Sicily
Sicily is the largest island in the Mediterranean, and every ruler who passed through - Greek, Arab, Norman, Spanish - left something behind: temples, red-domed churches in Palermo, baroque towns like Noto rebuilt after the 1693 earthquake flattened the old ones. Etna presides over the east coast, Europe's tallest active volcano, and Catania's own streets are paved in its black lava stone. A day here moves between ruins, a market and the sea, at an island's own pace.
Marzamemi: How Long to Stay, and When to Go
One perfect piazza and an old tonnara in southeast Sicily - genuinely worth an hour or two, but only if you time the visit right.
Catania: What Two Days There Actually Buy You
The best things to do in Catania, and what two days there actually buy you: the morning market, the eating, the free city, and the day trip worth it.
Best Beaches in Sicily: How to Reach Them, What They Cost
Which Sicilian beaches you can reach by train or bus, which need a car, and what a day on the sand actually costs before you put a towel down.
Catania to Palermo: Train, Bus, or Car
The Catania to Palermo train runs direct again in just under three hours. How it compares with the bus and the drive, and how to check your own date.
San Vito lo Capo: Where Sicily's Road Ends
The beach at the far end of Sicily: what the sand actually costs, how to reach San Vito lo Capo without a car, and how late the water stays warm.
Mount Etna: How High You Can Stand on an Active Volcano
A different planet at the top: bare black slope, the coast far below. How high you get on your own, what each rung costs, and why the ceiling moves.
Taormina: What to See, and the Best Hours to See It
Taormina is two towns on the same street, and the hour decides which one you get. What to see, what the Etna day costs, and when the crowds thin.
Catania Airport to Taormina
Catania Airport to Taormina by bus, train, taxi or rental car: what each costs, when the last bus goes, and what to do when ash closes the airport.