Sicily dos and don'ts.

Boulevardier

Can anybody give tips for what to do/not do in Sicily? We already have the flight and hotel booked (near Taormina), so this is realy more about places to eat, see, etc. than where to stay.

Al suggestions gratefully considered.

linearcutter

Hey,

If you like the sound of wandering through a maze of narrow cobbled streets, with great restaurants and breathtaking views of the bay below? I'd recommend Erice. I started off my trip from the tip of Sicily up to Milan from there and I didn't want to leave. So peaceful, and very quiet. It's a network of monasteries and convents that are mostly now small speciality food stores and restaurants. seriously breathtaking views too.

It's across the other side of Sicily from Taormina, but If you have a day to take a trip, a bus will get you over there in a few hours. You probably have your accommodation sorted for the duration of your stay, but if you were venture over, you should stay the night over there. It's beautiful at night as the clouds roll in and fill the streets! I'd recommend the Hotel San Giovanni. It's very basic but clean, friendly and cheap.

If trendy designer stores and busy streets appeal, then head up to Catania, which is closer to Taormina. I stayed there a day and a night and found it to be a nice size to hang out and wander around in. Less than a city but more than a town. Good record stores too, which was the main purpose of my trip up through Italy.

[link to couple of pics of both places below]

Erice - http://linearcutter.tumblr.com/post/3380185997

Catania - http://linearcutter.tumblr.com/post/3874821492

Cutter.

Boulevardier

Thanks for that, Cutter. As I suspected, we will be staying quite a way from the best bits of the island; however, I am going to see if we can make it over there.

Unshelved

Don't miss the ice-cream.
Do try a granita - espcially coffee or lemon flavours.
Do take a trip to the Aeolian Islands if you can - Lipari is lovely and seeing the volcano at Stromboli erupt after dark is something else.
Do try pasta alla norma (pasta with aubergines) served everywhere and delicious, and spaghetti vongole (with clams).

Don't do like we did and miss out on a trip to Mount Etna. Everyone I know who went there said that it's fantastic.

Nightlife in Catania and Taormina was nice and lively - great restaurants and bars. Everywhere else we went - Giardini Naxos, Cefalu, Lipari - was pretty dead by 10.30ish.

Palermo is worth seeing but not worth staying in IMO. Interesting buildings but a bit to noisy for me.

Have a great time.

Boulevardier

Thank you, Unshelved and Cutter. Both posts very useful indeed. Were off tomorrow morning (Sunday). I will let this thread know how we did.