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Convince me that I should go to Sicily

Convince me that I should go to Sicily

Old Sep 22, 2022, 4:40 am
  #31  
 
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As an Italian, from another region who has travelled extensively across Italy, I would highly recommend Sicily as a whole and in particular the East coast: Flying into Catania and potentially stay there with a rental car, I would recommend day trips to Taormina, Mount Etna, Siracusa and Ragusa. In Particular, Ortigia Island (the historic centre of Siracusa) it is worth a trip by itself.. Full of baroque architectures, but then with Greek/Roman archeology everywhere (the cathedral was built within a Roman Temple, and incorporate the original columns within the walls). Food is lovely there as almost everywhere and during the summer season, I would also recommend a bit of beach going by the Arenella Beach. Overall, there is so much cultural history to take in, at least on par with places like Naples/Pompei, Rome, Florence, and much more then other cities in the north of Italy.

but the island has so much to offer with history and derived culture from Greek, Roman, Arabs and Spanish influences
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Old Feb 20, 2023, 10:41 am
  #32  
 
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Valley of the Temples - day trip from Catania

Boosting this thread rather than creating a new one.

I think I know the answer to my question, but was hoping to get everyone's advice. My wife, infant daughter (19 months) and I will have four nights in Catania; this is our only time in Sicily during the trip. (We wish it could be longer!) Is a day trip to Agrigento and Valley of the Temples worth it considering the 2 hour drive to and from Catania? We're concerned about 4+ hours round trip in the car with our daughter. Are there other sites / great restaurants we should stop at along the way? And considering it is only ~160km, is the speed limit relatively low and/or strictly enforced? Seems like it should be closer to 1.5 hr drive.

If we don't go to Agrigento, pretty sure I can convince my wife to do a day trip to Siracusa and a winery in Noto.

Thanks for any advice!
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Old Feb 20, 2023, 2:05 pm
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Originally Posted by gobears293
Boosting this thread rather than creating a new one.

I think I know the answer to my question, but was hoping to get everyone's advice. My wife, infant daughter (19 months) and I will have four nights in Catania; this is our only time in Sicily during the trip. (We wish it could be longer!) Is a day trip to Agrigento and Valley of the Temples worth it considering the 2 hour drive to and from Catania? We're concerned about 4+ hours round trip in the car with our daughter. Are there other sites / great restaurants we should stop at along the way? And considering it is only ~160km, is the speed limit relatively low and/or strictly enforced? Seems like it should be closer to 1.5 hr drive.

If we don't go to Agrigento, pretty sure I can convince my wife to do a day trip to Siracusa and a winery in Noto.

Thanks for any advice!
You do (or at least should). Driving back-and-forth Sicily for a day trip isn't my idea of fun (and I don't have an infant). See the post above - all of those are more accessible to Catania.

Personally, I think Ortigia is fantastic. Great historical (ancient) architecture surrounded by beautiful seas. When we went to Siracusa 10 years ago, a work colleague (Italian) asked his college roommate (from Siracusa) for a restaurant recommendation. He suggested Red Moon Pub and I recommend it heartedly with a caveat - it's a simple, casual locals place in a very large, yurt-like tent with about a dozen tables (the kitchen is in a building right next door). It's not in Ortigia but at the harbor across from the island. Great fresh seafood.

Architecturally, Noto has some great baroque architecture and is an interesting town to wander through (although be prepared for climbing as it's built on a hill).

Each town could easily occupy a day by itself.
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Old Feb 21, 2023, 11:54 am
  #34  
 
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If you have been to much of the rest of Italy ; I don't know why you would not be excited for a trip to Sicily.
This year will be our first trip to Sicily ; been to Italy about 8 other times.

I am very excited to experience it, the weather for when you are planning should be wonderful including sea temps.
Crowds should be less than in the mainland Italy main tourist areas
Food should be just as good
The ruins there in some cases are older and better preserved than anything in Rome or surrounds
Not sure why you are thinking blah

Have you seen the views from Taormina ; either to the sea or to Mt Etna?

Malta seems like a great add-on but not sure I would dedicate 4 days there unless you are visiting some of the islands that make up the country as well not just staying on the main island.
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Old Feb 21, 2023, 11:59 am
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Originally Posted by JMN57
You do (or at least should). Driving back-and-forth Sicily for a day trip isn't my idea of fun (and I don't have an infant). See the post above - all of those are more accessible to Catania.

Personally, I think Ortigia is fantastic. Great historical (ancient) architecture surrounded by beautiful seas. When we went to Siracusa 10 years ago, a work colleague (Italian) asked his college roommate (from Siracusa) for a restaurant recommendation. He suggested Red Moon Pub and I recommend it heartedly with a caveat - it's a simple, casual locals place in a very large, yurt-like tent with about a dozen tables (the kitchen is in a building right next door). It's not in Ortigia but at the harbor across from the island. Great fresh seafood.

Architecturally, Noto has some great baroque architecture and is an interesting town to wander through (although be prepared for climbing as it's built on a hill).

Each town could easily occupy a day by itself.
JMN57: if you had to pick just 1 for a day trip (no overnight) which would you choose:
Ortigia or Noto ?
I have one day free in my plans on need to decide which ; want to walk in the main piazza, see a duomo, some souvenir shops, interesting architecture, gelato, etc...
Noto a little further drive but I believe will be easier to find parking so might be a wash time wise overall. Ortigia offers views of the sea which could be the tie breaker I imagine but also larger that it may not work as well as a day trip location?
Either way, likely can stop at the ruins outside of Siracusa that same day.
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Old Feb 21, 2023, 1:55 pm
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Originally Posted by mreynolds767
JMN57: if you had to pick just 1 for a day trip (no overnight) which would you choose:
Ortigia or Noto ?
I have one day free in my plans on need to decide which ; want to walk in the main piazza, see a duomo, some souvenir shops, interesting architecture, gelato, etc...
Noto a little further drive but I believe will be easier to find parking so might be a wash time wise overall. Ortigia offers views of the sea which could be the tie breaker I imagine but also larger that it may not work as well as a day trip location?
Either way, likely can stop at the ruins outside of Siracusa that same day.
Tough choice. Both are appealing. A lot depends on what else you are going to do/see in Sicily. If you're going to Ragusa, for example, then you could easily skip Noto. If much of your trip was seaside, maybe skip Ortigia (that would be hard for me as, while Ortigia is by the sea, it's a wonderful, historical urban area to walk. It's not just the sea). Personally, I'd spend the day in Ortigia but if you are into the Baroque period, then go to Noto.

Parking is not that bad. While you can drive onto Ortigia with specific conditions, if you are day tripping unlikely as basically all of Ortigia is a ZTL. But you can park close and walk across the isthmus to the "island." While I've never had a problem in Sicily, I wouldn't leave anything in the car (or trunk/boot).
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Old Feb 21, 2023, 2:03 pm
  #37  
 
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Flying into Bari and driving south ; stopping in Matera and Tropea for a few days as we make the ride and then the last 5 nights in Taormina. Not trying to do too much or see all of Sicily so mostly staying local to Taormina area.
Will do some kind of day trip to Mt Etna and one or two of those surrounding small towns one day, a beach day, a day of just staying in Taormina maybe visit the smaller town above Taormina ; gives me one more day to play with I figure.
So no Ragusa, no Agrigento, no Cefalu, nothing on the West, etc... I am sure if we have a great time we can do a future trip to the other main areas in Sicily ; Palermo and the western locations.

Identified either Noto or Ortigia as our best options / of most interest within a reasonable drive.
Will keep our hotel in Taormina and have a rental car so won't have any valuables in the car when parked and accepting we would park outside of any walled areas and walk in.
Flying out of Catania.
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Old Feb 22, 2023, 6:19 pm
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Noto really is an incredible town. The original town was actually destroyed in the 1600s. To rebuild it, they brought in the best Baroque architects from around the world to design the new city. The result is the incredible "new" Noto that you can visit today. You can even go to "Noto Antico" to visit the site of the old town if you are into history. Keep in mind that it's getting more and more visitors each year, so I imagine it will only get more expensive down the road.
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Last edited by ramosc; Feb 24, 2023 at 9:35 am
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Old Feb 23, 2023, 12:02 am
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I was wondering if anybody has found Inspector Montalbano online in English or French. Wanted to show it to a non Italian friend, but don't manage to find anything when searching from Italy.
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Old Feb 24, 2023, 7:21 pm
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As per my previous message , Ortigia would be my one destination amongst the one recently mentioned. I did it as a day trip but without the stress of having to do absolutely everything as I will surely be back (CTA is a nice 160tp Ba trip from London that helps retain status).

As it was still summer for us, we first went to Arenella Beach for the morning and then went to Ortigia from around lunch time to dinner. Parked the car just outside of the ZTL (Parcheggio della Marina) and walked the whole length of the Island (centre and west side mostly). Must see are the Duomo (Cathedral) with a small entry fee, Church of Saint Lucia alla Badia, Maniace Castle, Arethusa Spring, the general Panoramic views from near the Spring and the Port (particularly nice at Sunset).

Food is generally great everywhere on the east coast of Sicily, but if you can book in advance, I would highly recommend Ristorante La Medusa (Via Santa Teresa) where they have very good fish, both grilled and fried.
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Last edited by marcopizzaiuolo; Feb 24, 2023 at 7:33 pm
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Old Feb 24, 2023, 9:00 pm
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Originally Posted by annaschummi
I was wondering if anybody has found Inspector Montalbano online in English or French. Wanted to show it to a non Italian friend, but don't manage to find anything when searching from Italy.
Sorry, I can't answer the question, but I have a similar one: does anybody know where to get free copies in Italian? The RAI repository no longer lists the "adult" Montalbano, only the "young" one.
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Old Mar 26, 2023, 11:26 am
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Originally Posted by KLouis
Sorry, I can't answer the question, but I have a similar one: does anybody know where to get free copies in Italian? The RAI repository no longer lists the "adult" Montalbano, only the "young" one.
Impossible to find. I have bought them in DVD in edicola with some newspaper 10 years ago and since then I have never seen them.
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Old Mar 26, 2023, 11:32 am
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Just got back from a weekend in Sicily with a person who has never been there before.
We stayed in Ortigia (Syracuse) and then made day trips to Noto, Marzamemi, Ragusa and Modica.
We were fortunate with the weather, 4 sunny days, pretty warm during the day, but extremely cold in the evening.
Already quite some tourists, mainly US, Germany and Poland. Very few Italians.
My planning error was to start visit in Ortigia - it is packed with Greek epoque monuments, while Val di Noto is more "recent" - only 1700s. Piazza Duomo in Siracusa was a wooooow effect, while Ragusa, which I adore and is more recent, was only a "very nice" effect.
Food is great as usual, my in my opinion, prices have significantly gone up, 5 years ago it was much cheaper. Still much cheaper than on the peninsula. However, 7 euro for a granita I consider it too high.
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Old Mar 27, 2023, 3:51 pm
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Originally Posted by annaschummi
Just got back from a weekend in Sicily with a person who has never been there before.
We stayed in Ortigia (Syracuse) and then made day trips to Noto, Marzamemi, Ragusa and Modica.
We were fortunate with the weather, 4 sunny days, pretty warm during the day, but extremely cold in the evening.
Already quite some tourists, mainly US, Germany and Poland. Very few Italians.
My planning error was to start visit in Ortigia - it is packed with Greek epoque monuments, while Val di Noto is more "recent" - only 1700s. Piazza Duomo in Siracusa was a wooooow effect, while Ragusa, which I adore and is more recent, was only a "very nice" effect.
Food is great as usual, my in my opinion, prices have significantly gone up, 5 years ago it was much cheaper. Still much cheaper than on the peninsula. However, 7 euro for a granita I consider it too high.
that is definitely too high.. I was there last September and I think to have had Granita everywhere, from Taormina (where you would expect to be higher) to Ortigia and never paid close to 7 euro. Maybe a very posh cafe with table service (where they would probably add coperto) could get close, but still struggle to see the 7 per granita

Pasticceria Artale, not far from the Duomo Square, would have been worth trying

Pasticceria Artale
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https://maps.app.goo.gl/4KWfyPfXbZJB6P939?g_st=ic
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Old Mar 29, 2023, 4:31 am
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Originally Posted by marcopizzaiuolo
that is definitely too high.. I was there last September and I think to have had Granita everywhere, from Taormina (where you would expect to be higher) to Ortigia and never paid close to 7 euro. Maybe a very posh cafe with table service (where they would probably add coperto) could get close, but still struggle to see the 7 per granita

Pasticceria Artale, not far from the Duomo Square, would have been worth trying

Pasticceria Artale
+39 342 748 7318
https://maps.app.goo.gl/4KWfyPfXbZJB6P939?g_st=ic
7 euro granita was in Noto, yes, inside table service, but it was not a fancy bar. I am Italian, so I think the price was not a special tourist "treatment".
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