Siracusa and Parco Archeologico della Neapolis
https://parchiarcheologici.regione.sicilia.it/siracusa-eloro-villa-tellaro-akrai
Cost: 14 euros
My second day in Catania, I took a chance and booked a bus ticket to Siracusa through the website Omio and it was one of the best decisions I made on my 2025 trip to Sicily.
My original intent was to visit Ortigia, a small island connected to Siracusa, known for its Baroque architecture and Greek ruins. The day before, while trying to decide if I should go, I looked for a good map of Siracusa, that would show me how to walk from the bus stop to Ortigia. I found one that indicated Ortigia could be reached by walking straight from the bus stop, then over a bridge and into the city.
Au contraire, the map couldn’t have been more inaccurate. And as an aside, I found that most Google maps of Sicily are way off the mark. When I first got off the bus I went back towards what I thought was a business district but nothing was open except for a little bar where I had a less than great cappuccino. I found that especially surprising since from the point at which the bus entered the city until the stop on Corso Umberto I, there was block after block of large apartment buildings, presumably catering to the tourist trade.
In any event I stumbled on Parco Archeologico completely by accident. I’ve looked at a dozen maps of Siracusa and Ortigia and still can’t figure out how I got there. From the bus station I walked across a bridge, then double backed over another bridge following signs to Greek ruins. At the end of the second bridge, I turned left on a road that eventually brought me to the entrance into the park.
As I walked in, I noticed a restaurant on my right and decided that would be my end of the afternoon treat.
The ‘park’ is very different from most sites of this type. You walk about ¼ mile into the park before you find the ticket office (biglieterria) and from there, you can walk up to the two main areas, each with it’s own entrance where you have to show your entry ticket.
I went first to the highest gate where, after entering, you follow a circular path through some of the most amazing relics I’ve ever seen, and that includes Pompeii. There are giant stone heads and statues sitting in fields of flowers, including those of Icarus and other figures from Greek mythology. Since viewing the park was an accident, I didn’t research it beforehand and have had difficulty finding good maps which identify the ruins. I wish now I had taken more photos of the tablets identifying the statues.
Parco Archeologico Siracusa
I, then, walked downhill to the second area and just when I thought I couldn’t be more wowed, I found more beautiful fields with statuary plus a grotto with giant blue heads and a large amphitheater. This area is also the site of the Ear of Dionysius (Orecchio Dionisio), a cave below the Greek Theater which is shaped like an ear and has unusual acoustic properties. I wandered all over this area but don’t recall seeing the cave.
Parco Archeologico Siracusa
I finished my day with lunch at the little restaurant, having one of my favorite things in Italy, insalata di tonno, with a cold beer, crusty bread and water, resting my very tired feet.
Then it was a long walk back to the bus stop where, luckily, I was able to get on an earlier bus.
Post trip postscript: It was recently pointed out to me that many of what I thought were artifacts are part of a huge art installation by the Polish artist Igor Mitoraj and will be on display though October 2025. The only reference to them I’ve been able to find was in an Instagram post by iamjackiesam. I’m a bit embarrassed by my naivete but it didn’t lessen my awe over the park’s beauty.
Taormina
I visited Taormina my last day in Catania. I had hoped to go earlier in the week but the weather was not accommodating; one rainy chilly day after another. I had also hoped to find a tour that combined a trip to Taormina with a wine tasting but the only tour I could find didn’t respond to my inquiries.
So my options were a solo trip by train or one by bus. I soon learned that the train only goes as far as I Giardini Naxos a beach town below Taormina, requiring a taxi to the town itself. So bus it was. But then I couldn’t figure out the layout of the town from the online maps and which bus stop was closest.
As it turned out that was fairly easy. The bus takes a narrow winding road, via Pirandello from Naxos to a large parking area just outside the centro. We were a half hour late and my first priority was finding a cappuccino. As I walked down the street from the bus station, I found what looked like a nice café near Porta Messina. Even though I knew better, I took a table and ended up paying 4 euros for a cappuccino. But it tasted wonderful. (As I noted in another post, wine and coffees were more expensive in Sicily than in Firenze.)
From the café it was a short walk to Corso Umberto the main street through town. I wrote in my journal that I had left sunny and warm in Catania for cloudy and cool in Taormina but it was still pleasant. And I loved the walk through town. There’s every possible shop imaginable, high end clothes shops, ceramics, beautiful household goods, even food shops. And every few feet there’s a darling vicolo with steep steps leading up to more shops and B&B’s, each one with more interesting decorations than the one before.
There were also restaurants every few feet and I was definitely thinking about a nice leisurely lunch.
Streets of Taormina
I continued on Corso Umberto to Piazza del Duomo, stopping to take photos of both the duomo and a fountain with some interesting sculptures.
Piazza del Duomo Taormina
I, then, backtracked to Piazza IX Aprile and was thrilled to find it as lovely as the online pictures I’d seen; the unique checkerboard pattern to the piazza itself, the spectacular views of the Mediterranean and of course, some musicians playing traditional Italian music. There are benches through out the piazza and people were sitting and enjoying the music and views, eating their gelatos, dancing, taking videos. And I joined them for at least 20 minutes.
Piazza IX Aprile
As I was sitting listening to the music, I felt a drop of rain. I headed back towards the other piazza when the skies opened up and a frog strangler commenced. I stood close to a building trying to get a little protection but it was insane.
When it slowed down, I sloshed to a little bar in Largo Caterina named for the church that makes up one side. The bar had plastic curtains around it and tons of people had squeezed in trying to stay dry. I finally managed to get a table and ordered some pasta and wine. A Swiss couple joined me for a while but I lingered inside until about 1:15pm.
Since it looked to be clearing off, I wandered around for a while, first walking down via Teatro Greco, then doubling back and walking down some side streets trying to find Villa Communale and its gardens which are supposed to be lovely. I was fairly close but started to get a bad feeling so walked back to the bus station.
The agent made me buy another ticket but I was glad I did because it started to pour as we got on the bus. I got wet but nothing compared to what I would have been if I’d stayed.
Agrigento and the Valley of the Temple (Valle dei Templi)
https://www.visitsicily.info/en/attrazione/valley-of-the-temples
Tickets: 12 euros
Getting to the Valley
There are dozens of articles on the Valley but I found this one at https://www.alongdustyroads.com/posts/valley-of-the-temples-sicily to be the most helpful on how to actually get there from the centro; the bus being the best option for me. As soon as I checked into my ‘B&B’, I retraced my steps back through the train station and out to the piazza where I waited for the bus. Naturally Bus 2 which goes to Porta Giunone, the eastern entrance, was late and unfortunately I didn’t hear the bus driver call out the stop and had to ride the entire circuit through San Leone, a rather tacky beach town. The bus driver then told me (in Italian) that I could ‘scende’ when he stopped to pick up passengers at another gate and walk to Porta V.
So I exited the bus at the stop and did a scary walk along the side of the highway to the road that leads into Porta V.
The Valley and the Temples
I was somewhat surprised to find dozens of bars and gift shops when I first entered the gate but I quickly found my way to the ticket office. From Porta V it’s a steady uphill climb to the temples and other archaeological sites. I wish the ticket office provided maps. I’ve not been able to find a good map online and not totally sure of the route I took.
I walked for quite a while through open fields and based on my photos I stopped at the Temple of Hera, the Temple of Castor and the Temple of Heracles (all from the 5th and 6th centuries BC). I also walked through or near il Giardino della Kolymbetra. All the sites are incredible but tend to be overshadowed by the beauty and the setting of Temple of Concordia. It is absolutely breath taking.
Valley of the Temples
At that time of year, mid April, it was a beautiful walk and I wrote in an Instagram post, that the setting of the temples, looking out over the sea, with fields of wild flowers was as stunning as the ruins themselves.
Between Temple Concordia and Temple Heracles there is a relatively modern building surrounded by gardens, Villa Igea. I walked through the gardens and around the villa, taking photos of the unusual plants and flowers.
Villa Igea
I got somewhat turned around near the Temple of Castor but finally found my way back to Porta V, where I only had to wait for about 5 minutes for the bus back to Agrigento.
Getting to and Staying in Agrigento
I originally planned to spend two nights in Agrigento on my way from Catania to Palermo. I ultimately decided that the logistics were too difficult plus it would mean more taxi fares and hassles with dragging my luggage from one place to another.
So, then, I considered a day trip from Palermo my second weekend in Palermo. All that changed when I realized that my language school, Culturforum, was a dud and chose not to attend the second week. (See Two weeks in Palermo post)
With a week of free time, an overnight trip to Agrigento was feasible. So I started looking into how best to get there from Palermo and when to go. The latter was determined by weather as well as the fact that I had a long trip ahead of me on Sunday, April 13th, traveling from Palermo to Villa San Giovanne. I also had to decide between the bus and train, ultimately opting for the train, leaving Wednesday morning, returning Thursday.
Then came the excruciating business of finding a place to stay. When I had originally planned to stop on my way to Palermo, I had found a B&B with good reviews in what seemed to be a convenient location: La Passeggiata di Girgenti. But it was no longer available and after a lot of agonizing I settled on B&B Tony Palermo because it had good reviews and looked to be on the street parallel to the train station. Au contraire (see Where not to Stay, Italy post)
I took the 8:45 am train from Palermo, and while it was incredibly slow, stopping at every little station, it was worth it for the gorgeous scenery and I highly recommend it. If you take the train, be aware that it stops first at Agrigento Bassa, a large modern city on a hill next to the original town. I arrived in Agrigento centro around 11:00 am and was very impressed with the station, not just that it was clean and had an elevator but because it looked like something out of the 1800’s, think Hotel Portofino.
I walked up the three flights of steps to the main level and out onto the piazza, finding the bus stop for the Valley right at the edge of the piazza. But there was no visible way to get to via Acrone which was supposed to be parallel to the train station. I finally remembered that the B&B manager had mentioned going left through the parking lot and realized I needed to go back down to the binario level, and through the parking lot next to the station. Even after finding via Acrone, I had a difficult time finding the B&B since the only sign was not visible from the street.
Food and Wine
I’ve written about the ‘B&B’ in my Where not to Stay post so I won’t repeat that information. The manager did give me a map and wrote the name of a restaurant on it, located in the centro on via Atenea.
Antichi Sapori
When returning from the Valley, I got off at the first stop next to Piazetta Vadala and walked through a small park to via Atenea. The centro is quite small, with narrow steep streets. I walked several blocks without seeing the restaurant recommended by the manager. It was getting chilly and I was an exhausted sweaty mess so started walking back towards the train station.
I noticed a small restaurant with an outdoor seating area surrounded by plastic curtains and decided to have a late lunch there. It was a great choice; not only protected from the wind but one of the best panini I’ve ever had; thinly sliced sweet ham, with artichoke hearts and bufala mozzarella on a huge sesame seed roll.
Enoteca Nzola
After returning to the B&B and cleaning up, I looked online for restaurant options, finally settling on Enoteca Nzola. I generally find enotecas more welcoming to single women plus I wasn’t terribly hungry after my late lunch. The final bonus was that it was in a ‘piazetta’ near the bus stop, so easy to find and a relatively short walk.
The enoteca seemed perfect when I first walked in; cozy, nicely decorated, lots of locals but they clearly weren’t used to a single woman. I ordered a tagliere and a vino and was never able to get any further service. After drinking my vino and eating some of my odd tagliere, I finally gave up and paid for my meal.