5 days in Sicily

For my girlfriend’s birthday in late October, we decided to visit Sicily. We both wanted to go there for quite sometime to visit Mount Etna, God Father filming locations and of course food. We bought tickets from EasyJet and Transavia and booked an apartment in Catania through Airbnb.

We took an early morning flight and we landed at Catania Airport around 10:30. We picked the car we rented through RentalCars and headed to city. Let me tell you, driving and parking is quite challenging in Sicily but more or less okay. Here is our guide to what you can do and eat/drink in 5-6 days in beautiful sunny Sicily. Before you get on reading, here is our video from October 2018 🙂

Day 1

Catania Walking Tour

Presuming that you’re flying to Catania, I suggest to walk in city. Catania has many interesting things to do and see in the old town. I highly recommend taking a walking tour with Free Tour Catania. It’s a 2 hour long tour and covers many interesting points in city.

Dinner

I also suggest eating lunch / dinner at Trattoria di De Fiore which is run by chef is run by a chef Rosanna who was featured in Jaime Oliver’s TV series Jamie Cooks Italy. Very reasonably priced delicious food and wines

Day 2

Valle dei Templi (Valley of the Temples)

The Valle dei Templi is an archaeological site in Agrigento. It is one of the most outstanding examples of Greater Greece art and architecture, and is one of the main attractions of Sicily as well as a national monument of Italy.

It’s only 2 hours drive from Catania and you’ll be passing through some beautiful views on the way. Park your car in the parking spot (it has a small fee) and then buy the ticket for the entrance. You will need a bit more than 3 hours to walk around and make stops to read about the monuments.

After walking around for hours, it’s time to grab lunch. We picked the car from parking and drove to a near by restaurant called “” and I would highly recommend it compare to options you have near valley itself.

Scala dei Turchi

After having the lunch, it’s time to go to beach. Not just any beach but next to rocky cliff on the coast of Realmonte.

White cliff of Scala dei Turchi is a rock is made of a soft, limestone and a blinding white marl. It has naturally build stairs and terraces and you can chill out at one of the corners of this rock. Make sure to pack your swimming clothes with you as you’ll have to cross the water to get to the rock.

Piazza Armerina

I suggest spending time there until sunset and then it’s time to drive back. On the way back, you can grab the dinner at beautiful town of Piazza Armerina and then take a stroll in the city before driving back to Catania.

Day 3

Mount Etna

A visit to Sicily is incomplete without visiting Mount Etna. Mount Etna is the highest active volcano (more than 3327 meters) in Europe, and one of most active of the world. There are several options to hike Mount Etna which I have covered in details here.

Regardless of which option you choose, I suggest dedicating the whole day for Etna. Etna has mars like landscape and small craters that you can walk around. And it’s also a tiring activity so you’ll need a full day for this hike 🙂

Day 4

Syracuse

Syracuse is a city on the Ionian coast of Sicily, Italy. It’s known for its ancient ruins. The central Archaeological Park Neapolis comprises the Roman Amphitheater, the Teatro Greco and the Orecchio di Dionisio, a limestone cave shaped like a human ear.

The city listed by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site has a lot of sightseeing and historical places to visit. Some of them are following

Street Market
Temple of Apollo
Piazza Duomo (One of the most famous and beautiful square in Italy)
Piazza Archimede
Fonte Aretusa
Maniace Castle and Eurialo Castle
Ear of Dionysius (It’s called this way for its ear shape and above all for its remarkable acoustic properties which amplify the sounds inside it.)
Greek Theater of Syracuse (One of the largest Greek Theater in the world, reaching a diameter of just under 140 meters)

Lunch at Syracuse

I recommend visiting this Sole e Luna, Home Restaurant. We had amazing food and dessert there. It’s a small restaurant right in middle of tourist traps and offers very nice meals.

Capo Murro di Porco

After grabbing lunch, it’s time to visit a light house. Capo Murro di Porco Lighthouse is an active lighthouse located in municipality of Siracusa. There is a parking place near by, park the car there and take a 2 minutes walk to the Light house. Enjoy the sunset there before heading back to Catania 🙂

Day 5

God Father Tour

This is something that was on top of our list next to hiking Mount Etna. If you have seen the famous movie trilogy “The Godfather”, you would surely wanna visit those filming locations.

During the tour, not only will you see the filming locations of the movie but you will also be passing through beautiful landscape, driving around mountains and visiting small beautiful villages.

1- Bar vitelli, Savoca

You tour will start from Catania to Savoca. Savoca is a picturesque hill village high above the coast in eastern Sicily. I suggest find a parking spot near visitor center and visit the Bar Vitelli and grab a dessert with coffee there.

This bar was shot in the scene where Michael meets the father of his bride to be Apollonia.

2- Chiesa di San Nicolo/Santa Lucia, Savoca

Next stop is Chiesa di San Nicolo/Santa Lucia which is a church perched on a panoramic spot, high above, overlooking the Ionian Sea. There are breathtaking views all around. In the movie, Michael gets married to Apollonia in this church.

3- Cattedrale Maria SS. Annunziata e Assunta, Forza d’Agrò

Before you head out to your next stop, make sure that you walk around the village of Savoca. It’s a very pretty town besides the filming location and well worth a walk.

For your next stop, you’ll have to grab your car and drive Forza d’Agrò. There you will be visiting Cattedrale Maria SS. Annunziata e Assunta. In Godfather, the young Vito hides while Ciccio’s men are searching for him.