🇮🇹 Sicily in 6 Days: The Complete Route

Day 1: Palermo, top to bottom

With the whole group arriving together from minute one, we landed early in the morning at Falcone-Borsellino Airport, picked up the rental car without wasting time, and headed straight to Piazza Politeama, right in the centre. Starting this early is the key to this itinerary: it leaves you the whole day to make the most of Palermo without feeling rushed.

We dropped our bags and headed out to walk without much of a plan, letting the facades guide us. We started at Piazza Politeama itself, presided over by the neoclassical portico of Teatro Politeama, then made our way down to Teatro Massimo, Palermo's true temple of opera.

With the whole day ahead of us, we deliberately got ourselves lost in the alleys of the historic centre. Palermo hides courtyards and corners that never make it into any guidebook: we stumbled onto more than one completely unexpected one, filled with potted plants, flowers and balconies straight out of another era.

We kept wandering through baroque churches and the bustle of Mercato del Capo, one of Palermo's historic markets, where vendors call out their produce in an impenetrable Sicilian dialect. We finished up in front of Palermo Cathedral, a building that sums up the island's entire history on its own: it was a mosque, and before that, a Byzantine church.

After so much walking, it was time to sit down. We had dinner at Pizzeria Frida and then set off wandering through the historic centre, letting ourselves be surprised by illuminated facades and squares that go unnoticed by day, until we ended up in Palermo's bar district.

Day 2: Scala dei Turchi and Valle dei Templi

We left Palermo early, car already loaded, heading south. The drive to the Agrigento coast cuts through the island's mountainous interior, with constant curves that don't allow for much speed: budget your time carefully, as it's several hours of driving before you arrive.

We arrived around 2pm at Scala dei Turchi, a white limestone cliff that wind and rain have carved into natural steps dropping straight into the sea. Take the chance to swim if you're travelling in the warm season: the contrast between the white stone and the blue of the Mediterranean is one of the prettiest sights on the island.

Hungry by now, we went looking for somewhere to eat on the way to Valle dei Templi. We found a restaurant set well back from the main road, with a slightly confusing detour, and when we arrived, not a soul in sight except the owner.

With our energy restored, we reached the Valle dei Templi in Agrigento, one of the best-preserved sets of Greek temples outside Greece itself, and a UNESCO World Heritage site since 1998.

We arrived with plenty of time to watch the golden sunset light setting the temple stone aglow. There was barely anyone around the site, something we were hugely grateful for.

We had dinner in Agrigento at a pizzeria we found open, ordering a fried pizza typical of the area, and stayed the night in the city to make the next day's drive a little easier.

Day 3: Siracusa, between Greek temples and baroque

We left Agrigento early for Siracusa. On the way, we stopped at a huge archaeological site without being entirely sure at first whether we were looking at a Greek theatre or a Roman amphitheatre, until a sign (and our own curiosity afterwards) cleared things up: it turned out to be both, side by side.

We left the car near the harbour, right at the edge of Ortigia, Siracusa's historic island centre, determined to make the most of our time walking its perimeter: the city wall, the castle remains and, above all, Piazza del Duomo.

We ate in the area, playing it safe with a good pasta dish, and worked up the courage to try the aperol spritz you see on every Italian terrace. For dessert, an obligatory gelato, enjoyed sitting right in Piazza del Duomo, at the foot of the cathedral. Since we had the whole day for Siracusa, we were also able to stay for a relaxed dinner in Ortigia and take one last night-time stroll around the island before bed.

Day 4: Catania, colourful umbrellas and a night out

In the morning we headed to Catania, under an hour from Siracusa. With the whole day ahead of us, we started by walking to the Roman Amphitheatre, right in the middle of Piazza Stesicoro: it's striking to come across ruins this size surrounded by buildings and traffic, as if the Roman past refused to hide beneath the modern city.

From there we headed to the fish and produce market, very close to Piazza Duomo: a hive of stalls, shouting vendors and, along several streets, hundreds of colourful umbrellas hung up to form an improvised roof over the stands.

In the afternoon we set off wandering through the historic centre: Piazza dell'Università, the cobbled streets, and the imposing Piazza Duomo, presided over by the Cathedral of Sant'Agata and the Fontana dell'Elefante.

We'd been told to have dinner at Trattoria del Cavaliere, a place so popular it doesn't take reservations: you have to queue at the door. Every minute of the wait was worth it: generous portions and prices you simply couldn't find back home.

After dinner, we let ourselves be swept up by the Sicilian night: first a club near the harbour, then another one whose name we can't even remember, but whose atmosphere we absolutely can. The next day was just a short hop to Taormina (with two more days of the route still ahead of us), so this ended up being, by far, the night we stretched the longest of the whole trip.

Day 5: Taormina and Naxos, with Etna as a witness

From Catania, Taormina and Naxos are under an hour's drive. We started at the Parco Archeologico di Naxos, at the tip of the Schisò peninsula: ruins that are far less visited than the rest of the route, but with a huge history behind them and privileged views of Etna right from the coast.

We then climbed up to Taormina itself, perched on the hill, to visit its crown jewel: the Teatro Antico, with Etna rising right behind the stage.

To close out the day calmly, we strolled through Taormina's Giardino Pubblico, a garden far more unusual than it first appears.

We stayed the night in Giardini Naxos, the beach town right at the foot of Taormina: it doesn't have the charm of the historic centre up above, but the prices are far more reasonable, especially in high season.

We also took the chance to head up to an Etna viewpoint, since it was close by. Our experience, to be honest, was bittersweet.

Day 6: Back to Palermo, with a stop in Cefalù (and Milazzo if there's time)

The drive back from Taormina to Palermo Airport is around three hours on the motorway, so we broke it up with a couple of stops along the north coast instead of doing it all in one go.

Our next stop, this time non-negotiable, was Cefalù: one of those towns that looks like it's been pulled straight out of a postcard, with fishermen's houses pressed right up against the sea, a wall that drops straight into the water and, watching over it all from above, the rock known as La Rocca.

If your schedule allows it, take advantage of the beach that stretches right below the wall: in high season it fills up with people swimming next to the old town, with La Rocca keeping watch from above.

And with that, straight to the airport to head home with Ryanair. Six full days, a circular route with no repeated road, and a country that's already convinced us to come back: Marrakech is still on our list... and maybe, this time for real, an official excursion to Etna's crater.