-
Palermo, Italy
Having explored more of western Sicily in previous trips, we were keen to see
what eastern Sicily had to offer. The obvious destination was Palermo, so we
flew into there after a few days on Lake Como in Italy and proceeded to explore
inland from there. During our time exploring eastern Sicily, we discovered some
great smaller towns but also found ourselves just enjoying long drives along
winding roads through beautiful countryside.
- Palermo Cathedral
- Royal Palace of Palermo
- Pretoria Square
- Church of Jesus Palermo
- Botanical Garden of Palermo
- Palermo: Markets and Monuments City Center Walking Tour
-
Catania, Italy
To start off, let’s head to Catania for a day trip. From there we can go to Etna
and Taormina, but let’s focus on Catania. If you have been anywhere else in
Italy, Catania is going to feel like a big village; they really don’t have a lot
of museums or other attractions so it’s best if you just walk around and look at
some old buildings or churches and stay out of traffic as much as possible!
- Catania Cathedral
- Roman Theatre
- Bellini Garden
-
Mount Etna, Italy
Etna is one of the most iconic and volcanically active mountains in Europe.
Rising 10,922 feet above sea level, Etna is located in east Sicily. Mount Etna
has been erupting for years now and we are able to view it from our hotels in
Taormina. There are many ways to see Mount Etna such as: by air, by foot or even
by road with a self-drive tour!
- Catania: Mount Etna Morning or Sunset Day Trip with Tasting
-
Taormina, Italy
If you’re just going to pick one place to go in all of east Sicily, it should be
Taormina. The coastal city has been called an Italian Riviera—and there are
certainly similarities with its neighboring towns on Italy’s west coast,
including Sanremo and Portofino. But Taormina also has a distinctly different
feel than these other famous Italian cities; even though they both share
stunning coastline views that overlook sparkling blue seas.
- Greek theatre
- Cathedral of Taormina
- Taormina Public Gardens
- Corvaja Palace
- Porta Messina
-
Syracuse, Italy
Four millennia ago, a colony was founded on top of a cluster of small, rocky
islands at one end of Syracuse’s busy harbor. The colony became known as
Syracuse and quickly became one of Greece’s most important commercial centers.
Several centuries later, when Greece was conquered by Rome in 146 BC, what had
once been an insignificant island city became one of Italy’s largest and most
influential cities—the capital of Sicily.
- Ortygia
- Ear of Dionysius
- Arenella
-
Noto, Italy
Located on a hill just outside of Syracuse, not far from Mt. Etna and a hop-skip
away from Taormina, Noto was my favourite town in all of Sicily. A sleepy little
city which boasts some stunning architecture – especially when viewed from its
hilltop vantage point over looking the Ionian Sea – it is easy to see why many
consider it to be one of Italy’s most beautiful towns (myself included). It’s
certainly worth adding Noto to your bucket list!
- Cavagrande falls
- Colonna Pizzuta
- Spiaggia di Lido di Noto