Housed in a 17th-century palazzo a stone's throw from the duomo, this clean, friendly hostel offers incredible location and value. Three dorms (one female-only) and one private room have lofty frescoed ceilings and panoramic balconies, with reading lights and curtains for every bed. The marble-floored former ballroom doubles as a lounge, while the rooftop terrace-bar offers incomparable Etna vistas.
Ostello degli Elefanti
Catania
Lonely Planet's must-see attractions
26.59 MILES
Taormina's premier sight is this perfect horseshoe-shaped theatre, suspended between sea and sky, with Mt Etna looming on the southern horizon. Built in…
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0.16 MILES
Completed in 1890 and made for homegrown composer Vincenzo Bellini, Catania's opera house is suitably lavish, from the stucco-and-marble extravagance of…
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0.09 MILES
Catania's raucous fish market, which takes over the streets behind Piazza del Duomo every workday morning, is pure street theatre. Tables groan under the…
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0.16 MILES
The Monastero delle Benedettine covers two adjacent sites: a Benedictine convent and the Chiesa di San Benedetto. Top billing goes to the church, built…
0.04 MILES
A Unesco World Heritage Site, Catania's central piazza is a set piece of contrasting lava and limestone, surrounded by buildings in the unique local…
14.47 MILES
Funivia dell'Etna runs a cable car from Rifugio Sapienza (1920m) up the mountain to 2500m. Once out of the cable car you can attempt the long walk (3½ to…
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Monastero dei Benedettini di San Nicolò l'Arena
0.42 MILES
This is one of Europe's largest monasteries and an example of the wealth enjoyed by the Benedictine order. Built in 1703 and now part of the city…
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25.12 MILES
On a huge plateau above the Valle dell'Anapo is the site of Sicily's most important Iron and Bronze Age necropolis, the Necropoli di Pantalica, with more…
Nearby Catania attractions
0.03 MILES
Standing at the northern end of Unesco-lauded Piazza del Duomo, the 'Palace of the Elephants' is Catania's town hall. The building's eastern, southern and…
0.04 MILES
With an elegant concave-convex facade reminiscent of Borromini, this 18th-century church was designed by Palermitan architect Giovanni Battista Vaccarini…
0.04 MILES
Designed by the great baroque architect Giovanni Battista Vaccarini, this elegant 18th-century palazzo flanks the eastern edge of Piazza dell'Università.
0.04 MILES
A Unesco World Heritage Site, Catania's central piazza is a set piece of contrasting lava and limestone, surrounded by buildings in the unique local…
0.05 MILES
Taking centre stage on Catania's showpiece Piazze del Duomo is the city's most memorable monument, the smiling Fontana dell'Elefante (Fountain of the…
0.05 MILES
Flanking the western edge of Piazza dell'Università, this handsome palazzo includes a courtyard designed by Giovanni Battista Vaccarini. The building…
0.07 MILES
Inside the vaulted interior of this cathedral, beyond its impressive marble facade sporting two orders of columns taken from the Roman amphitheatre, lie…
0.07 MILES
The most obvious reason to visit this museum, adjacent to Catania's duomo, is to see the Fercolo, the famous silver reliquary bust of Saint Agata that's…