The Valley of the Temples at dawn before the tour buses, Palermo’s street food market that operates in the same alley it has since the Arab period, the salt flats at Trapani where the windmills are still turning, the Aeolian Islands and the volcano you can climb at sunset, Ragusa Ibla and the Baroque hill towns of the southeast, the almond granita that justifies the 6am alarm, and why Sicily rewards every hour beyond the Taormina postcard.
Reading time: 14 minutes | Last updated: 2026
Sicily is the largest island in the Mediterranean — a triangular landmass 25,711 square kilometres, at the meeting point of Europe and Africa, positioned where the Phoenicians, Greeks, Romans, Arabs, Normans, Swabians, Aragonese, and Bourbons all left specific and legible traces on the landscape and the food. The result is the most layered civilisational record in southern Europe, compressed into an island 240km wide.
Most UK visitors see Taormina — the clifftop resort town with the Greek theatre and the view of Etna, the most photographed single image in Sicily. Taormina is genuinely beautiful and its Greek theatre genuinely extraordinary. It is also, in peak season, genuinely overwhelmed — the cliff road blocked by tourist buses, the theatre view shared with 3,000 other people.
This guide covers Taormina briefly (it deserves a mention, not a chapter) and spends the rest of its time on the Sicily that doesn’t appear on every Instagram travel account: the Valley of the Temples at Agrigento, which rivals anything in Greece and receives a fraction of the visitors; the Arab-Norman Palermo, which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site that most UK visitors treat as a transit stop; the Baroque southeast (Ragusa, Modica, Noto — the trio of hill towns rebuilt after the 1693 earthquake in a style so coherent the whole region is UNESCO-listed); and the western salt flats and the Egadi Islands, which remain essentially undiscovered by the mainstream tourist circuit.
Quick Navigation
- When to Go
- Getting There and Around
- Palermo — The Arab-Norman Capital
- The Street Food of Palermo
- The Valley of the Temples — Agrigento
- The Baroque Southeast — Ragusa, Modica, Noto
- The Western Coast — Trapani and the Salt Flats
- The Egadi Islands
- The Aeolian Islands — Stromboli
- Taormina — The Honest Assessment
- Mount Etna
- Hidden Sicily
- What It Costs
- Eating in Sicily
- Practical Notes
- The 10-Day Itinerary
When to Go
April to June — The Finest Window
The wildflowers on the Valley of the Temples hillsides (March-April), comfortable temperatures (20-26°C), the almond blossom in the western valleys (February-March, the Sagra del Mandorlo in Agrigento in late February). The sea reaches 20-22°C by June — swimmable. The tourist density a fraction of summer.
September to October — The Return
The heat has broken, the grape harvest is underway (September), the beaches still warm (sea at 24-25°C into October). The Aeolian Islands in September: the most manageable combination of weather and crowd density.
July and August — Peak Season
38-42°C, the beaches packed, Taormina at maximum density. Palermo in August is actually quieter (many Palermitans leave for the coast) — the street food markets more spacious. The Aeolian Islands in August: fully operational but expensive.
The BGGD recommendation: May. The almond season is ending, the wildflowers are on the temple hillsides, the granita cafes have their seasonal flavours at peak, and the Valley of the Temples can be done at 8am with modest crowds.
Getting There and Around
Palermo (PMO): Ryanair, easyJet, and Wizz Air from multiple UK airports. Return flights: £50-150.
Catania (CTA): The eastern airport, closest to Taormina and Etna. Ryanair, easyJet from UK airports. Return: £50-140.
The open-jaw strategy: Fly into Palermo, circuit west (Trapani, Agrigento) then east (Ragusa, Siracusa, Taormina), fly home from Catania. The most efficient Sicily route.
Getting around: Car hire is essential for the interior and the southwest. Palermo and Catania are navigable by public transport. The train from Palermo to Agrigento (2 hours, £8) and from Catania to Taormina (45 minutes, £5) work well. For the Baroque southeast (Ragusa, Modica, Noto), a hire car or taxi is necessary — public connections between the three towns exist but are infrequent.
Car hire from Palermo or Catania airports: £20-35/day.
Palermo — The Arab-Norman Capital
Palermo is a UNESCO World Heritage City for its Arab-Norman architecture — a style produced by the Norman rulers of 12th-century Sicily who employed Arab and Byzantine craftsmen to create buildings that are unlike anything else in Europe. The Cappella Palatina (the royal chapel of King Roger II, 1130-1140, its gold mosaic ceiling combining Byzantine iconography with Arab geometric patterns in a single room) is the finest single interior in Sicily.
The essential Palermo:
Cappella Palatina: Inside the Norman Palace (Palazzo dei Normanni) — the royal chapel whose ceiling mosaics, carved stalactite ceiling (muqarnas, a typically Islamic architectural element, applied here by Arab craftsmen to a Christian chapel), and Byzantine Pantocrator dome represent the Norman synthesis at its most extraordinary. Entry: £12.
The Martorana (Santa Maria dell’Ammiraglio): A 12th-century church on Piazza Bellini — the finest Byzantine mosaics in Palermo, the Greek Orthodox mosaics (depicting Roger II receiving his crown from Christ) installed by the Greek Orthodox admiral who funded the church. The church is still used by Palermo’s Albanian Orthodox community for services. Free entry outside service times.
The Zisa Palace: A 12th-century Norman pleasure palace built entirely in the Arab style — the name derives from the Arabic al-aziz (the splendid). The interior fountain room (the muqarnas vault above a water channel, the mosaics of hunting scenes in the Arab tradition) is the finest surviving room of Norman-Arab secular architecture in the world. Entry: £6.
The Ballarò and Capo Markets: Palermo’s two Arab-period street markets — operating in the same narrow streets since the Arab period of Sicilian history (9th-11th centuries). The Ballarò (larger, in the Albergheria district) and the Capo (the covered market between Via Carini and Via Cappuccini) are the most authentic markets in Sicily: the fishermen’s stalls, the vegetable sellers, the street food vendors serving food from the market ingredients.
The Street Food of Palermo
Palermo’s street food is the most celebrated in Sicily and one of the finest in Italy — produced in the same alley locations as the Arab markets, using the same ingredient combinations that Arab, Norman, and Spanish rule established in the Sicilian kitchen.
Arancini: Fried risotto balls (the name means “little oranges”) — filled with ragù and peas (the Palermo version) or with butter and béchamel (the Catania version, a different shape — elongated rather than spherical, a rivalry so serious it is discussed in the Sicilian regional assembly). Available at every bakery, bar, and market stall. £1-2 each.
Pane con la Milza (Pani câ Meusa): A Palermo-specific street food with no equivalent elsewhere — a brioche-style roll filled with boiled and fried veal lung and spleen, served with salt and lemon (schetto — single, without cheese) or with fresh caciocavallo shavings (maritato — married). The offal content should not deter: the preparation (frying the boiled organ meat in lard at high temperature) produces a crispy, savoury filling entirely distinct from the meat’s raw character. Available from the vendors at the Ballarò and Capo markets, and from the historic stand of Nino u Ballerino at the Focacceria San Francesco (operating since 1834). £2-3.
Sfincione: Thick Sicilian pizza — the Palermo spongy focaccia base (significantly thicker and softer than the Neapolitan version) topped with tomato, onion, caciocavallo, anchovies, and breadcrumbs. The sfincione vendor’s cart (calling through the Palermo streets from a portable cart) is one of the most specific sounds of Palermo street life. From the Ballarò market: £1.50-2 per slice.
Granita: The Sicilian frozen dessert — fruit juice, almonds, or coffee frozen in a specific semi-crystalline texture (neither ice cream nor sorbet — the ice crystals are larger, the texture grainier, the fruit flavour more direct) served with a brioche col tuppo (a small brioche with a topknot for dipping). The almond granita of the western Sicily almond orchards (Avola almonds, the finest variety) with a warm brioche at 6:30am: the finest breakfast available in Sicily.
The Valley of the Temples — Agrigento
The Valley of the Temples at Agrigento is the largest and best-preserved assemblage of Greek temples outside Greece — eight temples from the 5th century BCE (the peak of the Greek colony of Akragas, which was, at its height, the fourth-largest city in the Greek world), arranged along a ridge above the Sicilian countryside with the Mediterranean visible to the south.
The temples:
The Temple of Concordia (448-430 BCE): the finest preserved Greek temple outside Athens — the original structure intact to the frieze level, the columns standing, the building still recognisable as a complete Greek temple 2,450 years after its construction. The reason for its preservation: it was converted to a Christian church in the 7th century, the intercolumnar spaces filled in with walls. The walls were later removed during restoration, but the conversion protected the basic structure through the Middle Ages.
The Temple of Juno (Hera) (450 BCE): at the eastern end of the ridge, partially ruined, the columns red-stained from the Carthaginian fire that destroyed it in 406 BCE. The specific orange-pink of the ancient fire damage in the afternoon light.
The Temple of Zeus (Olympieion): the largest Doric temple ever attempted — if completed it would have been larger than the Parthenon. Destroyed by the Carthaginians before completion and then used as a quarry in subsequent centuries. The fallen telamon (the giant stone human figure that supported the entablature, fragments now in the Agrigento archaeological museum) gives the scale.
The timing:
Opens at 8:30am. The first tour buses from Agrigento (2km away) arrive at approximately 10am. The window between opening and 10am: the temples in the morning light, the wildflowers in spring visible between the columns, the Mediterranean behind. The finest hour available in the Valley of the Temples.
Entry: £12. Archaeological Museum (in the town above the valley — the finest collection of Greek Sicilian artefacts, the fallen telamon of the Temple of Zeus): £8, worth the separate visit.
The Baroque Southeast — Ragusa, Modica, Noto
On January 11, 1693, a magnitude 7.4 earthquake destroyed the southeastern corner of Sicily in approximately 30 seconds. Fifty towns were flattened. The reconstruction — funded by the Spanish Bourbon administration and built by local architects who had absorbed the Baroque aesthetic of Rome and Naples — produced a built environment so coherent in its ornamental language that the entire “Late Baroque Towns of the Val di Noto” received UNESCO World Heritage designation in 2002.
Ragusa Ibla:
The lower, medieval town of Ragusa (the upper town, Ragusa Superiore, is the 18th-century Baroque replacement; Ragusa Ibla is the rebuilt version of the original medieval settlement). The Piazza del Duomo, the Cathedral of San Giorgio (its convex Baroque facade the most dramatically theatrical in the region), the lanes of the old town descending toward the valley. At dusk, from the Giardino Ibleo above the town, the full valley visible below: the finest evening view in the Baroque southeast.
Modica:
The town famous for its chocolate — the Aztec-derived chocolate made without cocoa butter, mixed with sugar crystals and spices (cinnamon, vanilla, chilli in the traditional versions), which produces a crumbly, intensely flavoured bar with a texture unlike any European chocolate. The technique was introduced to Sicily by the Spanish (who learned it from the Aztecs via their Mexican colonies) in the 17th century and has been maintained in Modica ever since. The Antica Dolceria Bonajuto (operating since 1880, the oldest chocolate shop in Sicily) on the Corso Umberto I: the reference. A 100g bar of cinnamon chocolate: £3.50.
Noto:
The most theatrical of the three towns — the Via Corrado Nicolaci, a single Baroque street of extraordinary ornamental richness (the balcony consoles carved with mermaids, horses, griffins, and theatrical masks), the Cathedral of San Nicolò at the head of the Via Ducezio, the Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata. Noto in the early morning (the light from the east coming along the Via Corrado Nicolaci, the golden limestone of the facades in direct light): the finest 30 minutes of Baroque architecture available in Sicily.
The Western Coast — Trapani and the Salt Flats
The northwestern coast of Sicily — the area around Trapani and the Egadi Islands — is the least-visited section of the island that has major attractions. The salt flats (saline) between Trapani and Marsala: windmill-driven evaporation pans that have been producing sea salt since the Phoenician period, the pink salt mounds in the evening light one of the finest landscape photographs available in Sicily.
The salt flats:
The Saline di Trapani e Paceco nature reserve — a working salt production landscape and a critical migratory bird habitat (flamingos visible from August-October, the shallow pans ideal for wading birds). The windmills (used to pump water between the pans) are still operational. The salt museum in the Mulino Maria Stella windmill: the history of the Phoenician, Arab, and Norman salt trade that made Trapani one of the most strategically important ports in the Mediterranean.
The sunset over the salt flats, with Favignana Island visible across the water: the specific Trapani image.
Erice:
A medieval hilltop town above Trapani (accessible by cable car in 10 minutes or by a 40-minute mountain road) — founded by the Elymian people (a pre-Greek Sicilian civilisation whose origins are debated), the town at 751m is cool when Trapani below is hot, the medieval streets and the Norman castle above the cliffs giving the most intact medieval townscape in western Sicily. The pastry shop of Maria Grammatico (the legendary Ericino pastissiera, her almond pastries among the most celebrated in Sicily): a 10am purchase of almond paste cookies that should be eaten warm on the castle wall.
The Egadi Islands
Three small islands off the Trapani coast — Favignana, Levanzo, and Marettimo — accessible by ferry or hydrofoil from Trapani (30-90 minutes depending on island and service).
Favignana: The largest, the most visited, the most organised. Beaches of extraordinary clarity (the Cala Rossa — red from the blood of the mattanza, the traditional tuna hunt — and the Cala Azzurra), the former tuna cannery (now a museum covering the mattanza tradition), bicycle hire the standard transport.
Levanzo: The smallest of the three main islands, 8km from Favignana — caves containing the most significant Paleolithic cave art in Sicily (the Grotta del Genovese: 10,000-6,000 year-old incised drawings of cattle, deer, and humans, accessible by guided boat trip from Levanzo port). The island has 200 permanent residents and beaches on every accessible coast.
Marettimo: The furthest, the wildest, the least visited. Hiking trails through macchia mediterranea, sea caves accessible by kayak or boat, clear water. No tourist infrastructure beyond a handful of guesthouses.
The Aeolian Islands — Stromboli
The seven Aeolian Islands north of Messina — a UNESCO World Heritage volcanic archipelago. The most visited: Vulcano (the fumaroles and the sulphur mud pools, 45 minutes by hydrofoil from Milazzo), Lipari (the most developed, the largest, the black obsidian coast), and Stromboli.
Stromboli: An active stratovolcano rising 924 metres from the sea — the crater erupts approximately every 15-20 minutes, day and night, visible from the town below as puffs of smoke and, at night, as arcs of orange lava against the dark sky. The eruptions are small and regular (Stromboli has been in near-continuous low-level eruption for 2,000 years) and are observable from the town and from boats offshore.
The summit hike: A guide-mandatory hike (the upper section above 400m is closed to independent hikers) departing at 5pm for a sunset summit arrival. The crater at dusk — the eruptions visible against the fading sky, the sea below, the Lipari and Salina islands on the horizon. One of the finest active volcano experiences available in Europe.
Cost: £25-30 for the licensed guide (mandatory above 400m). The hike is 4 hours return from the town, strenuous.
Getting to the Aeolians: Hydrofoil from Milazzo (the nearest mainland town, 1 hour from Messina by train). Milazzo to Stromboli: 2.5 hours by hydrofoil, 4 hours by ferry. Liberty Lines and NGI Navi operate the services.
Taormina — The Honest Assessment
Taormina is correct in its reputation: the Greek theatre (3rd century BCE, rebuilt in the Roman period, with Etna visible behind the stage — the finest theatrical backdrop in the world by many assessments) is genuinely extraordinary. The cliff position, the medieval town, the evening corso — all are real.
The tourist density in July-August is also real. The cable car from the beach at Mazzarò to the town, the theatre, and back is the Taormina circuit that most visitors do. It is fine. It is not the depth of Sicily.
The Taormina that works: Visit in May or October. Go to the theatre at 9am before the tour groups. Walk the Via Bagnoli Croce to the public garden (Villa Comunale) for the Etna view from the Belvedere. Eat at one of the restaurants on the Via Pirandello rather than the Via Corso Umberto tourist strip. Leave by noon.
Mount Etna
The largest active volcano in Europe — 3,357m, erupting regularly (over 200 eruptions since 1500 BCE), the summit visible from both coasts of Sicily on clear days. The Etna experience:
The cable car and jeep: From the southern side (Rifugio Sapienza), the Funivia dell’Etna cable car ascends to 2,500m (€30 / £26 return), then a jeep transfer to 2,900m (additional €30 / £26), then a 30-minute walk to the authorised crater zone.
The northern approach: From Piano Provenzana on the northern side — a different landscape (the 2002 lava flows that destroyed parts of the resort visible here), accessible by 4WD tour from the Linguaglossa area.
The trekking guide: The crater rim area (above 2,900m) requires a licensed guide — the terrain is loose volcanic scree and the crater gas emissions can be significant in some weather conditions. Guides from the EMAP (Etna Mountain Alpine Professionals) association bookable at the summit cable car station.
Hidden Sicily
Selinunte: The most extensive Greek archaeological site in Sicily — six temple complexes in a coastal setting, the scale comparable to the Valley of the Temples, the visitor numbers approximately 10% of Agrigento. Entry: £6.
Piazza Armerina and the Villa Romana del Casale: A 4th-century Roman villa 30km south of Enna — the finest surviving Roman floor mosaic collection in the world, covering 3,500 square metres. The famous “bikini girls” mosaic (athletic women in two-piece garments, clearly exercising) and the Great Hunt (a 60-metre mosaic depicting the capture of animals from across the Roman Empire for arena games). Entry: £12.
Palazzolo Acreide: A Baroque hill town in the Syracuse province that receives a fraction of the visitors of Ragusa or Noto — the Greek theatre (carved into the hillside, smaller than Syracuse, the location more remote and more atmospheric), the Santoni (large carved Cybele figures from the 3rd century BCE in a cave above the town). Virtually no international visitors.
What It Costs
Sicily is one of the finest value destinations in Western Europe. The combination of cheap flights (Ryanair and easyJet are aggressive on the Palermo and Catania routes), affordable accommodation outside the peak season, and the general cost structure of the Italian south makes Sicily the best value 10-day Mediterranean trip available from the UK.
What 10 Days in Sicily Costs from the UK
| Category | Budget | Mid-Range |
|---|---|---|
| Return flights (Palermo or Catania) | £50–130 | £70–180 |
| Car hire 8 days | £160–240 | £195–280 |
| 10 nights accommodation | £200–350 | £400–650 |
| Food (10 days) | £130–200 | £220–360 |
| Site entries (Valley of Temples, Villa Romana, Aeolians) | £55–80 | £70–100 |
| Total | £595–1,000 | £955–1,570 |
Eating in Sicily
The Sicilian kitchen is the most complex in Italy — the synthesis of Greek, Arab, Norman, Spanish, and Bourbon culinary traditions producing a cuisine that uses ingredients (saffron in the risotto, couscous in the western fish stew, North African spices in the cooked meats) found in no other Italian regional cuisine.
Pasta con le Sarde: Spaghetti with fresh sardines, wild fennel, pine nuts, raisins, and saffron — the Arab-Sicilian combination of sweet and savoury in a pasta context. Available throughout Sicily, the finest versions in Palermo. £8-12.
Caponata: Sicilian agrodolce (sweet-sour) stewed aubergine with olives, capers, celery, tomato, and vinegar. The counterpart to ratatouille — similar ingredients, completely different preparation philosophy. The Sicilian agrodolce balance (more vinegar, more sugar, more capers than any mainland Italian equivalent) gives caponata its specific character. Available as a starter or side dish throughout the island. £4-7.
Arancini: As described in the Palermo section. The ragù version in Palermo; the butter and béchamel version in Catania.
Cannolo: The Sicilian pastry — fried pastry shell filled with sweetened sheep’s milk ricotta, the ends dipped in pistachio or candied orange peel. The correct cannolo: the shell filled to order (not pre-filled hours earlier, which makes the shell soft), the ricotta from the day’s production, the shell still warm from the fryer. At the Pasticceria Oscar in Palermo (Via Discesa dei Giudici, operating since 1972): the reference. £2-3 each.
The almond culture of western Sicily: Avola almonds (the finest almond variety in Italy, grown in the southeastern province of Syracuse), the marzipan of Erice (frutta martorana — marzipan shaped and painted into fruit, a 12th-century invention attributed to the Arab-influenced nuns of Palermo’s Martorana convent), and the almond granita of the western coast. The Sicilian almond is the indigenous Pizzuta d’Avola — different from the Californian almond that has come to dominate global almond supply, sweeter, more aromatic, and available only in Sicily and in specialist delicatessens.
Practical Notes
Getting there: Ryanair and easyJet from UK airports to Palermo (PMO) and Catania (CTA). Return flights: £50-150. Flight time: 2.5-3 hours.
Getting around: Car hire strongly recommended for the Valley of the Temples, the Baroque southeast, the western salt flats, and anywhere off the main train line. The Palermo-Agrigento train (2 hours, £8) and the Catania-Taormina train (45 minutes, £5) are the useful public transport connections. In Palermo and Catania, use public buses or walk.
Currency: Euro. Cards widely accepted. Cash useful at markets and smaller restaurants.
Language: Italian (and Sicilian dialect — a distinct Romance language with significant Arabic and Norman French elements, not mutually intelligible with standard Italian, still spoken by older generations in rural areas). English spoken in tourist areas.
The 10-Day Itinerary
Days 1-2: Palermo Day 1: Arrive. Ballarò market for street food lunch. Cappella Palatina. Day 2: Martorana church. Zisa Palace. Capo market. Evening: Via Maqueda restaurants.
Day 3: Palermo → Trapani + Salt Flats Drive west (2 hours). Salt flats sunset. Erice (cable car, afternoon). Night in Trapani.
Day 4: Egadi Islands (Favignana) Morning hydrofoil to Favignana. Bicycle hire. Cala Rossa. Levanzo option (boat to the cave art). Return Trapani. Drive south.
Day 5: Agrigento — Valley of the Temples Arrive Agrigento. Valley of the Temples at 8:30am opening. Archaeological Museum afternoon. Night Agrigento.
Day 6: Agrigento → Ragusa Ibla Drive east (2.5 hours). Ragusa Ibla afternoon. Cathedral of San Giorgio. Giardino Ibleo sunset.
Day 7: Modica and Noto Morning: Modica chocolate. Via Corrado Nicolaci Noto at noon (light is best midday here, unlike most sites). Return Ragusa area.
Day 8: Siracusa Drive to Siracusa (1.5 hours). The Archaeological Park (Greek theatre, the Ear of Dionysius — a 23-metre high limestone cave with extraordinary acoustic properties, the guide will whisper and you will hear it at the cave entrance). Ortigia island old city (the most complete Greek city plan surviving in the Mediterranean). Night Siracusa.
Day 9: Taormina + Etna Drive north (2 hours). Taormina Greek Theatre at 9am. Etna cable car (afternoon). Night Taormina area.
Day 10: Catania — Departure 1 hour from Taormina. The Catania fish market (La Pescheria, the finest fish market in Sicily, beneath the Baroque cathedral, 7am-1pm). Departure.
Final Thought
I was at the Valley of the Temples at 8:35am. Five minutes after opening. The Temple of Concordia was in direct sun from the east — the limestone turning from cream to gold as the angle of the light changed.
There were eleven other people at the temple. Two were photographers who had clearly also read about the timing. Eight were a family group, speaking Italian. One was a woman sitting on the steps below the columns, writing in a notebook.
2,450 years. The columns standing. The Sicilian countryside behind them, the sea visible on the horizon, the almond orchards on the slopes below.
I had the same thought that everyone who arrives early at the Valley of the Temples has: that this is one of the finest things that has ever been built, and that the 2,450 years it has stood through — the Carthaginian sack, the earthquake of 1693, the centuries of indifference, the UNESCO listing, the tour buses — don’t diminish it at all.
The tour buses arrived at 10am. By then I had moved on to the Temple of Juno, which was even quieter.
Go early. Go to the less famous temple. The quiet is the point.
