Explore Sicily a rugged and attractive island on the southern tip of Italy, and is one of the country’s 20 regions. It is separated from the mainland region of Calabria by the 5 km Straits of Messina. It can get very hot during the summer, so it is better to visit during spring and autumn, while it is still quite pleasant during winter.

Provinces

• Agrigento
• Caltanissetta
• Catania
• Enna
• Messina
• Palermo
• Ragusa
• Syracuse
• Trapani

Cities

• Agrigento — to the south and particularly noted for the Valle dei Templi (Valley of Temples)(UNESCO World Heritage)
• Catania — busy university city and economic center, great for nightlife, the gate to Mount Etna (UNESCO World Heritage)
• Gela — one of the most important old greek cities, archaelogical centre e sea resort on the south coast
• Marsala — interesting museum, home of the famous wine
• Messina — busy city and link to the mainland
• Milazzo – small town, mainly used as a transit point for the Aeolian Islands with beautiful Castle.
• Palermo — throbbing capital, plenty of sights
• Ragusa — impressive baroque architecture (UNESCO World Heritage)
• Syracuse (Siracusa) — attractive old town and Greek ruins (UNESCO World Heritage)
• Trapani — attractive city and gateway to Pantelleria and the Egadi islands

Other destinations

• Aegadian Islands — relaxing islands off the west coast
• Aeolian Islands — beautiful group of volcanic islands (UNESCO World Heritage)
• Madonie — Madonie National Park, the national Park in the Heart of Sicily
• Mount Etna — the impressive 3323m high active volcano
• Mozia — ancient Punic city built on the island of Mozia overlooking Marsala
• Pantelleria — Arab-influenced solitude
• Pelagie Islands — most southern, in the Mediterranean Sea
• Segesta — another Greek temple, theatre and ruins
• Selinunte — another group of impressive Greek temples and ruins of Greek city
• Taormina — charming hillside town on the east coast of Sicily

Sicily has a long history of foreign domination, from the Greeks to the Romans, Arabs, Normans, Aragonese. The result is a mixed culture where every single domination left something to see, to taste, and to hear.

Sicily is a huge island where every little city seems to have its own culture. You will find great variety of local specialties in all cities over the island.

Talk

Natives of Sicily speak Sicilian, an ancient Romance language that is a separate language from Italian. About 30% of that Sicilian vocabulary originates from the Arabic language.

Most Sicilians are proficient in Italian, and modern schools teach English to students. Be advised that when traveling to small villages, some of the older residents may not speak Italian (they will usually understand though).

Sicily’s main airports are in Palermo and Catania.

Catania is the larger/busiest airport, with domestic flights to most parts of Italy, some international routes and many charter flights.

Palermo is the second airport, with a good range of domestic flights and international budget flights.

Trapani (TPS) is the third airport with a recent increase of traffic.

Ragusa/Comiso Airport is a new airport and should open in near future for low-cost and charter flights.

Get around

Be careful, although public transport is very good during the week, there are not many services on Sundays – check the timetable carefully and ask the locals.

By car

The main roads are good, with four motorways (Catania-Palermo, Palermo-Mazara and Catania-Noto which are toll-free and Messina-Palermo where you have to pay). Little roads, mainly in mountain zones, are slower but offer great views.

You can rent a car in Palermo, in Catania and in Trapani for €8 and see the surroundings of the cities on it.