Catania, Sicily, Italy

Day 1

• Piazza del Duomo and the Elephant fountain

  Ground zero of the city: the cathedral of Sant'Agata, the Palazzo degli Elefanti and the fountain with u Liotru in lava stone. The cathedral is free outside services and Vincenzo Bellini's tomb is in the right aisle, while the saint's reliquary bust stays locked in its chapel and is only shown during the feast days. The square is also where almost every walking tour starts: between 10.00 and 12.00 it is full of groups, before 9 it is empty.

• Benedictine Monastery

  One of the largest monastic complexes in Europe, today the university's humanities department: lecture rooms, students and libraries sit alongside the cloisters and the 18th-century kitchens. You can only go in on the guided tour run by Officine Culturali, 10 euros full and 3 euros for under 19s, with a combined Monastery plus Botanical Garden ticket at 15 euros. Book ahead: slots are capped and sell out at weekends.

• Roman Theatre and Odeon

  The imperial-era theatre is wedged between the buildings of Via Vittorio Emanuele and invisible from outside: the entrance is a doorway at number 266. Ticket 8 euros, reduced 4, daily 9am-7pm with last entry at 6.30pm. For 10 euros the combined ticket adds the Terme della Rotonda and Terme dell'Indirizzo, which almost nobody visits: if you plan to see even one more site it always pays.

Day 2

• Via Etnea and Villa Bellini

  Three kilometres of straight line running from Piazza del Duomo towards the volcano: on clear days Etna closes the perspective at the end of the street, and that is the photograph everyone tries to take. Walking the whole length takes 40 minutes on a gentle climb. Halfway up lies Villa Bellini, the city's historic garden, free to enter, where the gardeners keep a calendar made of flowers and change the date on it every day.

• Via Crociferi

  Two hundred metres of climb with four churches and two convents in a row, entered under the arch of San Benedetto: it is the densest stretch of baroque in the city and takes 15 minutes to walk. The churches open on irregular hours, often staffed by volunteers and only in the morning, so the right way to take it is early, treating the interiors as a bonus rather than a plan.

• Castello Ursino and Pinacoteca Santa Chiara

  The 13th-century Swabian castle has been closed since 7 February 2025 for a refurbishment estimated at two years, with services, a lift and roofs to redo: turning up at the gate is the most common mistake made with older guidebooks. The civic collections moved 100 metres away, to the Pinacoteca Santa Chiara at Via Castello Ursino 10, while the lava-stone moat stays accessible and takes 10 minutes to walk round.

Day 1

• Terme della Rotonda and Terme dell'Indirizzo✦ hidden gem

  Two Roman bath complexes left inside the urban fabric, one turned into a church and then back into an excavation, the other wedged into a courtyard in the Civita district. They are included in the 10-euro combined archaeological ticket alongside the Roman Theatre and are almost always empty: you pay 2 euros more than for the theatre alone and get two sites to yourself.

• Roman amphitheatre on Piazza Stesicoro✦ hidden gem

  Of one of the largest amphitheatres in the Roman empire only a corner surfaces today, at the bottom of a balcony on Piazza Stesicoro: the rest lies under the houses and the square. Looking down at it costs nothing and takes 5 minutes while walking along Via Etnea, whereas going down into the underground depends on opening arrangements and is not guaranteed: the view from the railing already justifies the stop.

• University Botanical Garden✦ hidden gem

  Founded in 1858 a short walk from Villa Bellini, it holds one of Italy's largest succulent collections and 19th-century iron-and-glass glasshouses. It is worth taking within the 15-euro combined ticket with the Benedictine Monastery rather than on its own: it is ten minutes away on foot and the same cooperative runs both visits, so it all fits in one morning.

Day 2

• Circumetnea railway✦ hidden gem

  The narrow-gauge train leaves from Catania Borgo and loops around the volcano through lava flows, citrus groves and hillside towns. It is a commuter service, not a tourist train: departures are few, need checking the day before, and there is no direct connection between Catania Borgo and Randazzo. Within Catania the same company runs the metro, 1 euro a single ride and a 2-euro MetroBus ticket valid 120 minutes that also covers the AMTS buses.

• Via Santa Filomena and the student nightlife✦ hidden gem

  In the evening the city moves to Via Santa Filomena, Piazza Teatro Massimo and the lanes around Via Gemmellaro: tight tables, cheap beer and kitchens open late, with a crowd that is largely students and locals. Things start after 9.30pm and on summer weekends the street stays full until 2am. It is the part of the city day-trippers never see, because by then they have already left.

Day 1

• Granita and brioche col tuppo

  In Catania granita is breakfast, not dessert: you order it in the morning with a warm brioche and dip. The classic flavours are almond, black mulberry, lemon, pistachio and coffee with cream, and in serious bars you recognise them by the grainy texture, which melts fast and is never creamy like ice cream. The bars in the centre make it from before 7.00, and granita plus brioche stays under 5 euros almost everywhere.

• Rosticceria and pasta alla Norma

  Cipollina, arancino (in Catania the word is masculine and the shape is pointed, not round as in Palermo), cartocciata and bolognese are bought at a rosticceria, eaten standing and cost a couple of euros each: that is how you keep the bill down in a city that is already cheap. Pasta alla Norma, with fried aubergine, tomato, basil and salted ricotta grated over the top, is the house dish: if the salted ricotta never arrives, it is not a Norma.

• Fish from the market and Etna wines

  The trattorias around the market cook what is sold 20 metres away: marinated masculini (the local anchovies), swordfish, raw fish, sarde a beccafico. Fish is priced by weight and the price per kilo is not always on the menu: asking first and watching the piece go on the scales removes the only unpleasant surprise available. To drink, Etna DOC whites from carricante and reds from nerello mascalese grow on volcanic soil 30 minutes away by car.

Day 2

• La Pescheria

  The fish market spreads out behind Piazza del Duomo, under the arches below Via Garibaldi: counters of swordfish, tuna, anchovies and sea urchins, shouting vendors and dirty water underfoot. It opens at dawn Monday to Saturday and starts packing up around lunchtime, and there is nothing on Sunday. Arriving at 11.00 means seeing the tail end of the day: the alive part is before 9.00.

• Via Santa Filomena and the student nightlife✦ hidden gem

  In the evening the city moves to Via Santa Filomena, Piazza Teatro Massimo and the lanes around Via Gemmellaro: tight tables, cheap beer and kitchens open late, with a crowd that is largely students and locals. Things start after 9.30pm and on summer weekends the street stays full until 2am. It is the part of the city day-trippers never see, because by then they have already left.