When I think of a summer holiday, I picture myself on the coast of Italy, soaking up the sun, sipping on wine, and of course a big bowl of pasta in front of me. Well when my friend suggested we plan a trip to Italy, I was immediately on board. My friend’s family is from Sicily so we decided on a road trip along the southern coast of this Italian island, exploring small towns, ancient ruins, and natural wonders. Check out my top highlights from this trip!
What we Saw
We started our trip in Palermo, the capital of Sicily and a UNESCO world heritage site. The city is expansive and very densely populated. Walking through the streets, we saw a mix of Baroque, Gothic, and Romanesque architecture, representing the antiquity and the historical importance of this city.
On our way to Palazzo dei Normanni and the Cathedral of Palermo, we saw beautiful city squares, fountains, churches, and parks. The streets are filled with vendors, tourists, and locals and are incredibly lively.
Palazzo dei Normanni is a 9th century palace where you can tour the royal chambers and the ornate historic chapel. Part of this palace is now used for government proceedings. The chapel was probably the most impressive part of this palace. The intricate detail that went into each mosaic that covered all the walls and the ceilings was breathtaking.
The Cathedral of Palermo is one of the most popular landmarks to visit in Palermo. It’s an impressive church with beautiful architecture. You can climb up to the top and get a great view of the city below with the mountains in the distance.
After two days in Palermo, we picked up our rental car and headed south to Realmonte where we booked a stay at a medieval farmhouse turned bed & breakfast. The farmhouse itself was quite dated and there wasn’t much to do while being a little further away from the main city and coastline.
We visited the Stair of the Turks, a natural white rock formation along the coast with a serene walkway along the beach. Many locals were spending the day at the beach with their families or friends and swimming in the sea. This area was much quieter than the hustle and bustle of Palermo and it was interesting to see the small-town life. Although with the small town locals, the number of people who spoke English drastically dropped and our basic Duolingo Italian and the handy pointing at things had to kick in.
With only one night at Realmonte, the next day on our way to Syracuse, we went to the Valley of the Temples. This is a large active archaeological site made up of various ancient Greek temple ruins. The temples are interwoven with beautiful gardens and is a must visit if in Sicily.
Once we reached Syracuse, we spent the day walking around the Island of Ortigia. Although called an island, it is connected to the mainland. This area had a lot of cute shops selling local items, bakeries, and gelato shops and it was fun walking around and exploring without an end destination in mind.
We also saw the ruins of the Temple of Apollo and the Syracuse Cathedral. I think this is one of the more unique churches I’ve seen since it originally was an ancient Greek temple dedicated to Athena and the columns were used to build the church. Although the façade is classical Baroque, the side and the inside have the Greek columns incorporated into the structure. Seeing this mix of architecture really shows how many very different periods of history this area has experienced.
From Syracuse, we took a day trip to Noto where we explored various churches and their opera house. The architecture here is all Baroque and was very beautiful.
We also were able to stop at a local winery where we got to chat (in broken English and Italian) with the wine maker and owner of the vineyard. The best part of our trip were the people and how friendly and passionate they were about their home and culture and this wine maker was the epitome of that. He sweetly showed us around his grape vines, olive trees, and orange and lemon trees and explained the process of making wine.
On our way to our last destination, Catania, we took a detour to Taormina. I had been here several years ago and from what I could tell, it was exactly the same, including the tourist crowds flocking down the streets. The drive to Taormina was absolutely breathtaking as we got amazing views of the coastline and of a fog covered Mt. Etna.
We visited the Greco-Roman theater in Taormina and I think one of the best viewpoints of the city is here as you can see along the coastline of Sicily and see the mainland.
We didn’t have that much time in Catania, but walking around we saw some great architecture. I think compared to the other cities, Catania was modern and seemed more industrial so as far as sightseeing, I wasn’t very impressed.
What we Ate
Palermo is dotted with so many bakeries and pastry shops that my breakfast and afternoon snack always consisted of some sort of baked good. I had everything from a pizza roll to a mini cream puff, but the best pastry was what Sicily is known for – cannoli. These can be found everywhere in Sicily and I’m pretty sure I had one every day, they were delicious. I also had some of the best pizza here. I was living in a carb heaven.
Realmonte was a very small, quiet town and since we were here for only a day, we tried out one of the top rated restaurants and we must say, it didn’t disappoint. My friend did the land tasting menu while I chose the seafood menu. Each dish was so flavorful and everything was incredibly fresh. The stand out for me was the octopus appetizer and the desserts, where we got to try four different spoons – the tiramisu one was divine!
While in Noto, we happened across a small, family-owned seafood restaurant that may have been the best meal I had on this trip. The squid ink pasta I had was perfectly creamy and had an amazing briny taste. But the star was the dessert platter – it was made up of gelato, pistachio cream, cannoli, and semi-freddo. We licked that plate clean! If you’re ever in Noto, check out Naché, you won’t regret it!
When visiting Europe, you always have a large number of choices for restaurants but an experience at a Michelin star restaurant can be special. In Syracuse we were lucky to have dinner at Cortile Spirito Santo and the food was fantastic but the service was another level. We felt like princesses the whole time we were here.
In Catania, I had some amazing pasta with clams at a local seafood restaurant all paired with a delicious sparkling rosé. Also, we found a cocktail bar that deserves a special mention as the cocktails were beautiful as well as tasty and the bar was fun.
If you’d like any more information or have questions about my time in Sicily, feel free to drop a comment or reach out to me on Instagram!
