Sicily is the largest island in the Mediterranean and holds more to see than any sensible holiday can get through: Greek temples, baroque towns, an active volcano and 1,500 kilometres of coast. Choosing a base is therefore the biggest planning decision you make. Palermo and Catania are the island's two largest airports and sit on opposite sides of Sicily, while Trapani in the west and Comiso in the south-east are often easier for their own corners. Driving from Palermo to Syracuse takes around three hours.
This guide works through the island's main areas: what each one offers, who it suits and which airport to fly into. In every area we also point to luxury hotels in Sicily that we have reviewed.
The areas at a glance
| Area | Best for | Airport | Hire car | Type of trip |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Taormina | Luxury, views and Etna | Catania | In part | Resort and town |
| Syracuse and Ortigia | History and evenings out | Catania | No | City |
| Val di Noto | Baroque, food and wine | Comiso or Catania | Yes | Road trip |
| Etna and the wine country | Wine, landscape and quiet | Catania | Yes | Countryside |
| Agrigento | Archaeology | Palermo or Catania | Yes | Culture |
| Palermo | City, food and culture | Palermo | No | Big city |
| Cefalù | Beach and small town | Palermo | In part | Beach |
| Sciacca | Resort, spa and golf | Palermo | Yes | Resort |
| Trapani | Erice, the salt pans and the Egadi Islands | Trapani or Palermo | Yes | Road trip |
There is no objectively best part of Sicily. In short: luxury and views point to Taormina, history to Syracuse, baroque and food to Val di Noto, wine and landscape to Etna, city life to Palermo, the beach to Cefalù and western Sicily to Trapani.
Taormina – the island's most spectacular setting
Taormina stands on a ledge 200 metres above the sea with Etna as its backdrop. The Greek theatre, built in the 3rd century BC, is still used for concerts, and Corso Umberto is the town's well-known pedestrian street. Below it lie the seaside resort of Giardini Naxos and the little island of Isola Bella.
Some of Sicily's most exclusive hotels are here as well. San Domenico Palace, Taormina, A Four Seasons Hotel (Booking 9.6) occupies a 15th-century monastery, familiar to anyone who watched the second season of The White Lotus, and Grand Hotel Timeo, A Belmond Hotel, Taormina (Booking 9.6) sits immediately beside the Greek theatre, with Etna in view from the terrace. Down at the water in Taormina Mare, Villa Sant'Andrea, A Belmond Hotel, Taormina Mare (Booking 9.1) has its own beach and a cable car up to the town.
Ideal for: views, atmosphere and a short run to Etna. Airport: Catania, one hour.
Syracuse and Ortigia – best for history and evening walks
In antiquity Syracuse was one of the most powerful cities in the Mediterranean, larger than Athens. The old town occupies the island of Ortigia, joined to the mainland by two bridges – a compact quarter of baroque palaces, a fish market and swimming straight off the rocks. The Neapolis archaeological park, with its Greek theatre, lies on the mainland side.
Ortea Palace Hotel, Sicily, Autograph Collection (Booking 8.4) stands in the middle of Ortigia in a former art nouveau post office, with a spa, an indoor pool and a roof terrace facing the sea. A slightly cheaper alternative is Grand Hotel Ortigia (Booking 8.5) by the harbour, with a rooftop restaurant and a glass lift up to the view.
Ideal for: being able to walk everywhere, and liking towns more than beaches. Airport: Catania, one hour.
Val di Noto – the baroque towns of the south-east
After the earthquake of 1693, eight towns were rebuilt in a single late-baroque idiom – today a collective World Heritage Site. Noto is the best known, with its honey-coloured sandstone cathedral. Ragusa Ibla has perhaps the strongest sense of place, a tightly built old quarter on a crag, and Modica is known for its traditional cold-worked chocolate, a method that arrived under Spanish rule.
Two options: Il San Corrado di Noto (Booking 9.7, the highest score in this guide) sits in the countryside outside Noto with a spa and a pool, and Relais Antica Badia - San Maurizio 1619 (Booking 9.0) is an 18th-century villa in the middle of Ragusa with its baroque frescoes intact.
Ideal for: travellers who come for the architecture, the food and the wine rather than the beach. Airport: Comiso is closest to Ragusa and Modica, but Catania has far more connections and works better for Noto and Syracuse. Allow about an hour and a half from Catania.
Agrigento – for the Greek temples
The Valle dei Templi is the most impressive ancient site in Sicily: seven Doric temples along a ridge above the sea, among them the Temple of Concordia, one of the best-preserved Greek temples anywhere. Just to the west are the blinding white limestone terraces of Scala dei Turchi.
Villa Athena Resort (Booking 9.2) stands 200 metres from the Temple of Concordia in an 18th-century villa – several rooms look straight out at the temple, which no other hotel on the island can offer.
Ideal for: putting the archaeology first and seeing the temples floodlit in the evening. Airport: Palermo or Catania, about two hours.
Palermo and the north coast – big city and seaside towns
Palermo is the island's capital and one of the most multicultural cities in Europe, where Norman, Arab and Byzantine influences meet inside the same buildings – the Cappella Palatina is the clearest example. The street food markets at Ballarò and Vucciria are an attraction in themselves.
East of the city the north coast runs on to the seaside town of Cefalù, dominated by its Norman cathedral and the La Rocca crag. Rocco Forte Villa Igiea (Booking 9.3) occupies an art nouveau villa on the water just north of the centre, with gardens and a marina of its own, and Grand Hotel Et Des Palmes (Booking 9.0) is in the thick of the city in a venerable 19th-century hotel. Out on the coast, Grand Palladium Sicilia Resort & Spa (Booking 8.6) is at Campofelice di Roccella, barely 20 kilometres from Cefalù. To stay in Cefalù itself, Cefalù Sea Palace (Booking 8.5) is on the seafront with a private beach and the cathedral within walking distance.
Ideal for: city life, ideally with a beach attached. Airport: Palermo. Allow 30–45 minutes into the centre and roughly one to one and a half hours to the Cefalù area.
The south-west coast – golf and quiet at Sciacca
The stretch of coast between Agrigento and Trapani is the least developed on the island. Sciacca is an old fishing town and spa resort with hot springs, and from here you can reach both the temples at Agrigento and the archaeological park at Selinunte.
Verdura Resort (Booking 9.0) covers 230 hectares with two golf courses, six kilometres of private coastline and a large spa – one of the most comprehensive resorts on the island.
Ideal for: staying put at a big resort with plenty laid on instead of driving out every day. Airport: Palermo, an hour and a half.
Areas that work better as a trip of their own
The Aeolian Islands north of Sicily – Lipari, Salina, Stromboli and Panarea – are reached by ferry from Milazzo. To get anything out of them we would allow at least two or three nights. Day trips from Milazzo are possible, but they leave you very little time on the islands.
Western Sicily repays the journey, with the salt pans outside Trapani, Erice up on its mountain and the ferries to the Egadi Islands. Trapani is a practical base for all of it and has an airport of its own. Our current choice of hotels meeting Tripplo's criteria is thinner here, though.
Catania is worth a visit for the city life, the food and the proximity to Etna. For a trip built around the hotel, we still think Taormina has the clearly stronger line-up, and many people choose to stay there or in Syracuse.
Etna and the wine country on the volcano's northern and eastern slopes are a Sicily of their own: vineyards around Linguaglossa and Zafferana Etnea, agriturismi among the lava terraces and evenings markedly cooler than on the coast. We have no hotels there today that meet our criteria, but the area is an easy day trip from Taormina or Catania.
How to choose – the short version
Fly into Catania and eastern Sicily is easy to get at: Taormina, Etna, Syracuse and the baroque towns. Fly into Palermo and you have the capital, the north coast and the south-west. To take in both east and west on one trip, allow around three hours' driving between Palermo and Syracuse, and book two bases rather than one.
A hire car is essential outside the cities; the trains follow the coast but are slow. To see the whole selection, head to our page on Sicily.
