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Sicily

Greek temples, volcanic landscapes and the many histories of Sicily.

The Temple of Concordia in AgrigentoWonder77
The Temple of Concordia in AgrigentoPhoto credits →

Summary

Sicily is an Italian island with Greek and Roman monuments, later religious architecture and volcanic landscapes. Cities, coast and countryside preserve the traces of several cultures within a distinctive Mediterranean setting.

Sicily brings ancient Mediterranean cultures into contact with an active volcanic landscape. Greek temples, layered towns and Etna give the island exceptional range within a coherent journey.

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The essentials

Explore the full photo gallery →

Allow time

10 to 14 days

Choose a base

Two or three regional bases

Getting there

Fly to Palermo or Catania according to your route, then use a mixture of trains, buses, a car or guided excursions. Distances are substantial and transport between smaller places can be slower than expected.

Plan ahead

Reserve popular archaeological visits where needed and check restricted traffic zones before driving into historic centres. Etna's upper areas require current specialist guidance; never treat an old walking route as proof of present safety.

Guide edited 29 September 2026. About practical information

A closer look

Why it stays with you

The Valley of the Temples at Agrigento preserves an exceptional group of ancient Greek monuments along a ridge. Their setting and surviving proportions make a powerful introduction to Sicily's classical past. Elsewhere, Taormina's ancient theatre frames views towards the coast and Etna, connecting cultural history directly to the landscape.

Etna remains an active volcano, so its experience is governed by current conditions and authorised access. Combine it with a selective route through towns, markets and archaeological sites rather than trying to circle the entire island at speed. Sicily rewards a journey with room for meals, local life and unexpected stops.

Background reading: Mount Etna · Taormina · Valle dei Templi.

The scope of this entry

What’s included.

  • Agrigento's Valley of the Temples
  • Taormina's theatre and coastal setting
  • Etna with an authorised guide and suitable conditions

Make this the moment

The essential experience.

Link Agrigento’s temples with eastern Sicily, leaving a flexible day for an authorised Etna excursion.

Alex’s journey · VisitedFollow the journey →

Understand the wonder

Sicily is a meeting of landscapes and histories.

The island's richness comes from the coexistence of Greek remains, later urban cultures, volcanic terrain and varied coasts. These are connected by Sicily's history but separated by real distances. Agrigento, Syracuse, Palermo and Etna cannot all be experienced deeply from one convenient hotel. Defining a regional route makes the broad entry coherent. The island rewards comparison between different forms of architecture and settlement, with the volcano adding an entirely different scale of time.

Continue the background reading in the reference links below.

Taormina’s coast and surrounding landscape
Taormina’s coast and surrounding landscapePhoto: Carsten Steger · CC BY-SA 4.0

Slow down. Notice more.

Look for this.

LOOK 1

Greek architectural forms in their landscape.

LOOK 2

Layers of building within historic towns.

LOOK 3

The contrast between volcanic ground and cultivated slopes.

Beyond the familiar view

An island of different chapters.

Sicily combines archaeological landscapes, cities, coast and the presence of Etna. These are not a single day-trip circuit. Contrasts between them can be the structure of the journey, particularly when the itinerary leaves enough time to understand one area before moving on.

The choice that changes the visit

Choose a western or eastern focus for a shorter trip, or allow enough days to connect both. Check current volcanic access before planning an Etna excursion.

Follow the background and visitor sources →
The temple among the olive trees
The temple among the olive treesPhoto: Cayambe · CC BY-SA 4.0

Stay a little longer

There is more
to the picture.

Open the complete Sicily gallery for 15 photographs, including further perspectives beyond this guide.

Explore the larger gallery →
A picture of some of the ruins in the Valley of the Temples in AgrigentoWeak strombolian eruption of the Etna on April 12, 2012Lava fields and vegetation on Mount Etna in Sicily, Italy

From inspiration to itinerary

Plan your visit

Sources & useful visitor links

Before you set off.

Your ticks stay in this browser. Use the official visitor and reference links below →.

Through the seasons

Get your bearings

A place in the world.

Italy

A place in the world
Sicily location mapSicily location map

Select the pin to open a detailed map. Use Closer look to see the surrounding region. Drag to move a zoomed map.

Map: Natural Earth

Representative location: Valle dei Templi. This wonder covers a wider area or several sites; the pin is a starting point for exploring. Location reference.

Open a detailed map ↗

A closer view

The places within the place.

Selected sights and gateways to help you understand the area.

3 selected places

Load the street map to zoom and explore. Map imagery is supplied by OpenStreetMap.

  1. 1
  2. 2
  3. 3

A wide spread of points usually means separate outings or bases. Use current local guidance for the route between them. Report a map issue ↗

Go a little deeper

Further reading.

Wikipedia: Mount Etna Wikipedia: Taormina Wikipedia: Valle dei Templi Wikivoyage: Sicily

UNESCO World Heritage

Understand the designation.

Sicily contains several separately inscribed properties. The entire island is not one World Heritage site.

Archaeological Area of Agrigento Mount Etna Late Baroque Towns of the Val di Noto (South-Eastern Sicily) Syracuse and the Rocky Necropolis of Pantalica

For tickets, permitted routes and changing access, use the official links in Plan Your Visit. Explore the wider reading list →

Think beyond a single stop

Combine it with…

Rome, Florence and Venice connect naturally by rail. The buried Roman towns suit a Naples base; give Sicily a separate island chapter.

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Italy · Culture

Venice

A city whose streets are water and whose history is written in stone.