Mt. Etna, Sicily Area
We organized our information here by geography, so you'll find relevant site info and restaurants under each town/area we visited.
Our visit was in October, which is prime time for food festivals: pistachio, wine, honey, walnuts, prickly pears, and porcini mushrooms. If you'd like more details on food fairs in Sicily, visit our page here and for a rundown of Sicilian Sweets check out our dolce vita page.
If you visiting the Mt. Etna area, and particularly if you are flying into or out of the Catania airport, it's useful to check Mt. Etna eruptions in real time. We used EtnaAlert because it accurately showed both volcano eruption and weather conditions, as well as Catania airport status.
1) Zafferana Etnea
We used this town as our base, staying at B&B Villa Hirschen, a moderately-priced (and dated) yet comfortable B&B in the hills above Zafferana. You can reserve using Booking.com or directly with the B&B. Porcini mushroom season is Sept-Nov, so if you visit during this time be sure to eat some FRESH porcini!!
Restaurants in Zafferana
Hosteria Il Porcino (Viale De Gasperi 6): the waitress recommended the fresh porcini starter salad, and this did not disappoint. It was a huge portion of fresh porcini, with an equal amount of shaved parmesan, all sitting on a bed of arugula. The porcini were soaked, but not pickled, in vinegar dressing. It was so good we got it again for lunch before we left the area. We also enjoyed the vegetable stuffed pasta with pistachio sauce, and a generous pour of red wine. The menu is in English (and other languages) with a QR code at the restaurant and the items match the Italian printed menu.
Below from Il Porcino are pizzas, fresh porcini, vegetable stuffed pasta with pistachio sauce, and fresh porcini salad in the video.
Dolceria in Zafferana: we were offered one sample from each of the dolceria, and had friendly service even though our Italian is weak and so was their English in most cases. For a thorough explanation of the items you may want to order, check out our Sweets of Italy a Dolce Vita page.
Dolceria Torrisi (also serves lunch and dinner items, like Sicilian pizza): Cannoli, sciatore, paste di mandorla. We loved all these items. They also have ice cream in the shape of fruits. One of the employees has pretty good English.
Dolceria Salemi--excellent tea cookies (foglie de te). They gave us a sample of one plain, and then with some fresh ricotta on it. They have canolli, and other some other items, only on Saturday and Sunday, and the ricotta is not too sweet.
Antica Dolceria dell'Etna -- Rocher balls taste like peanut butter with frosting on them, the sciatore had good chocolate infused with orange and the center cake was good, cannoli was fresh, the seating is plentiful indoors and out and the ambiance is a little old world.
Photos below: Dan with a cannolo, sciatore, paste di mandolo with pistachio filling
2) Taormina
About 40 minutes drive from Zafferana, Taormina is a great day trip, but not a secret one. There are a lot of tourists here, and all manner of high-end shopping. One almost forgets that the main attractions are the ancient Greek/Roman theater, a beautiful late 19th century garden, and the views. Our hotel host mentioned that cruise ships stop at Taormina on Tuesdays and Thursdays, so those days are much more crowded. We visited on a Wednesday and it was plenty crowded still, though not hard to find a seat at a restaurant and only a 5 minute wait for tickets to enter the Greek theater.
For tips on navigating the tollway, see our post Italy the Basics Parking tip: We parked at Porta Catania Parking. After the toll exit, the first decision is parking on the right or the road on the left. Take the road on the left. Choose the SECOND parking lot, which will be a right-hand exit. [Google Maps has you go beyond the entrance to the garage.] If you miss this one (which we did) you will end up circumnavigating the town, which takes about 15 minutes assuming your car is compact enough to fit on the streets for this trip! The garage has bathrooms on several floors, and an elevator that takes you to a good starting spot for exploring the town. If you are visiting Taormina to sit on the beach, then you should map to the parking at the bottom of the gondola instead.
This amphitheater was originally built by the Greeks for theater and was modified by the Romans for gladiator fights (for example, the seats closest to the original stage were removed to make a larger fighting area). After about the 3rd-4th century, the amphitheater fell into disrepair until the 16th century when it was 'rediscovered' and then started to be used as a theater space, particularly in the 19th century. There are spectacular views from all sides of the theater and as you wander through the stands and around the stage, you can see the various stages of Greek and Roman construction. There is also a small museum onsite with frescoes, and a separate area (near the entrance) with pillars and stones with various inscriptions.
Teatro Antico di Taormina. Via Teatro Greco, 1, 98039 Taormina ME. 14 euros/pp (adults). Hours vary based on season but usually open at least 9 AM - 5:30 PM.
Villa Comunale di Taormina
This garden was created in the late 19th century by a British noblewoman, Lady Florence Trevelyan, who lived in Taormina and wanted to create green spaces. This is a pleasant way to spend 30 minutes in the shade, enjoying various plants and trees, as well as the "follies", fanciful buildings that look like they belong in an Elvish village.
Villa Comunale di Taormina (not an official site but useful info). Via Bagnoli Croci, 98039 Taormina ME. Free. Open 24 hours/day.
The cable car gives a lovely view of the town and water, and makes easy transport from the beach at the bottom to the shopping/theater/garden at the top. The beach is entirely full of beach chairs, which may be rented from several restaurants. There are also some boat excursions that leave from here.
Shopping
There are few places in the world with so many $50,000 watches for sale within a few blocks. There are two Dolce and Gabbana stores, Dior, Vuitton, and more. HERE a local hotel lists more of the shopping options. Be aware that this is a tourist destination attracting many shoppers who can afford these brands, so the prices at even the pharmacy or souvenir shop will likely be higher than elsewhere in Sicily.
Above: crocheted tablecloths; marzipan crafts
Restaurants
You can't throw a rock without hitting a restaurant in Taormina. The vast majority claim to be traditional Sicilian cuisine and seem to have very similar menus and dishes. It's hard to tell which places are likely to be fantastic vs. meh, so look at the menus and seating set-up (e.g., outdoors, overlooking the sea or up a small alley) to decide, and ask yourself if you'd like to pay 18 Euros or 40 Euros for essentially the same dish.
We had lunch at Osteria de Gustibus (Via di Giovanni, 32, 98039 Taormina ME) and enjoyed it. A local special we wanted to try is the "meat rolls" also called involtini (cheese and pistachios wrapped inside tender pieces of fried beef). This was fantastic, and we spent the rest of our Italy trip trying to find another source, only to be disappointed. (Involtini in eastern Sicily tend to have bread crumbs in the middle instead of ricotta). We also had meatballs with lemon, and a salad of orange, tuna and onion. These were also quite good. We ended the meal with two different kinds of amaro - Amaro Averna and Amacardo Red. If you have not tried Amaro, you should. Averna is a local classic and quite smooth and rich, and your other choices will have varying degrees of orange and sweet or bitter herb flavors.
3) Mt. Etna
Mt. Etna is a fun place to visit though note that it's an active volcano, and the visitor's center (and sometime Catania Airport) are closed due to eruptions (see info about EtnaAlert above).
From the parking lot, it is an easy walk to the base of the hike of an extinct crater (Silvestri Crater superior). A staff person will approach you and ask for 5 Euros for the hike. This gives you access to 2 craters (Silvestri Crater superior and 1896). You can pay at the top of the crater via phone only (you scan a QR code from the attendant and pay via a web site), or in advance. The lower crater (Silvestri Crater 1896) has a somewhat steep access but it's relatively short. The walk around the crater is mostly level.
We did the crater higher up. There are 2 trails: a very steep one on the right and a less steep one on the left. We took the left path and that is what we would recommend (having descended on the steeper side we know it's really steep!) The views are spectacular. It was in the 60's F in October and a little windy at some points. Wearing leggings and 2 top layers (including a jacket or fleece) plus a hat or scarf for the wind should suffice. It's amazing to see the plants and insects that are bringing life back to this barren landscape.
General logistics for Mt. Etna: If you are driving, map to Etna Tourist Service S.R.L. (Contrada Cantoniera, 95030 Nicolosi CT, Italy) or the cable car (Funivia dell'Etna). The clouds roll in at about 1:30 pm, so plan your visit for the morning if you will hike to any but the lowest crater. There is a parking lot with plenty of space in the morning. When we left at around 1pm it was mostly full.
There is a cable car that takes you to 2500 meters elevation for 50 euros pp, and you can add on a 4x4 bus that takes you further up the volcano (additional 30 euros)
Photos Below: We're at the summit of the big crater!; the final uphill ascent; Dan with a heart-shaped crater in the background; view into the crater; wildlife we saw on our walk
View from the top of the lower crater and the parking lot (right)
4) Motta Camastra
We ventured to this small hillside town for their annual Walnut Festival. It did not disappoint and you can read more about this and other food festivals on our page dedicated to Sicilian Food Festivals /Sagras! We also include parking instructions on that blog post.
If you miss the walnut festival, this would still be a cute town to walk. It has narrow streets, adorable houses packed into the hillside, and a church from the 1100's. There is a shop that sells vintage linens, and a liquor manufacturer (orange, lemon, and walnut liquor--half the price buying directly from the producer as you will pay for his same bottles in Taormina). There is also a cooking school (La Momme del Borgo Motta Camastra - link contains direct contact info), and we saw some tourists making pasta. Every view is fantastic.
Nearby is Gole Acantare,(Google Map link) a river gorge access point. There are public steps (several hundred of them) which you can access for 2 Euros. Across the street is a company offering an elevator, guided river experiences, innertube floating, and a splash zone. The last two photos below show the entries to the Gole Acantare park.
5) Siracusa
About an hour and a half drive from Zafferana (and south of Catania), Siracusa is a great day trip with a lot to do. We targeted the old town on the island of Ortigia in the morning and then the Neapolis Archeological Park in the afternoon. We did this because the Ortigia street market is only open from 7 AM - 1:45 PM (closed Sundays).
The ZTL (Zona a Traffico Limitato), which limits cars, on weekdays is mostly in the middle of the day and the evenings but to avoid fines due to bad timing, we started by parking just outside the island at the Parcheggio Molo Sant'Antonio (Molo Saint Antonio Parking Lot) located on Via del Porto Grande, 96100 Siracusa. With an 8 minute walk, we were in the middle of the Ortigia street market.
Ortigia Street Market
One half of the market focuses on food, both restaurants and various produce, spice and cheese, butcher and fish stands. The other end of the market focuses on home goods - clothing, linens, and, of course, various tourist souvenirs. On the food side, there are lots of restaurants serving typical Sicilian food, including several restaurants that offer up smorgasbord plates of many dishes that you select, including all sorts of grilled and stewed vegetables, cooked or marinated fish, and various meat dishes. There are also many fish mongers, many offering the same 2 seafood items - mixed, fried seafood or raw oysters (usually with a glass of wine). At one end of the street market is the Temple of Apollo. You can't go into the area but there are great places to see it from several sides (first photo below)
It was fun to randomly wander through Ortigia. Much of the island is pedestrian-only and there are many beautiful, narrow streets to explore, many with bakeries, restaurants, actual folk art stores and more. One highlight was our visit to Chiesa di San Filippo Apostolo, a church built over the remains of Roman, Jewish and medieval buildings. Every half-hour or so, you can take a tour of three subterranean levels (5 euro/pp), which include crypts used for the bodies of monks and noblemen, Roman cisterns, WWII bomb shelters and on the lowest level, a ritual Jewish bath (aka mikveh). We learned that the tunnels we were in actually extend throughout Ortigia, and have entrances at many of the churches on the island.
Chiesa di San Filippo Apostolo. Piazza S. Filippo, 96100 Siracusa SR. Open daily 7:30 AM - 7:00 PM (Sundays 9:30 - Noon; 5-7PM)
Nothing inspired us at the market, so we looked for and found a nearby (by car) delightful cheese and meat purveyor that offered various charcuterie and good pasta. Caseificio Ciane is a tiny cheese store/restaurant and all two tables are on the street in front. We ordered a charcuterie for two and asked them to leave off any pork products. They instead provided us with thinly sliced turkey alongside the many cheese varieties, sun-dried tomatoes and olives. After lunch, we enjoyed an amazing cannolo filled with their house-made ricotta. If you plan a visit to Neapolis Archeological Park, or are otherwise driving through this area, this cheese shop is worth a stop.
Caseificio Ciane. via, Via Sant'Agnese, 13, 96100 Siracusa SR. Open every day 9 AM - 3:30 PM and 5 - 9:30 PM.
This park, in the middle of town, contains a Roman and a Greek amphitheater as well as caves created where rock was quarried. Additionally there are various other ruins from Roman and medieval times.
Neapolis Archeological Park. Via Luigi Bernabò Brea, 96100 Siracusa SR. Open 8:30 AM - 6:15 PM daily. 14 euro/pp. Note: We parked for free on Viale Augusto, the road on approach to the park. Also, purchase tickets online or directly at the real entrance of the park - do not follow the signs outside the park for the ticket office - it leads to a gauntlet of crappy souvenir stores that eventually lead to a ticket office.
6) Villa Romana del Casale
This incredible Roman villa is about 2 hours from Mt. Etna. We visited here on our drive from Etna to Agrigento. Read more about Villa Romana del Casale on our Agrigento page.
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