Sicily is an amazingly diverse holiday destination with its smouldering Mount Etna to sun drenched sands to relax and take in the atmosphere of relaxation. Throughout, there are scented citrus orchards, tranquil farmland and numerous sights and resorts.
Taormina is a popular place to visit with its boutique filled streets, sandy coves and a spectacular Greco Roman theatre. Sicily has a wonderful café culture which reflects the island’s love for food and drink too.
Sicily is a place for nature lovers with its unforgettable landscapes, atmospheric towns and villages. There’s a strong sense of culture heritage and fascinating history. Sicily is a holiday destination to be explored and enjoyed.
Things to do
Sicily remains a longstanding holiday choice for the more discerning tourist. The island’s rich architectural heritage and its dramatic mountainous terrain is a definite draw to the island. With so much to explore, walkers and hikers love Sicily and there’s quite a few activities for water lovers too. For those who like to escape the land and get their feet wet, there are diving holidays in Sicily to explore what delights are under water.
Smouldering Mount Etna is the island’s famous active volcano. Tourists regard the scenes of Mount Etna to be a real highlight.
But it’s not all about mountains and volcanoes. There are lively fashionable beach resorts to see like Taormina and Castelmola. Sicily beaches are dotted around the island’s spectacular coastline. The best ones being found at Cefalu and Mazzaro near the popular resort of Taormina.
If you’re attracted to the more cultural and historical visit, Sicily is the ideal opportunity to experience some of the finest Greek temples. At Syracusa, you’ll see the remains of a once mighty Hellenistic city and rival to Athens. Ancient Syracuse, as it was known played a key role in Greek mythology, so it’s a great place to check out some real history!
Shopping
Sicily has every kind of retail experience due to the Italians love of Shopping. There are designer boutiques of Palermo, Catania and Taormina and tiny artisan emporia of ancient towns like Erice and Enna.
Obviously, clothes are the number one indulgence in Italy. Sadly, you won’t find many bargains in the high street stores, but there is plenty of choice of good quality and immaculately tailored clothing which justifies the high price tag.
If you’re looking for cheaper goods, there are market stalls that line the streets of most of Sicily’s bigger towns, cities and beach resorts. You can find anything from leather belts to flip flops at knock down prices.
There are plenty of souvenirs to be found as Sicilians are very in to their cottage industry craftsmanship. Best buys include ceramics, carpets, lace and silk haberdashery. So all in all Sicily Shopping has something for everyone.
Nightlife
Sicily remains a cultured place offering opera, theatre and concerts, with night time entertainment mainly based around pavement cafes and bars. However, at most of the bigger seaside towns like Taormina, Catania, Siracusa and Cefalu, you’ll find music bars, discos or clubs which open into the early hours.
For more traditional entertainment, there are puppet theatres which have been popular since the 14th century. They are usually based on moralistic tales usually telling the story of medieval derring-do and chivalry with a favourite being the legend of Charlemagne and his battle with the Saracens. Don’t worry about the language differences; it’s pretty easy to follow the story!
Eating out
In Sicily, you’ll find all your favourite Italian cuisine including pasta in all the usual shapes and sizes and pizza with a wide array of toppings. Also there are typically Sicillian dishes which mix traditional Italian cuisine with the flavours of North Africa and Greece, bequeathed by former colonists.
Sicily is lucky where there is an abundance of fish and seafood to enjoy, along with fresh produce like lemons, oranges, avocados and almonds. The island is a true inspiration to chefs around the world!
Their desserts are to die for, so leave the calorie counter at home. A gift from the Arabs is ‘Cassata; which is a delightfully decadent ice cream or ricotta cheese cake with almond paste and candied fruit. Enough to make your taste buds melt.