Day 1:  Welcome to Sicily! Introductory Walking Tour of Palermo

Your driver will be waiting for you at the airport and will escort you to your hotel in Palermo. In the afternoon, your guide will meet you at your hotel for an introductory walking tour of the capital of Sicily. The largest city on the island, Palermo is more than 2,700 years old and is noted for its history, culture, and architecture. Its 12th century Cathedral houses royal tombs and its neoclassical opera house, the Teatro Massimo, is among Italy’s largest and best known. You’ll visit the Piazza Bellini, surrounded by Arab-Norman churches, the lovely Teatro Bellini, the Baroque church of Santa Caterina di Alessandria; the Quattro Canti, or Four Corners, a Baroque gem and the Piazza Pretoria. Last, but not least, you’ll stop at a street vendor at the Mercato il Capo for some of Sicily’s renowned lemon ice.

Day 2:  Market Tour and Tour of the Unique Sites of Palermo

Your guide will pick you up at your hotel and accompany you on a tour of Palermo’s famed open-air markets, dating back to the arabic period (9th – 11th centuries), when balarm was a crucial Mediterranean trading hub.  At Capo Market (“main market,” known to the ancients as caput seralcadi), famous for fish, you’ll discover fascinating products and architectural jewels like the Baroque church of the Immaculate Conception. Next, walk along the ancient cassaro (Palermo’s oldest street) to Ballero market (the ancient suq-al-Balari), beneath the dome of the Baroque Carmine Maggiore church. End at Vucciria, celebrated in Renato Guttuso’s La Vucciria, showcasing Sicily’s proud, ancient heritage.

After lunch at a selected restaurant, your guide will take you on a tour of Palermo’s most unique sites. Your tour will begin at the Palazzo dei Normanni, a royal palace begun in the ninth century that today is the seat of the Sicilian government. You’ll visit the Cappella Palatina with its stunning Byzantine mosaics, unparalleled in Italy and the world. The tour will continue on to the crypts of the Capuchin monastery – not for the faint of heart, composing a kind of museum of death.

Day 3:  Tour of Archeological site in Segesta, visit Erice and Arrival in Trapani

Your driver will pick you up at your hotel: destination Trapani. The archeological site of Segesta, on the way to Trapani, consists of the best-preserved Greek temple in the world, in an awe-inspiring situation atop a hill in open countryside. After arriving at your hotel in Trapani, you will have a free afternoon to visit this gem of a town. At its western tip, offering views as far as the Aegadian Islands, is the 17th-century Torre di Ligny watchtower, which currently houses the Museo di Preistoria e del Mare, with archeological artifacts. North of the harbor, the Chiesa del Purgatorio houses the wooden sculptures that are paraded through town during Easter’s Processione dei Misteri.

Afterwards, your driver will take you to the medieval city of Erice offers not only turreted castles, local crafts, and magnificent views of the Mediterranean, but the pasticceria of Maria Grammatico, one of Sicily’s most famous pastry chefs. You can savor traditional almond pastries, jams, cannoli, and Sicilain cassate or just enjoy their scent.

Day 4:  Lunch and Wine Tasting at the Planeta Winery, Arrival in Agrigento and Tour of the Valley of the Temples

Your driver will pick you up at your hotel for the 2.5 hour drive to Agrigento. On the way, you’ll stop at the Planeta Estate in Ulma Sambuca for lunch and wine-tasting. After settling in to your hotel in Agrigento, your guide will take you on a tour of the Valley of the Temples, one of the largest archeological sites in the world and one of Sicily’s most visited tourist attractions; your private evening tour spares you the noise and press of crowds, not to mention, in the summer, the heat of a Sicilian afternoon. The ancient Greek temples and roads are lit evocatively in the evening, providing a wonderful opportunity to digest centuries of history or simply experience the beauty of a warm evening among the ruins.

Day 5:  Tour of the Villa Romana al Casale and Arrival in Ragusa

Your driver will pick you up at your hotel and accompany you to Ragusa. On the way, you will stop at Piazza Armerina for a private tour of the incredible mosaics of the Villa Romana al Casale. The villa contains dozens of rooms and intact floor mosaics, unrivalled in the world and preserved down to the finest detail, ranging from simple geometrics to huge, complex scenes of the natural and human world.

Day 6:  Tour of Ragusa and Tour of Modica

Your driver will pick you up at your accommodations and accompany you on a walking tour of Ilba, Ragusa’s historic center.  Like neighboring towns, Ragusa was built after the great earthquake of 1693 in the Baroque style, and its palazzi and churches are elegant and covered with a profusion of florid detail. the grandest building in Ibla is the cathedral, the Duomo di San Girgio.  Your tour will continue with a stroll along Ilba’s narrow streets that contain many charms, from elaborately sculpted balconies to views over the narrow valleys below town.  Your tour will proceed to the end of Ilba’s rocky ridge to visit the town’s public park, the Giardino Ibleo. The pride of the town, these manicured and leafy gardens have views over the surrounding valleys and are the venue of choice for promenading locals.

Introductory Tour of Modica

Afterwards, your driver will pick you up at your accommodations and accompany you to nearby Modica.  Along with Ragusa, Modica is a Unesco World heritage site.  Rebuilt after the great earthquake of 1693, Modica now boasts fine late-Baroque architecture as well as a medieval old town.  Your tour will being with a visit to the Cathedral of San Giorgio. From its strategic location, the Cathedral over looks the whole town of Modica.  Your tour will continue on with a visit to the church of San Giovanni Evangelista. The church sits at the top of the monumental staircase lined with trees on both sides.  You’ll then visit the Chocolate Museum which explores the city’s history of chocolate-making inspired by an ancient Aztec recipe for Xocolati.  The chocolate, manually ground, is available in a variety of flavors including raspberry, pineapple, pomegranate, lemon, pistachio and almond.

Day 7:  Transfer to Syracuse with STOPOVER in Noto

Your driver will pick you up at your hotel and take you to your accommodations in Syracuse.  On the way, you’ll stop in Noto. This small town in the south-east was founded again in the late 1700’s. It is the heart and the starting point for a visit to the valley of the Sicilian Baroque and along with Ragusa and Modica comprise what is known as the “Three Baroque Gems”.

Day 8:

Tour Ortigia in a Golf Cart

Your guide will meet you at the hotel and accompany you to meet your golf cart and driver for an enjoyable tour through the narrow streets of Ortigia, the historic center of Syracuse.  You’ll pause for a delicious Sicilian Arancino before being taken to lunch as a selected restaurant.

Tour Museum Paolo Orsi and Archeological Park

After lunch, you’ll meet your guide at the entrance to the museum and take you on a tour of one of the most important museums in Europe – the Paolo Orsi Museum named for the famed Italian archeologist.  Artifacts from the prehistoric, Iconic and Doric periods, Greek and Roman periods and the Byzantine age found in the archeological excavations in the city and other sites in Sicily are on display in 4 distinct sectors.  Afterwards, your guide will accompany you to the adjacent Archeological Park boasting the world’s largest Greek theater and a Roman amphitheater.

Day 9: Transfer to Taormina with Stopover at Mt. Etna for Tour and Lunch with Wine Tasting

Your driver will pick you up at your hotel and accompany you to Taormina.  On the way, you’ll stop at Mt. Etna where you will meet your guide.  You’ll marvel at the amazing views of the only currently active volcano in Europe where the spectacular views will leave you speechless.  You’ll have a change to do some exploring before making your way back down. Afterwards, you’ll enjoy lunch and wine tasting at Gambino Winery at the base of the mountain before heading back to your hotel.

Day 10: Tour of Taormina

Your guide will meet you at your accommodations and accompany you on a city tour.  Beginning at Porta Messina, your guide will accompany you down the picturesque “MAin Street” (Corso Umberto I), making sure wou’ll see the Palazzo Corvaya, Roman Odeon, Piazza 9 Aprile, Cathedral, the Roman Naumachia and the Ancient Greco-Roman theater still used today.

Day 11:  Departure – Arrivederci !

Your driver will meet you at your hotel and accompany you to the Catania’s international Airport for departure. We salute you with a warm and heartfelt “arrivederci!” See you again! Now that you’ve traveled with us, know that you have friends here in Your Own Italy.