8

Three nights in the ancient Greek capital; the island quarter of Ortigia is one big open-air museum of baroque squares and sea views.
- Ortigia Island, Syracuse
- Piazza del Duomo, Ortigia
- Cattedrale di Siracusa (Syracuse Cathedral)
- Fonte Aretusa (Arethusa Spring)
- Teatro Greco di Siracusa (Greek Theatre of Syracuse)
7
Noto
Day 9

A free day, or the optional excursion to Noto: the pinnacle of Sicilian baroque, glowing gold at sunset.
- Noto Cathedral (Cattedrale di San Nicolò, Noto)
- Corso Vittorio Emanuele, Noto
- Palazzo Villadorata (Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata)
Explore Noto →
Catania
Day 10

Transfer to the airport and the flight home.
Explore Catania →

Photo by pierre matile on Pexels