Cast adrift from mainland Italy, the Mediterranean’s largest island has been caught in the crosshairs of civilizations for hundreds of years. Fraught as this will have been, it has rendered the island completely distinctive—Sicily is a fierce melting pot of cultures and customs, a spot that potently displays the indelible impact of structure, neighborhood spirit, meals, and phenomenal landscapes on people. Conquered, invaded, coerced—the layers of historical past are manifest all through the island, from the Norman Palace of Palermo to the North African-influenced spiced couscous and chickpea dishes of Trapani. Ancient temples and crumbling palazzos sit alongside progressive agriturismos and vineyards, stoic in the shadow of Mount Etna. On its fringes, volcanic islands gurgle and spit, their fertile slopes ablaze with wildflowers, capers, and Malvasia grapes. The Sicilian spirit will not be one simply bottled—it’s complicated, proud, and troubled. But to reside like a Sicilian is to reside nicely, prioritizing meals and household above all else, beginning the day on a candy be aware with brioche con tuppo or granita; whiling away afternoons on sun-bleached concrete earlier than plunging into turquoise water; scurrying below the watchful gaze of Baroque cathedrals for limitless joshing and jousting in markets.
So quite than merely beelining for Taormina’s tourist-choked White Lotus filming spots, why not enterprise into this island’s rugged, ever-contradictory soul? Take in the magnificence of its beaches, the mystical presence of Etna, ever looming, and inordinate quantities of moreish, candy ricotta-filled cannoli. If it is shorefront bliss you are in search of, head to the rocky, pebbled seashores that drop off into turquoise swirls of sea (Scala dei Turchi is a agency favourite), whereas oenophiles ought to head straight to the foothills of Etna, the place fertile soil made the land ripe for vineyards—and there are a lot of accommodations to relaxation your spinning head afterwards, full with sweeping views of the Sicilian panorama. City lovers, plan a stop-off in Palermo, an exceedingly missed vacation spot the place artisans produce some of Italy’s most good craftwork and jaw-droppingly spectacular structure looms at each flip. These are the greatest issues to do in Sicily, in no explicit order.
What is Sicily greatest recognized for?
Knockout seashores that impressed Homer’s Odyssey, crumbling, honey-hued palazzos, mafia lore, and historical temples—Sicily effortlessly blends a sunny Mediterranean escape with lashings of historical past, tradition, and life-changing meals. Etna has an virtually sacred maintain, dominating the surroundings and treating al-fresco diners to the occasional fiery belch (greatest seen from Taormina). The island’s southeastern Baroque cities bear the architectural stamps of a affluent age, the place hovering cathedrals and church buildings show jewel-box interiors, and grand palazzos have wrinkled with age, baked in the solar. Sicily’s delicacies shifts as you progress round the island, revealing the affect of varied invaders and merchants, and it is famed for its caponata (a form of eggplant ratatouille), busiate alla norma (an eggplant and ricotta pasta dish), and granita con brioche (candy ice mopped up with a big brioche bun for breakfast).
How many days in Sicily is sufficient?
The magnificence of the island is that a lot could be lined in a brief house of time. To even scratch the floor of the Southeast Baroque cities, you’ll want at the least three days and might fill the relaxation of the week with downtime alongside one of Toarmina’s seashores or wine tasting and mountain climbing alongside Etna’s slopes. Two weeks is sufficient for Sicily’s spell to absolutely take maintain, touchdown in Palermo and shifting southeast alongside the coast by way of Scopello and south to Agrigento for the temples after which to the Baroque South East. Spend time in the fairly, prairie-like fringes of Noto earlier than edging up in the direction of Etna and, if time permits, hop on a hydrofoil to the volcanic Aeolians, the place the sea glows a shade of blue that feels too unique for Europe.
How we select the greatest issues to do in Sicily
Every assessment on this checklist has been written by a Condé Nast Traveler journalist who is aware of the vacation spot and has visited that exercise. When selecting issues to do, our editors think about landmarks and experiences that supply an insider’s view of a vacation spot, conserving authenticity, location, service, and sustainability credentials prime of thoughts.
1. Visit the Baroque cities
There are eight cities in Southeast Sicily strung collectively like fairly beads to kind the UNESCO World Heritage Site, however 4 of them ought to function on any itinerary to this amber-hued maze. Noto is an opulent haze of honey-hued partitions, all belittled by the pillared-and-pompous cathedral that sits atop a sequence of steps like a Baroque jewel. Corso Vittorio Emanuele is the orderly artery avenue amid a chaotic labyrinth past it, the place coffee lovers make their Sicilian pilgrimage to the legendary Caffè Sicilia (open since 1892).
Amid all its hilly, Baroque glory, Modica is all about chocolate. Antica Dolceria Bonajuto alongside Corso Umberto is Sicily’s oldest chocolate manufacturing facility—the chocolate right here is darkish, richly flavored, and crumbly quite than clean. Scicli seems like a Noto or Modica shrunk in the wash—quieter, fewer vacationers, stricter siesta code—although its bejeweled palazzos nonetheless whisper tales of a thumping affluent age, their home windows’ stucco brows crumbling, their facades mottled with age. Beneath them lie little cannoli boutiques, pocket-sized vintage retailers, and movie places for Inspector Montalbano. Ragusa Ibla runs with the Baroque theme however feels nearer to scenes from a Hans Christian Anderson story, with pastel-pink homes, little Sicilian puppet theaters, picket toy retailers, and misty views over the Hyblaean mountains from the outdated city’s swirly, wrought iron balconies.
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