Unique Experience
Palazzo Visit
In Palermo visit a Palazzo. A unique insight into a historic building and beautifully decorated home.
7 nights from
£2025
A circular tour of Sicily’s sumptuous treasures begins, rather aptly, at Syracuse, where Archimedes had his ‘Eureka’ moment, and Greek, Roman and Baroque buildings chart the ancient city’s history. A duo of UNESCO World Heritage sites come next as we travel inland to the exquisite Roman mosaics of Piazza Armerina’s Villa del Casale, then continue to Agrigento’s Greek ‘Valley of Temples’. In a stunning setting overlooking the sea, Selinunte’s archaeological park is isolated, elevated and enormous, with the ruins of residential buildings, city walls and tall temples evoking its 2,500-year-old origins.
In Palermo’s 12th century Norman churches, the cathedral nave is a flamboyant fusion of eras and art, while the crypt holds the tombs of emperors; La Martorana (church of Santa Maria dell’Ammiraglio) gleams with gilded mosaics; and a litany of saints are celebrated in the mesmerising Palatine Chapel. Its Duomo revered as an architectural masterpiece, Monreale is not so much a town with a cathedral, more a cathedral with a town; while coastal Cefalú displays a dual personality of modern shoreline and medieval heart. Some say we saved the best for last on the final day, as we team enchanting Taormina with iconic Mount Etna.
In Palermo visit a Palazzo. A unique insight into a historic building and beautifully decorated home.
This is a busy and full itinerary and entails morning departures and late evening arrivals at hotels. Sightseeing involves many visits on foot and uneven surfaces.
Due to traffic controlled areas in Sicily, bus/coach may not be able to drop off or pick up as close to site entrances or hotels (in this case you may need to take your luggage up to the hotel).
Air travel and taxes, entrance fees, transfers, 7 nights’ accommodation, breakfast daily, itinerary as described, services of local guides and representatives. If our specially negotiated airfares are unavailable at the time of booking, a supplement may apply.
Travel insurance, optional excursions, tipping, porterage, any government and local tourist taxes or compulsory charges introduced after publication.
An accommodation tax is payable locally, currently between €2-€3 per person per night.
Secret Sicily
A very varied journey through Sicily’s less-visited sites, this tour reveals the hidden gems of cultural heritage and contrasting landscapes, from Aeolian Islands to ostentatious Baroque towns, and from fishing villages to the fictional world of Inspector Montalbano
Treasures of Sicily
A veritable feast of Greek and Roman monuments vie for attention amid the Norman, Phoenician and Saracen landmarks of Sicily’s cultural heritage. The island’s astonishing wealth of well-preserved sites bring the ancient past to life and make this our top tour in Italy
Treasures & Secrets of Sicily
A heady blend of ancient sites, stunning scenery, charming towns and glorious churches, this is our ‘grand tour’ of Sicily, its highlights varying from Aeolian Isles to UNESCO sites, Mount Etna to Marsala wine, and the Scicli film locations of Inspector Montalbano
Trulli & Sassi
From Bari’s historic Adriatic port to a sublimely different enclave of Italy, this enchanting tour takes you to Lecce’s lavishly adorned baroque buildings, to mystical Matera’s ancient ‘sassi’ cave dwellings, and to the unique cone-topped ‘trulli’ houses of Alberobello