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    Berlitz Pocket Guide Sicily (Travel Guide eBook)
    Berlitz Pocket Guide Sicily (Travel Guide eBook)
    Berlitz Pocket Guide Sicily (Travel Guide eBook)
    Ebook380 pages2 hours

    Berlitz Pocket Guide Sicily (Travel Guide eBook)

    By Berlitz Publishing

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    About this ebook

    Berlitz Pocket Guides: iconic style, a bestselling brand, this is the quintessential pocket-sized travel guide to Sicily

    Plan your trip, plan perfect days and discover how to get around - this pocket-sized guide is a convenient, quick-reference companion to discovering what to do and see in Sicily, from top attractions like buzzing Palermo, the Valley of the Temples and Mount Etna to hidden gems, including street markets and puppet theatres. This will save you time, and enhance your exploration of this thrilling region.

    Compact, concise, and packed with essential information, this is an iconic on-the-move companion when you're exploring Sicily
    Covers Top Ten Attractions, including buzzing Palermo, the Valley of the Temples and Mount Etna and Perfect Day itinerary suggestions
    Includes an insightful overview of landscape, history and culture
    Handy colour maps on the inside cover flaps will help you find your way around
    Essential practical information on everything from Eating Out to Getting Around
    Inspirational colour photography throughout
    Sharp design and colour-coded sections make for an engaging reading experience

    About Berlitz: Berlitz draws on years of travel and language expertise tobring you a wide range of travel and language products, including travel guides, maps, phrase books, language-learning courses, dictionaries and kids' language products.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherInsight Guides
    Release dateApr 1, 2018
    ISBN9781785731006
    Berlitz Pocket Guide Sicily (Travel Guide eBook)

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      Book preview

      Berlitz Pocket Guide Sicily (Travel Guide eBook) - Berlitz Publishing

      How To Use This E-Book

      Getting Around the e-Book

      This Pocket Guide e-book is designed to give you inspiration and planning advice for your visit to Sicily, and is also the perfect on-the-ground companion for your trip.

      The guide begins with our selection of Top 10 Attractions, plus a Perfect Itinerary feature to help you plan unmissable experiences. The Introduction and History chapters paint a vivid cultural portrait of Sicily, and the Where to Go chapter gives a complete guide to all the sights worth visiting. You will find ideas for activities in the What to Do section, while the Eating Out chapter describes the local cuisine and gives listings of the best restaurants. The Travel Tips offer practical information to help you plan your trip. Finally, there are carefully selected hotel listings.

      In the Table of Contents and throughout this e-book you will see hyperlinked references. Just tap a hyperlink once to skip to the section you would like to read. Practical information and listings are also hyperlinked, so as long as you have an external connection to the internet, you can tap a link to go directly to the website for more information.

      Maps

      All key attractions and sights in Sicily are numbered and cross-referenced to high-quality maps. Wherever you see the reference [map], tap once to go straight to the related map. You can also double-tap any map for a zoom view.

      Images

      You’ll find lots of beautiful high-resolution images that capture the essence of Sicily. Simply double-tap an image to see it in full-screen.

      About Berlitz Pocket Guides

      The Berlitz story began in 1877 when Maximilian Berlitz devised his revolutionary method of language learning. More than 130 years later, Berlitz is a household name, famed not only for language schools but also as a provider of best-selling language and travel guides.

      Our wide-ranging travel products – printed travel guides and phrase books, as well as apps and ebooks – offer all the information you need for a perfect trip, and are regularly updated by our team of expert local authors. Their practical emphasis means they are perfect for use on the ground. Wherever you’re going – whether it’s on a short break, the trip of a lifetime, a cruise or a business trip – we offer the ideal guide for your needs.

      Our Berlitz Pocket Guides are the perfect choice if you need reliable, concise information in a handy format. We provide amazing value for money – these guides may be small, but they are packed with information. No wonder they have sold more than 45 million copies worldwide.

      © 2018 Apa Digital (CH) AG and Apa Publications (UK) Ltd

      Table of Contents

      Sicily’s Top 10 Attractions

      Top Attraction #1

      Top Attraction #2

      Top Attraction #3

      Top Attraction #4

      Top Attraction #5

      Top Attraction #6

      Top Attraction #7

      Top Attraction #8

      Top Attraction #9

      Top Attraction #10

      A Perfect Tour of Sicily

      Introduction

      Sicilian way of life

      A diverse island

      Ancient cities and towns

      Regeneration

      A Brief History

      Early settlers

      The Greek centuries

      Romans and Saracens

      Stupor Mundi and the Sicilian Vespers

      Spanish rule

      From unification into the present

      Historical Highlights

      Where To Go

      Palermo

      The Quattro Canti

      The Albergheria

      The Cattedrale and Palazzo dei Normanni

      San Giovanni degli Eremiti

      From the Vucciria to Piazza Verdi

      The Museo Archeológico

      Teatro Massimo

      La Kalsa

      San Francesco and San Lorenzo

      Piazza Marina

      Galleria Regionale at Palazzo Abatellis

      Around Palermo

      La Zisa

      Catacombe dei Cappuccini

      Parco della Favorita and Monte Pellegrino

      Monreale

      Bagheria

      Mondello

      East from Palermo

      Cefalù

      Museo Mandralisca

      Piazza Duomo and the Old Town

      Into the Madonie

      Tindari

      The Aeolian Islands (Isole Eolie)

      Vulcano and Lípari

      Other islands

      The Eastern Coast

      Messina

      Taormina

      The Teatro Greco and Giardino Pubblico

      Mount Etna

      Catania

      Piazza del Duomo

      Piazza Mazzini and Via dei Crociferi

      Teatro Romano

      Inland to Enna and Piazza Armerina

      Piazza Armerina

      The Villa Romana at Casale

      Caltagirone

      Siracusa (Syracuse)

      The Parco Archeológico della Neapolis

      Basilica di San Giovanni and the Catacombs

      The Museo Archeológico

      Ortigia

      Fonte Aretusa and Galleria Regionale

      Inland from Siracusa

      Val di Noto

      Noto

      Ragusa

      Módica and Scicli

      The Southwestern Coast

      Agrigento

      Valley of the Temples

      The Museo Archeológico and the Roman City

      Modern Agrigento

      Sciacca

      Selinunte

      The West Coast

      Mazara del Vallo

      Marsala

      The Old Town

      Mozia

      Trápani

      Erice

      Segesta

      Capo San Vito

      The Egadi Islands (Isole Egadi)

      Pantelleria

      What To Do

      Shopping

      Weekly Markets

      Sports and Outdoor Activities

      Music and the Performing Arts

      Puppet Theatre

      Children’s Sicily

      Calendar of Events

      Eating Out

      Reading the Menu

      Useful Restaurant Terms

      Some Typical Pastas

      Some Common Pasta Sauces

      Restaurants

      Palermo

      Aeolian Islands (Isole Eolie)

      Agrigento

      Catania

      Cefalù

      Erice

      Módica

      Noto

      Piazza Armerina

      Ragusa

      Siracusa

      Taormina

      A–Z Travel Tips

      A

      Accommodation

      Airports

      B

      Budgeting for your Trip

      C

      Camping

      Car Hire

      Climate

      Clothing

      Crime and Safety

      D

      Disabled Travellers

      Driving

      E

      Electricity

      Embassies and Consulates

      Emergencies

      G

      Getting There

      Guides and Tours

      H

      Health and Medical Care

      L

      Language

      LGBTQ Travellers

      M

      Maps

      Media

      Money

      O

      Opening Hours

      P

      Police

      Post Offices

      Public Holidays

      R

      Religion

      T

      Telephone

      Time Zones

      Tipping

      Toilets

      Tourist Information

      Transport

      V

      Visas and Entry Requirements

      W

      Websites and Internet Access

      Y

      Youth Hostels

      Recommended Hotels

      Palermo

      Around Palermo

      Cefalù

      Ustica

      Aeolian Islands (Isole Eolie)

      Taormina

      Catania

      Siracusa

      Noto

      Ragusa

      Módica

      Agrigento

      Selinunte

      Mazara del Vallo

      Sciacca

      Trápani

      Erice

      Egadi Islands (Isole Egadi)

      Dictionary

      English–Italian

      Italian–English

      Sicily’s Top 10 Attractions

      Top Attraction #1

      Neil Buchan-Grant/Apa Publications

      Aeolian Islands

      Visit these lovely volcanic islands by hydrofoil. For more information, click here.

      Top Attraction #2

      iStock

      Mount Etna

      You can take a train around Sicily’s smoking volcano. For more information, click here.

      Top Attraction #3

      Neil Buchan-Grant/Apa Publications

      Valley of the Temples

      Sicily’s most breathtaking ancient site, at Agrigento. For more information, click here.

      Top Attraction #4

      Shutterstock

      Villa Romana

      Many of the finest Roman mosaics ever uncovered are here in Casale. For more information, click here.

      Top Attraction #5

      Neil Buchan-Grant/Apa Publications

      Parco Archeologico della Neapolis

      Contains the fascinating remains of the ancient city of Syracuse. For more information, click here.

      Top Attraction #6

      Neil Buchan-Grant/Apa Publications

      Monreale

      The cathedral here glitters with spectacular mosaics on every surface. For more information, click here.

      Top Attraction #7

      Neil Buchan-Grant/Apa Publications

      Noto Duomo

      A fine example of Sicilian Baroque, full of extravagant ornamentation. For more information, click here.

      Top Attraction #8

      Shutterstock

      Cefalù

      A popular resort on the north coast, with a sandy beach and attractive old town. For more information, click here.

      Top Attraction #9

      iStock

      Taormina

      A charming hillside town complete with an ancient Greek Theatre and classic views. For more information, click here.

      Top Attraction #10

      Dreamstime

      Riserva dello Zingaro

      Set on the rugged coastline west of Palermo, this beautiful nature reserve has fabulous walks, beaches and birdlife. For more information, click here.

      A Perfect Tour of Sicily

      Day 1

      Taormina

      Make Taormina your base for two nights. This is Sicily’s most sophisticated resort, in a dramatic setting overlooking Mount Etna. Amble along the Corso soaking up the views, and lunch at Al Duomo. Take the cable car down to Mazzarò for a dip in the sea, and check out evening drama, music and film at the Greek Theatre.

      Day 2

      Mount Etna

      Either join a 4-wheel drive or trekking tour from Taormina or hire a car to explore the foothills of Etna, Europe’s largest active volcano. For the ascent take a picnic and head for the Rifugio Sapienza cable car and an optional guided drive and walk to the summit. Return to Taormina for sunset cocktails and volcano views.

      Day 3

      Catania

      Spend a day in Catania (buses go from Taormina, trains from nearby Termini-Giardini station). Ignore the urban sprawl and enjoy the vibrant centre with its great street markets and grandiose palazzi and churches. Lunch at the atmospheric Osteria Antica Marina in the fish market.

      Day 4

      Siracusa

      Head south to Siracusa. Visit the Archaeological Park of Neapolis, then take a bus or taxi to explore the seductive island of Ortigia. A short boat trip around the island later, join the passeggiata (evening stroll) along the seafront and then dine at Archimede.

      Day 5

      Val di Noto

      Explore the World Heritage Baroque cities of the Val di Noto. Start at Noto, whose Corso Vittorio Emanuele is flanked by glorious Baroque palazzi and churches. Take a dip at the Lido di Noto, or the quieter Riserva Naturale di Vendicari, with sandy beaches and a wealth of birdlife. Drive to Módica and combine sightseeing with retail therapy (excellent shops here) and gastronomy. Ideally, spend a night or two in the lovely Palazzo Failla Hotel and dine in its gourmet restaurant.

      Day 6

      Scicli and Ragusa

      Spend a leisurely morning in Scicli, a beautiful little Baroque town. Drive north to Ragusa, following signs for Ragusa Ibla, where old world charm prevails. Visit the Cattedrale di San Giorgio and the restored heart of town.

      Day 7

      Agrigento

      Head west to Sicily’s greatest archaeological site, Agrigento’s Valley of the Temples. Wander among evocative Greek temple ruins and picnic in the Kolymbetra Gardens. Dine in modern Agrigento or splash out at Villa Athena with stunning views of the Temple of Concordia.

      Day 8

      Enna and Villa Romana

      Head inland to the hill town of Enna. Drive south to Villa Romana del Casale to see the finest in-situ Roman floor mosaics in existence. Check out ceramic workshops at Caltagirone before returning to the coast at Catania.

      Introduction

      When Sicilians make the 3-km (2-mile) trip across the Strait of Messina, they are likely to say that they are going to Italy. Italians on the peninsula, for that matter, tend to think of their neighbours in Sicily as foreigners, or at least as being a bit foreign – and this is a distinction with which few Sicilians would take issue.

      Travellers will quickly notice that Sicily feels different from any place else either in Italy or in other parts of Europe. To understand why, you need only look to the past. The events of history have left a distinct imprint on Sicily which is in evidence everywhere on the island. Just about all the powers that prowled the Mediterranean over the past 3,000 years set their sights on Sicily, and they left behind many stunning relics of their presence.

      The juxtaposition of classical temples, mosaic-filled churches and ornate piazzas lends a theatrical and decidedly unique presence to the island. In Palermo, the cathedral that the Spanish so richly ornamented is only steps away from the mosaic-filled palace that was the seat of the enlightened courts of the island’s Saracen and Norman rulers; the Baroque churches and piazzas of Catania incorporate columns of Roman temples; medieval Erice is built near the site of a temple allegedly erected by some of the island’s earliest settlers, the Elymians.

      Many islanders still speak Sicilian, a combination of words and sounds from the long Greek, Latin, Aragonese, Arabic and Norman-French past; Sicilian is as foreign to an Italian from north of the strait as it is to someone who doesn’t speak a word of Italian. The food in Sicily is different from that of the mainland, too: the lemons, capers and almonds that the Arabs brought with them from North Africa still appear in many dishes. Since most Sicilians don’t live far from the sea, fish, often the pesce spada (swordfish) caught in the Strait of Messina, is a staple on most menus.

      Sicilian way of life

      Travellers will probably notice that Sicilians approach life a little differently than other Italians do. It is difficult to quantify exactly what these differences are, but being among Sicilians is one of the pleasures of touring the island. They are welcoming to their visitors, and are likely to strike up a conversation about a son who studied in London or a cousin who lives in Chicago or Brooklyn (almost a third of the island’s population emigrated in the late 19th and early 20th century). Afternoon closures, which afford shopkeepers and office workers a chance to enjoy lunch and a nap, are a little longer than they are on the mainland, usually from 1–4pm. Standing patiently in an orderly line is not a Sicilian characteristic; finding an occasion to socialise, whether at one of the street markets that are

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