Taormina
Taormina's premier sight is this perfect horseshoe-shaped theatre, suspended between sea and sky, with Mt Etna looming on the southern horizon. Built in…
Must-see attractions in Ionian Coast
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Museo Regionale Interdisciplinare
Messina
Messina's redeveloped regional museum is one of Sicily's lesser-known highlights, with an extensive collection of fascinating art and archaeology. Its…
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Catania
Completed in 1890 and made for homegrown composer Vincenzo Bellini, Catania's opera house is suitably lavish, from the stucco-and-marble extravagance of…
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Catania
Catania's raucous fish market, which takes over the streets behind Piazza del Duomo every workday morning, is pure street theatre. Tables groan under the…
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Catania
The Monastero delle Benedettine covers two adjacent sites: a Benedictine convent and the Chiesa di San Benedetto. Top billing goes to the church, built…
Catania
A Unesco World Heritage Site, Catania's central piazza is a set piece of contrasting lava and limestone, surrounded by buildings in the unique local…
Mount Etna
Funivia dell'Etna runs a cable car from Rifugio Sapienza (1920m) up the mountain to 2500m. Once out of the cable car you can attempt the long walk (3½ to…
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Monastero dei Benedettini di San Nicolò l'Arena
Catania
This is one of Europe's largest monasteries and an example of the wealth enjoyed by the Benedictine order. Built in 1703 and now part of the city…
Taormina
Taormina's chief delight is wandering this pedestrian-friendly, boutique-lined thoroughfare. Start at the tourist office in Palazzo Corvaja, which dates…
Taormina
The short climb to the top of Monte Tauro (378m) is not exactly Himalayan, but it is steep and the final steps are quite hard work. Your reward is a…
Catania
Taking centre stage on Catania's showpiece Piazze del Duomo is the city's most memorable monument, the smiling Fontana dell'Elefante (Fountain of the…
Taormina
Created by Englishwoman Florence Trevelyan in the late 19th century, these stunningly sited public gardens offer breathtaking views of the coast and Mt…
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Catania
It's not difficult to see how Catania's main shopping street got its name – on a clear day you can see Mt Etna rising majestically at the end of it. Via…
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Catania
Inside the vaulted interior of this cathedral, beyond its impressive marble facade sporting two orders of columns taken from the Roman amphitheatre, lie…
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Messina
Piazza del Duomo is home to Messina's cathedral and its curious campanile (bell tower). Soaring 60m into the sky, the tower incorporates an astronomical…
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Messina
Messina's one great sight is the Norman Duomo (or at least a faithful replica of it). One of Sicily's finest cathedrals, its treasures include an…
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Taormina
For eye-popping views of the coastline and Mt Etna, head for this cute hilltop village above Taormina, crowned by a ruined castle. If you're reasonably…
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Catania
Attributed to Sicilian baroque maestro Vaccarini and built between 1739 and 1751, the Chiesa di San Giuliano features an elegant convex facade and, above…
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Catania
Housed in the brooding 13th-century Castello Ursino, Catania's civic museum holds the valuable Biscari archaeological collection, an extensive collection…
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Ionian Coast
There are two reasons to make the 2km downhill walk to this minute fishing village. One is the walk itself, which, once you've crossed the main road, is a…
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Parco Archeologico Greco Romano
Catania
West of Piazza del Duomo lie Catania's most impressive ancient ruins: the remains of a 2nd-century Roman Theatre and its small rehearsal theatre, the…
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Catania
The most obvious reason to visit this museum, adjacent to Catania's duomo, is to see the Fercolo, the famous silver reliquary bust of Saint Agata that's…
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Catania
With an elegant concave-convex facade reminiscent of Borromini, this 18th-century church was designed by Palermitan architect Giovanni Battista Vaccarini…
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Catania
Catania's forbidding 13th-century castle once guarded the city from atop a seafront cliff. However, the 1669 eruption of Mt Etna changed the landscape and…
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Catania
A lovely, tranquil spot for a morning stroll, Via Crociferi is one of Catania's most attractive streets, famous for its exuberant baroque churches and…
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Museo Storico dello Sbarco in Sicilia
Catania
The most interesting museum at Le Ciminiere museum complex, Museo Storico dello Sbarco in Sicilia sheds light on the WWII Allied landings in Sicily…
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Museo Arte Contemporanea Sicilia
Catania
Old and new conspire at MACS, a compact, contemporary-art museum inside an 18th-century abbey of the Monastery of St Benedict. Occupying two floors, the…
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Ionian Coast
The Basilica di San Sebastiano is one of Acireale's finest baroque buildings. Guarded by statues of Old Testament characters, the basilica lifts the…
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Taormina
Southwest of Lido Mazzarò is the minuscule Isola Bella, a beautiful nature reserve set in a stunning cove with fishing boats. Reached on foot via a narrow…
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Basilica dei Santi Pietro e Paolo
Ionian Coast
Next to the cathedral, the Basilica dei Santi Pietro e Paolo sports a wonderfully light, 18th-century facade. To the right of it, the Palazzo Municipale…
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Basilica Cattedrale di Maria Santissima Annunziata
Ionian Coast
Flanking the western side of Piazza Duomo is Acireale's barrel-vaulted cathedral. Built in the early 1600s, it's topped by towering, conical-capped towers…
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Catania
One of Italy's great opera composers, Vincenzo Bellini was born in Catania in 1801. The house he grew up in has since been converted into this museum,…
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Catania
Le Ciminiere is a modern museum complex housed in a converted sulphur refinery. The most interesting of its museums is the Museo Storico dello Sbarco in…
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Ionian Coast
Located beneath a 17th-century Capuchin monastery, Savoca's small catacomb is considered one of Sicily's most significant. Its mummified corpses date back…
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Catania
The Museo Emilio Greco hosts a large collection of sketches by renowned Italian artist Emilio Greco (1913–1995), whose work is marked by a sensual, erotic…
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Teatro-Museo dell'Opera dei Pupi
Ionian Coast
Acireale has a long tradition of puppet theatre, and you can learn all about it here. One-hour guided tours of the museum are available in English, albeit…
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Taormina
Overlooking Piazza IX Aprile, this jewel-box church was completed in the early 18th century. The central portal is made of local marble while the portals…
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Ionian Coast
Built in the 13th century, this dark, brooding Norman castle sits over an earlier Arab fortification. It's in surprisingly good shape considering its age,…
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Messina
Located where Via Garibaldi spills into Piazza dell'Unità d'Italia, the 16th-century Fontana del Nettuno (Neptune's Fountain) is one of Messina's great…
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Chiesa di Sant'Agata al Carcere
Catania
The young virgin Agata resisted the advances of the nefarious Quintian (AD 250) and was horribly mutilated (her breasts were hacked off and her body…
