Our Sicily Guide
A few of our favourite places to wander, eat and swim while you're with us.
The wedding is on the eastern side of the island, so Ortigia, Noto and Taormina are the easiest to base yourself in. If you're making a longer trip of it, head west for Cefalù, Palermo and a medieval hilltop town called Erice, if you have time. Anything starred is something we genuinely love.
30 min from venue
Ortigia
A tiny baroque island clinging to the edge of Syracuse. Crumbling palazzi, narrow alleys, sea on every side. Our favourite base for the weekend.
★Fratelli Burgio
Right in the market. Cured meats, cheeses, antipasti boards under the awning. The most perfect long Sicilian lunch. We love it here.
★Davè Sicilian Taste
Beautifully done modern Sicilian. Book ahead, ask for the tasting menu, trust the wine pairings.
★Cortile Verga
A crumbling baroque courtyard with little tables, very well-made cocktails and small plates. A romantic spot in Ortigia, which you can easily turn drinks into dinner.
Pasticceria Artale
For the Sicilian breakfast ritual: almond granita with a brioche on the side. Founded 1980, old-school charm.
Forte Vigliena swimming spot
Climb down the rocks at the edge of the old town and jump into clear blue water. Bring a towel and a book.
Fontane Bianche beach
A long crescent of soft white sand 20 minutes south of Ortigia, with shallow turquoise water that goes on forever. The classic Syracuse summer day.
Cortile Spirito Santo
Ortigia's first Michelin-starred restaurant, inside the Palazzo Salomone hotel. Chef Giuseppe Torrisi's tasting menu is a serious occasion-dinner. Book well in advance.
La Terrazza del Grand Hotel
Sunset Aperol on a panoramic rooftop, this is the spot. Go early, the best tables fill fast.
Piazza Duomo at golden hour
The most beautiful square in Sicily. Sit on the cathedral steps with a granita and watch the light change.
~45 min from venue
Noto
Honey-coloured baroque on every corner. Smaller and softer than Ortigia, with a slow main street made for evening passeggiata.
★Caffè Sicilia
Corrado Assenza's legendary pastry shop. The almond granita and cassata are world-famous for a reason. You absolutely must go for breakfast. Another favourite spot.
★Ristorante Manna
Fresh, contemporary, vegetable-forward cooking in a beautiful courtyard setting just outside town. A lovely break from heavier Sicilian classics. Book well in advance, it gets snapped up.
Crocifisso
Noto's Michelin-starred fine dining. Chef Marco Baglieri offers tasting menus only (sea, land or vegetarian). The ultimate special-occasion dinner. Book now if you want to go.
Dammuso
Run by chef Marco's mother (of Crocifisso). Traditional Sicilian, family-run, in a beautiful old vault. Where to go for the proper home-cooking version of Noto.
Cattedrale di San Nicolò at sunset
The whole town glows gold. Sit on the cathedral steps with a gelato.
Calamosche beach
A crescent of soft sand inside the Vendicari nature reserve. A 20-minute walk from the car park, but worth every step.
~1.5 hours north
Taormina
The cliffside beauty made famous by The White Lotus. Yes, it's touristy. Yes, it's still spectacular.
★Teatro Antico
The Greek theatre with Etna behind it. Genuinely one of the best views in the world. Go early or at sunset.
★Bam Bar
The granita and brioche breakfast institution. Almond, pistachio, lemon, all of it.
★Lido La Pigna
The local artist's beach club at Mazzarò bay, reached by cable car from town. Sunbeds, a fantastic restaurant, and the best lunch on the water.
★Isola Bella
The tiny island connected by a sandbar. Take the cable car down, swim, lunch at a lido. Love it here.
★Nunziatina
A garden restaurant inspired by traditional Sicilian homes, with terraces looking out from Etna to the Naxos Gulf. Modern Sicilian cooking with real warmth. Book ahead.
★Otto Geleng
The Michelin-starred restaurant inside Belmond Grand Hotel Timeo, with just 16 seats on a terrace facing the Greek theatre. Chef Roberto Toro's tasting menus. The unforgettable splurge dinner.
★Morgana Cocktail Club
Taormina's iconic cocktail bar since 2001. Garden seating, beautiful drinks, dressy crowd. The night-out spot.
★Le Bar Louis Vuitton
On the rooftop of the LV boutique on Corso Umberto, opened 2024. Just 38 seats, a refined Sicilian small-plates menu and clever cocktails. The newest buzzy spot in town.
Mount Etna day trip
Drive up, hike a crater, eat lunch at a cantina on the slopes. Etna wines are extraordinary.
~3 hours northwest
Cefalù
A small, golden seaside town on the north coast. Honey-coloured houses tumbling down to a long sandy beach, with one of Sicily's most beautiful cathedrals at the centre. Our favourite place for beach days.
★Duomo di Cefalù
A Norman cathedral with breathtaking gold mosaics. One of the great medieval interiors in Europe.
★Spiaggia di Cefalù
The town beach. Long, sandy, gentle water, framed by old houses.
★Cortile Pepe
Imaginative Sicilian in a baroque courtyard. The chef's tasting menu is a treat. Reserve in advance.
★L'Angolo delle Dolcezze
The town's go-to pasticceria and gelato shop. Cassata, cannoli, almond pastries, frutta martorana. The whole Sicilian sweet tooth, in one place.
The gelato boat
A small boat that floats between Cefalù beach and Caldura Bay in summer, selling gelato (and cold beer) to swimmers in the water. Properly iconic.
Lavatoio Medievale
A 16th-century medieval wash house hidden down a flight of stone steps from Via Vittorio Emanuele. Atmospheric, free, and a tradition of ours to always stop by.
~3.5 hours west
Palermo
The capital city of Sicily. Loud, layered, electric. A beautiful mess of Norman cathedrals, Arab markets, baroque palazzi and graffiti. The food scene alone is worth the trip.
★A walk through the old centre
Start at the Cattedrale di Palermo, walk down Corso Vittorio Emanuele to Quattro Canti (the four-cornered baroque crossroads at the heart of the old town), pause at Piazza Pretoria with its fountain of nudes, then up Via Maqueda to Teatro Massimo. Lose a morning, gain a city.
★Teatro Massimo
The grand opera house, Italy's biggest. Take the guided tour (around 30 min), or catch a performance if the timing works. The steps featured in The Godfather Part III.
★Cappella Palatina
Inside the Palazzo dei Normanni. Byzantine mosaics, Arab ceiling, Norman bones. One of the most extraordinary rooms in Italy.
★Bisso Bistrot
At the Quattro Canti, in an old bookshop. Imaginative Sicilian, beautiful setting, where the well-dressed Palermitani lunch.
★Pasticceria Cappello
A Palermo institution since the 1940s. The Setteveli (seven-layer chocolate cake) was invented here. Also the place for proper cassata and cannoli.
Trattoria Ai Cascinari
A Sunday lunch institution. Pasta con le sarde, swordfish involtini, the works. Book ahead, go hungry.
Igiea Terrazza Bar
The vaulted bar and terrace at Villa Igiea, the Florio family's Art Nouveau palazzo on the Gulf of Palermo, now a Rocco Forte hotel. Aperitivo with the bay laid out below you, the way the Florios did it.
Via della Libertà & Via Maqueda
The main shopping streets. Via della Libertà for the bigger Italian designer names, Via Maqueda for boutiques and local labels. Wander, browse, stop for an espresso.
Cathedral of Monreale
A short drive out of town. The mosaic interior is staggering, possibly even better than the Palatina.
Mondello beach
Palermo's beach. White sand, turquoise water, full of Palermitani in summer. Take a taxi or the bus.
~4 hours west · day trip
Erice
A medieval stone village perched 750m above the sea, often with clouds drifting through the streets. The cable car up from Trapani is part of the magic.
★The cable car from Trapani
Don't drive up, take the funivia. The views climbing up the mountain are half the experience.
★Pasticceria Maria Grammatico
The almond pastry shop. Maria learned the recipes from nuns at the local convent. The marzipan fruits are tiny works of art.
★Monte San Giuliano
A garden hideaway tucked behind a medieval double gate. Couscous trapanese, busiate with almond pesto, lamb in pistachio crust. Book a table on the walled terrace.
★La Pentolaccia
Set inside a 17th-century convent on a quiet medieval street, with a Sicilian cart by the entrance and stone-walled rooms inside. Proper Trapanese cooking — busiate with Trapanese pesto, ravioli all'ericina, the catch of the day. Laid-back and elegant.
Castello di Venere
A Norman castle on the cliff edge, on top of an ancient temple to Venus. The view goes from Tunisia to Mount Etna on a clear day.
Salt pans of Trapani at sunset
On the drive back. Pink water, white pyramids of salt, working windmills. Properly otherworldly.
San Vito Lo Capo
A 40-minute drive from Erice. White sand, turquoise water, properly Caribbean. Pair with Erice for a perfect day.