USEFUL NUMBERS
+39 for Italy, 095 for Catania, 091 for Palermo, 0942 for Taormina

Tourist information
Catania: Via Domenico Cimarosa 10 (Villa Bellini), tel: +39 095 73 06 211; Palermo: Piazza Castelnuovo 35 (near Politeama Theatre), tel: +39 091 60 58 351; Taormina: Piazza Santa Caterina (Palazzo Corvaja), tel: +39 0942 23 24.

Getting around
Catania’s Fontanarossa Airport is 7kms from the city.

Bus: Local bus tickets are €1 and available from tobacco vendors, bars and newsagents. The journey to Catania takes 15 minutes. To travel to Taormina costs €5 and takes 50 minutes, with hourly departures in summer and stops in Catania. For Palermo the 2 hour 20 minute trip costs €14, with hourly departures.

Taxi: A taxi from the airport to Catania city costs €25 and takes 15 minutes.

Virgin Express reservations:
848 390 109
Car hire: For special Virgin Express rates visit the Europcar desk on arrival or call: 02 761 10 258

Don’t Miss
Sicily is rich in architectural history. In Palermo the Palatine Chapel and Monreale Abbey are a unique mix of Byzantine, northern European and eastern Mediterranean styles, while the church of St John of the Hermits, with its pink domes, looks more like a mosque than a church. Sicily’s largest art museum is the Regional Gallery in Palazzo Abatellis, (Via Alloro 4, Palermo) which houses medieval works alongside a modern collection. Agrigento, overlooking the island’s southern coast, is a mainstay of the ancient archaeology circuit. Head to the western locality of Segesta to see the Greek temple. Nearby Erice, with its castles, Punic walls and stone streets, offers a breathtaking mountain-top view of the Tyrrhenian Sea. Taormina (pictured) is a magnificent town overlooking the Ionian Sea, with Mount Etna as a backdrop, and is a great place to eat, shop and visit nearby beaches. The Castelmola district, high above the main town, is a well-kept secret. For the slightly less adventurous, Catania and Siracusa are great options. Siracusa, with its charming historical district (Ortygia), was ancient Sicily’s most important centre.

Go Glam
In Catania the main shopping district is Via Etnea. In Taormina, Corso Umbertohas stylish shops selling everything from coral jewellery to micro-skirts. Over in Palermo, check out Via Libertà. For cooler nights, buy yourself a Sicilian cotton coppola cap. These colourful hats have become a Sicilian fashion symbol. Sold at shops in the main airports, they’re also available from Mirella Panarello (Corso Umberto 122) in Taormina, and from Coppola Storta (Via dell’Orologio 25) and Luan (Via Bara all’Olivella 87), both near Piazza Olivella in central Palermo. For a night out, larger dance clubs are scarce in Sicily, and you tend to get music only on Fridays and Saturdays. Taormina’s Bella Blu (Via Guardiola Vecchia) near Via Pirandello has an intimate atmosphere, and Tout Va (Via Pirandello 70) is also a good bet. Closer to Palermo there’s the Movida club, (Villagraziadi Carini, near the airport). In central Palermo, on the corner of Piazza San Francescod’Assisi (Via Paternostro 59), is Mi Manda Picone, an elegant wine bar and restaurant.

Alfresco
In Palermo, Piazza Olivella, near the Salinas archaeology museum, is a lively district with a dozen informal alfresco restaurants serving Sicilian fare as well as nouveau Arab specialities, like kebab (souvlaki) platters. La Corrida, at the corner of Via Orologio, has a particularly appealing menu. Closer to the waterfront is Piazza Marina, where pizza is the main attraction at restaurants like Le Pergamene (No. 48) and Beati Paoli (No. 49). There are great restaurants everywhere in Taormina. The Dracena (Via Amari 4) is an elegant summer spot, loved for its cool stone-wall enclosed garden. Gelatomania (Corso Umberto near Porta Messina) has an excellent selection of homemade ice cream and granitas.

Stay Cool
Popular public beaches are located at Taormina, Forza d’Agro, Mondello(outside Palermo), San Vito Lo Capo and Porto Paolo (near Menfi). The Aeolian Islands, reached by ferry from Milazzo can be a little crowded during peak summer season. Sicily’s larger cities have delightful public parks and gardens in the centre of town: In Taormina, Villa Comunale lies beneath the Greek amphitheatre. In Catania, there is Villa Bellini off Via Etnea. In Palermo there’s the Giardino Inglese at Via Libertà and Piazza Croci, and the Garibaldi Gardensin the old quarter of Piazza Marina.

Daytrip
Vineyard visits are popular. The Murgo winery near Etna in Santa Venerina, tel: +39 095 95 05 20 (www.murgo.it) offers tours, and Duca di Salaparuta, tel: +39 091 94 52 01, in Casteldaccia is one of the oldest vineyards. A jeep tour of Mount Etna is a must. If you’re artistically inclined, visit one of the towns famous for majolica art, such as Caltagirone, nestled in the mountains west of Siracusa and Catania, or Santo Stefano di Camastra, on the coast east of Cefalù.

Sleepover
Taormina’s five-star Hotel Timeo (Via Teatro Greco 59, tel: +39 0942 23 801, doubles around €330), was formerly an English family villa and has a great terrace overlooking the city’s Greek amphitheatre. For the historically eccentric there’s the San Domenico Palace (Piazza San Domenico 5, tel: +039 0942 61 31 11, doubles €316), built in a medieval monastery complete with cloister. A good four-star option is the Villa Paradiso (Via Roma 2, tel: + 39 0942 23 92 12, doubles €120), also formerly an aristocratic residence, or the three star Isabella (Corso Umberto 58, doubles €110). In Palermo, the Centrale Palace (Corso Vittorio Emanuele 327, tel: +39 0942 23 92 12, doubles €115) has great rooms and a delightful terrace restaurant overlooking the old city’s rooftops.

Words Louis Mendola