My great-grandfather Niccolò Cipollina was born in the Cala, Palermo’s ancient port, in 1899. My great-grandmother was born in Villarosa in the Enna province at around the same time. My Sicily roots run deep, and it’s one of my favorite places to travel. It’s also a frustrating place to dine out since so many restaurants exist mainly to cater to tourists (and too often demanding tourists from Milan, so you can imagine…),which means they can be mind-bogglingly disappointing.
Sicilians generally eat at home and cook, transforming the freshest local ingredients into extremely tasty dishes. I HIGHLY recommend you find an apartment with a kitchen as your vacation base and use it to cook, at least for part of your stay. Sicily’s market ingredients are amazing, and the bakeries and pastry shops are so outstanding that you’ll want to have plenty of meals out for breakfast, steet food lunches, and dessert, so if you aren’t married to the idea of three meals a day at a restaurant table you will still eat very well.
Also bear in mind Sicily is the largest island in the Mediterranean, and if you’re planning a visit I would either suggest at least 2 weeks if you want to explore the “whole” island; or, if you have a week or less, choose just one side (fly into Palermo to explore the west, Catania to explore the east). The roads are fine for driving but it takes time to cross the island, so save yourself hours of being on the road and embrace the chill atmosphere of the island.
Visit Sicily mid-October to Holy Week
Sicily is a MAJOR destination for Italian and European tourists and temperatures during the past two summers have topped 120F. The crowds and the temps are much more reasonable in the fall and winter. The lower season is even better for swimming--the water is still quite warm in October and into November, and you don’t have to fight for towel space. If hanging by the beach isn’t your top priority, visit around Christmas or Holy Week when religious festivals abound.
Let's get this out of the way
If you're loaded, sure, go stay at the hotel from White Lotus for a couple days. Otherwise, I would skip Taormina. It was developed for Anglophone tourists 150 years ago and that's exactly what it feels like. Every second you spend in Taormina is a second robbed from another part of the island. Catania and nearby Mount Etna are way cooler (more on that below). No one listens to this advice, though, so when you go to Taormina, at least eat at Osteria Divino Rosso.
Don’t Skip Palermo & Its Environs
This is seriously the most vibrant city in Italy and it just keeps getting more interesting. Rent a place near the Ballarò market and shop and cook and you’ll have an incredible time. Eat lots of street food like pane ca meusa (spleen and lung sandwich) at Pani ca’ Meusa di Porta Carbone or Nino U Ballerino. Also head to Piazza Ballarò and you'll find loads of stalls frying things (the panelle and potato croquette sandwiches are the best things there). There are a bunch of stalls there including a frittularu (a dude selling fat and cartilage and random veal trimmings, either in a paper cone or on a bun). My full Palermo guide is here. And do yourself a favor and book a market tour with Linda Sarris.
Spend a couple of days near Palermo at the Tonnara di Scopello, hike and swim every day in the Riserva Naturale dello Zingaro. Pop down to Segesta to see the 5th century BCE Doric temple then drive over to Erice for pastries at the legendary Pasticceria Maria Grammatico. Make sure your offline maps are working and head up to Balzo Rosso in Belmonte for the most incredible ricotta and other cheeses--not to mention sweeping views over Palermo.
Go to Catania
Catania is magic. The black volcanic buildings from nearby Mount Etna are visually striking and the city has a fantastic energy. For food and drinks, check out: Fud (donkey and horse burgers are the specialty), Trattoria N'ta Za' Carmela (horse steaks on Via Plebescito!), Le Tre Bocche, and of course, the fish market near the Duomo. Scirocco is the spot to grab a bite with a view of the fish market. Caffè Europa and Ernesto are institutions for sweet and savory treats and Forno Biancuccia is great for breads and savory pies. Nelson is a great bottle shop with a huge natural wine selection. A few blocks north, Vermut serves vino and cocktails. I'd spend at least a night in town (Habitat is my choice) and whether you stay there or not, absolutely prioritize eating at chef Bianca Celano's restaurant Materia Spazio Cucina in the hotel. Her austere but flavourful contemporary Sicilian dishes are next-level.
Visiting Etna
To really experience Mount Etna, beyond just getting the view of it from Catania, you should stay in one of its surrounding towns. I usually stay in Randazzo, which is a great base for exploring Etna’s vineyards. Plus Giovanna Musumeci's pastry shop is there. Nearby, San Giorgio e Il Drago serves homey classics. Cave Ox in Solicchiata has an outstanding wine list (food isn’t quite perfect, but it’s greatly improved over the years, plus it’s Frank Cornelissen’s local). Vitis in Castiglione (though soon possibly moving to Randazzo) is an awesome place to drink wines. In Linguaglossa, the butcher shop Dai Pennisi sells meat and serves it on-site. The meatballs grilled in citrus leaves are bonkers. Vino Di Anna and Calabretta are a couple of my favorite producers and can occasionally accept visitors by appointment, and SRC Vini has a tasting room where they serve wine with snacks (book ahead). For food, I love Quattro Archi in Milo and I Vigneri di Salvo Foti for a vineyard visit nearby. If you want a stellar food- and wine-focused tour on the volcano, contact Brittany Carlisi.
Visiting the Southeast
On the way down from Catania and Etna, stop at I Rizzari in Brucoli for an excellent fish meal. Choose a base in or around Modica, Noto, Siracusa, Scicli, Palazzolo Acreide, or Ragusa--the southeast’s Baroque towns--and explore as many of these architectural gems as you can with day trips into each. I’m partial to Noto since it’s the home to Corrado Assenza’s Caffe Sicilia. Since this perfect pastry shop was immortalized on Chef’s Table, the crowds have become a bit unpleasant, but Assenza’s excellent pastries and cookies (not to mention the most pure and life-altering almond milk) just keep getting better. Since most people tend to go for breakfast, the crowds are typically less of an issue in the afternoon, which is still the perfect time for a caffè, granita, and the best sweets around. The pasta at Il Crocifisso in Noto is relatively solid. Il Crocifisso’s sister restaurant, Dammuso is one of a growing number of contemporary restaurants that TRIES SO HARD but. Càssaro on the main drag of Noto is good enough and the wine list is amazing. If you're just in town for a snack, hit Panificio Maidda for bread and savory treats.
In Modica, Caffè Adamo is great for granita and sweets in general, and Enoteca Rappa is great for wine. If you’re coming into town on the train, take the short walk into the center and stop at Arancineria on the main street (Corso Umberto I) for perfect arancine (plus all the fun Sicilian fruit sodas) that belong to the ideal level of slightly elevated street food that doesn’t go too crazy with unnecessary flavors. In Ragusa, I like I Banchi for baked things, especially breads, as well as cheeses and cured meats. I’m not wild about the dishes that come out of the kitchen but, as the name suggests, the stuff from the banco (counter) is the move rather than sitting at a table. My favorite place to eat and drink in Ragusa is Delicatessen in Drogheria. They have it all--cheeses, cured meats, vegetables, pasta, meat, and groceries. It's fantastic.
Just outside of Ragusa, Trattoria Maria Fidone is one of my favorite trattorias on this side of the island. The hours are a bit weird so call ahead before just turning up.
A very spectacular and very overlooked inland town is Palazzolo Acreide, which has cool ruins of an ancient Greek theater and an overall Baroque appeal. Estro (no relation to the place of the same name in Venice!) is a bit on the fancy/cucina revistata side but the ingredients are great. Trattoria del Gallo is on the simpler side but they go HAM with the squirt-bottle decorations, especially on desserts. I mean the whole island does. In spite of being very early 90s, it’s not a disqualifying factor. Lo Scrigno dei Sapori has absolutely the wackiest decor but the pasta and fried things are very good. They even do some fine pizza. It's my favorite spot in town.
Just outside of Palazzolo, Giannavì is a big farm where they make their own cheese, raise their own pigs, and make awesome salumi. I suggest doing lunch there on a Sunday. It’s kind of a classic Sicilian scene: country meal, you get hammered with food and don’t have to make any decisions because it just all comes to the table, all for around €30 per person. Mental. It’s also a good place to get a crash-course in the food of the surrounding Hyblaean Mountains.
Siracusa and Ortigia, the island part of Siracusa, are hard. They're so beautiful but the restaurants are mostly very bad. This is true for most of the southeast, actually, re: the aforementioned touristy dining situation at the top of this guide, recommendations above notwithstanding. Again, the best places you can eat out will be bakeries/pastry shops, gelaterie, street food, and wine bars.
My favorite place in Ortigia for vino is Enoteca Solaria. The list is incredible. During the day, grab sandwiches at Fratelli Burgio and take them to the beach (east side of the island is best). Fratelli Burgio happens to be on the edge of the outdoor Ortigia market where, again, you should shop for ingredients to cook at home. When you do go out to dinner, eat at Latteria Mamma Iabica (in Siracusa’s center); at Ranieri, a women-powered spot in one of the more pleasant piazzas, with a killer wine list and a couscous arancina that blows minds; or at Taverna Giudecca for charmingly lowkey vibes, busiate al pistacchio, and the most bang for your buck. Le Vin de L’Assassin is a restaurant that feels like more of an aggrandized wine bar, with creative but overall not too fussy plates. Generally speaking, the east side of Ortigia is better than the west when you want an aperitivo on the water; the west gets the sunset views but is consequently more commercialized and generally touristy. If you feel the need to sit in the Piazza del Duomo, Condorelli is fine for an almond granita but overpriced in other categories. For gelato, Fiordilatte is the best artisanal with the most fun Sicilian flavors alongside the classics, since most other places focus on granita and leave the gelato a little behind. Buy all of the hundred types of almond cookies at Amàndorla Marciante. I'd love to hear if you find some more great spots. HMU!
Also on the coast in the southeast, the little town of Marzamemi is super cute. Its tonnara (tuna processing plant) is no longer functioning, but the sand-colored buildings have been repurposed as bars and performance spaces. On the waterfront, La Cialoma is nice for seafood, especially crudi. Take a dip nearby at Portopalo and the Isola di Capopassero. On the southern coast, the Faraglioni di Ciriga and surrounding seaside are beautiful for swimming. There’s also the Riserva Naturale Orientata just south of Lido di Noto, where besides beaches you can also enjoy sandy walking trails.
The Islands
Obviously Sicily is an island, but it also has lots of little islands around it. (Many of them are covered in my book Food of the Italian Islands. If you’re not already in possession of this independently published title, pop on over to my shop to support my work in the field.) The Aeolian Islands are the most heavily trafficked, just off of the north coast of “mainland” Sicily. Off of the west coast, Marettimo, Favignana, and Levanzo are easy trips from Trapani.
Pantelleria is my favorite of the islands. Stay in a dammuso (traditional dwelling or agricultural building), like at Le Case del Principe, where the dammusi are perfect self-catering apartments. Eat daily at Osteria Il Principe e Il Pirata and swim at Cala Tramontana and Arco dell’Elefante. If you’re not on a budget, stay at one of the Tenuta Borgia villas (the Villa Grande and its pool was immortalized in Luca Guadagnino’s 2015 film A Bigger Splash and it’s €€€€€ but some of the smaller villas also have their own small private pools). For vineyard visits, check out Tanca Nica, Anforaje, Abbazia San Giorgio and Cantina Basile, where you can taste the island’s unique wines and the sweet passito. Visit the Museo del Cappero, which proudly declares itself the world’s first and only caper museum, for a quirky insight into Pantelleria’s role in cultivating one of Sicily’s favorite ingredients--and buy all of the delicious products in the shop from La Nicchia, the top caper producer on the island, to take home. I never leave without at least a half-dozen jars of cured caper leaves.
Trapani port and Palermo’s airport offers year-round connections to Pantelleria (which otherwise can be challenging to reach given the seasonal nature of its transport). If you're adventurous and don't mind delays, there is also a ferry from mainland Sicily!
