Jul 12, 2007
A self-drive car and a seaside itinerary are the right approach to exploring Sicily
In our last word on the subject, I need to respond to those readers who have asked, in effect, how do you undertake a first visit to Sicily? Where do you start, where do you go?
The major cities and sights are all along the sea, and the seaside highways are the routes taken by most visitors, as they were for me. You start in Palermo, site of the international airport, and concentrate there on the 12th century, mosaic-covered churches and structures associated with the Norman conquerors of that time. From there you might drive for an overnight stay to the medieval mountaintop city of Erice (with its awesome views of the western tip of the island), and then down the western side of Sicily to Agrigento, home to a breathtaking, Greek Valley of the Temples dating from the fifth century B.C., more than six of them, including one -- the Temple of Concordia -- that is surely the best preserved, most-fully-intact Greek temple in all the world.
Most visitors then continue to the city of Siracusa (considered in its earlier time to be a more important Greek capital than Athens) and its well-restored "Greenwich Village," the island of Ortygia off one side of the city, where your stay must be for at least two and preferably three nights. A fifth-century Temple of Apollo is a secondary sight, overshadowed by a stupendous Archaeological Museum (a statue of Venus its outstanding item) and a giant Greek (and later Roman) amphitheatre, where plays of Euripides and Sophocles are still performed, as they were in ancient times. (The museum and the amphitheatre are in the city of Siracusa proper, and not on the island of Ortygia).
Your final stop (before returning to the airport of Palermo): the sensuous, colorful resort city of Taormina high overlooking a breathtaking vista of sea and coastline, enlivened further by purple bougainvillea everwhere you look. Taormina is a rival to Monaco, to Acapulco, to every other glittering seaside resort; and some would claim it tops them all. From Taormina, you cut through the center of Sicily and then north, back to the airport at Palermo for your homeward-bound flight.
If you seek a memorable, instructive, and yet pleasure-filled European experience at moderate cost (airfare and car rental are the major expense), think Sicily.
Write and read comments about this post.
The major cities and sights are all along the sea, and the seaside highways are the routes taken by most visitors, as they were for me. You start in Palermo, site of the international airport, and concentrate there on the 12th century, mosaic-covered churches and structures associated with the Norman conquerors of that time. From there you might drive for an overnight stay to the medieval mountaintop city of Erice (with its awesome views of the western tip of the island), and then down the western side of Sicily to Agrigento, home to a breathtaking, Greek Valley of the Temples dating from the fifth century B.C., more than six of them, including one -- the Temple of Concordia -- that is surely the best preserved, most-fully-intact Greek temple in all the world.
Most visitors then continue to the city of Siracusa (considered in its earlier time to be a more important Greek capital than Athens) and its well-restored "Greenwich Village," the island of Ortygia off one side of the city, where your stay must be for at least two and preferably three nights. A fifth-century Temple of Apollo is a secondary sight, overshadowed by a stupendous Archaeological Museum (a statue of Venus its outstanding item) and a giant Greek (and later Roman) amphitheatre, where plays of Euripides and Sophocles are still performed, as they were in ancient times. (The museum and the amphitheatre are in the city of Siracusa proper, and not on the island of Ortygia).
Your final stop (before returning to the airport of Palermo): the sensuous, colorful resort city of Taormina high overlooking a breathtaking vista of sea and coastline, enlivened further by purple bougainvillea everwhere you look. Taormina is a rival to Monaco, to Acapulco, to every other glittering seaside resort; and some would claim it tops them all. From Taormina, you cut through the center of Sicily and then north, back to the airport at Palermo for your homeward-bound flight.
If you seek a memorable, instructive, and yet pleasure-filled European experience at moderate cost (airfare and car rental are the major expense), think Sicily.
Write and read comments about this post.
Labels: sicily
Fifty years ago, 
Arthur Frommer is generally acknowledged to be the nation's foremost travel authority. He is the founder of the
