Catania
Part of the Italy-wide UNA chain, Palace Catania delivers higher-end digs in a city badly in need of upmarket options. The white-on-white rooms lack wow factor but are nonetheless plush and comfortable, with flouncy tie-back drapes and arched, Norman-inspired bedheads. In-house perks include a gym, a Turkish bath and a rooftop garden bar with a knockout view of Etna.
Parking costs €20 per night.
26.25 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…
0.4 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…
0.5 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…
0.39 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…
0.46 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…
14.06 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…
Monastero dei Benedettini di San Nicolò l'Arena
0.47 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…
25.51 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…
0.12 MILES
The modest, neglected ruins of this Roman theatre, below street level in Piazza Stesicoro, are worth a quick look if you're passing by. Note that opening…
0.15 MILES
Escape the madding crowd and enjoy the fine views of Mt Etna from these lovely, if unkempt, gardens along Via Etnea. Speckled with lush foliage and…
3. Chiesa di Sant'Agata al Carcere
0.19 MILES
The young virgin Agata resisted the advances of the nefarious Quintian (AD 250) and was horribly mutilated (her breasts were hacked off and her body…
0.3 MILES
It's not difficult to see how Catania's main shopping street got its name – on a clear day you can see Mt Etna rising majestically at the end of it. Via…
0.33 MILES
Attributed to Sicilian baroque maestro Vaccarini and built between 1739 and 1751, the Chiesa di San Giuliano features an elegant convex facade and, above…
0.36 MILES
A lovely, tranquil spot for a morning stroll, Via Crociferi is one of Catania's most attractive streets, famous for its exuberant baroque churches and…
0.38 MILES
Flanking the western edge of Piazza dell'Università, this handsome palazzo includes a courtyard designed by Giovanni Battista Vaccarini. The building…
0.38 MILES
Designed by the great baroque architect Giovanni Battista Vaccarini, this elegant 18th-century palazzo flanks the eastern edge of Piazza dell'Università.