Catania Travel Guide

Mount Etna is the most active volcano in the world, and it is the highest Volcano is Europe. Its height varies after each eruption, and due to frequent lava flow and build up. Mount Etna is UNESCO World Heritage listed since 2013. In October 2013, flights in the vicinity were cancelled because of Mount Etna was "letting off some steam". The...

The castle was built between 1239 to 1250 and belonged to Emperor Frederick II, the King of Sicily. At that time the castle was considered impregneable and therefore had important milityry role. After the move of the capital away from Catania and appearance of powder weapons, the castle lost its military role and was used as a prison. The castle...

This is the main Piazza, the heart of Catania, with the city’s symbol monument the fountain with the Elephant. The city’s cathedral with the Chapel of Sant’Agata faces this square. Via Etnea starts from Piazza Duomo.

The Etoile D'or has in the groundfloor mostly snacks like Arancini, Pizza, Pastries and Sweets. Upstairs is a restaurant (haven't been there). I had my favorite Sicilian snack Arancini, sort of a fried dumpling made of rice with a meat, tomato sauce, cheese or some other filling.

The Etoile D'or has in the groundfloor mostly snacks like Arancini, Pizza, Pastries and Sweets. Upstairs is a restaurant (haven't been there). I had my favorite Sicilian snack Arancini, sort of a fried dumpling made of rice with a meat, tomato sauce, cheese or some other filling.

It's the real Grandma Catanese's taste!! If you order a fresh pasta (sorry, I don't remember the name of the dish, but you can just ask), you can eat the very home made pasta.La nonna (nonna means grandma in Italian) starts to make pasta when she get an order. So you have to wait loooong time. While waiting, you can enjoy wine and appetizer, and...

In Catania werden Touristen systematisch ausgeraubt. In Catania werden Touristen systematisch ausgeraubt. Hilfe von der Polizei dürfen sie nicht erwarten. Denken Sie immer daran, dass Touristen ein Ziel von professionellen und gut organisierten Dieben sind. Nehmen Sie keine teuren Gegenstände und Schmuck mit in den Urlaub und versichern Sie sich...

This Irish-style pub was a favourite of mine and a regular hang-out for foreigners (stranieri in the local talk!) living or holidaying in Catania. Unlike the rest of the small, crowded pubs around the piazza 'teatro massimo,' the Stag's Head has room to sit, and features live bands with lots of english songs. Not to mention the gorgeous wait and...

For musicians, artists and those that love music and art. Technically, this is kind of a private club or space for young Catanese musicians and artists to present thier work. You will certainly be welcomed by the friendly patrons, in fact you may be handed a drum to join in or just absentmindlessly tap on while you sip a wine and chat. It was drum...

Alibus is running between 4.40 am until midnight from the airport to the train station, city center, etc. for € 4 every 25 minutes.There are also direct buses from the airpoert to Taormina, Siracusa and other towns.

We caught a flight on Italian budget airline Windjet from Milano Malpensa to Catania Fontanarossa. Catania is Sicily's second biggest city. The airport is small. From the airport, we caught a bus to the city centre to our pre-booked accommodation.Here is a link to a website for buses to and from Catania...

When you arrive at the airport the best way to get to the city is by bus. Its is bus #457 that goes from the airport to the city every 20 minutes. The round trip also finishes at the airport. 90 minute tickets are still (2014) at 1€ only.A map with directions where the bus goes along is hard to find: catania.bplaced.net

Right next to the fresh fish market stands the green market, offering delicious and fresh Sicilian vegetables rich of exceptional flavour. I can't imagine the better combination then a dish made from such a fish and vegetables. Not such a healthy food excisting, the soil of Sicily isn't poluted by industry. Besides, Sicily has a very long history...

For a seafood lover, as I am, visiting open-air fish market at Catania was alike holiday for the eyes. To be honest, although I prefer fish from the Adriatic, not one fish market at Veneto towns cannot compite with this at Catania. There are so many sorts of high quality fish here and some of them I saw for the first time. I can only regret for...

Menza exists since 1863. This big store offers all kind of very delicious Sicilian specialities to eat and to drink. You have the possibility to go to the bar or directly to buy from the simple cake to the entire meal. It's considered one of the most important place in Catania for the choice and the quality of their products. TUTTU LU NIGOZZIU!...

From street vendors and in restaurants and cafes you will find this quintessential summery Sicilian refreshener called Granita.It is roughly crushed ice with a flavouring. There are different variations of just how crystalline or how smooth it is from maker to maker, from town to town. Generally though, the ones we had in Catania were not smooth or...

We have decided to call CANNOLI a "Local Custom", because Cannoli are a Sicilian icon. They are traditional, customary gastronomic delights.What are Cannoli exactly? One of them is called a cannolo in Italian, or a cannolu in Sicilian. The word means “tube". In plural, in Italian, "cannolo" becomes "cannoli". Cannoli have a shell or pastry in the...

Nowadays Castello Ursino houses Catania Civico Museum displaying artifacts from the castle as well as the greater geographical area. Exibits date from Classical era onward, representing the diverse influences throught Sicilian history. It is also used for the important art exsibitions.

A lot of it, especially at the closing time of outdoor markets...... Aaaiiiiii :) But that was cleaned till next day.The one i saw on the beach......... different story. Pet's, used pampers, juice doses, paper.... everything people used was left on the beach... Too bad, since the view is so beautiful and the water great.

The pedestrian crossings (the Zebras) have absolutely no meaning In Catania (in the hole Italy maybe). Be careful when crossing over :))) But, the funny italian way, (this is for women usualy ;-)), while you can be rushed on the zebras, cars (and buses) will stop in places where you least expect, to let you cross :))

Avoid tacking taxi's! Catania's sights are easy to walk to from any point within the city, plus traffic is so bad, you can reach your destination faster on foot. My friend and I took a cab costing 25 Euro from the airport to Piazza del Duomo, not knowing the public bus took the same amount of time but only cost 2 Euro. The bus stop is just infront...

Ask for prices (or for the prices menu) before buying something because many shops (and restaurants) could try to charge you more money.. you can say "quanto costa"? (How much does it cost?) DEFINITELY DON'T TAKE A TAXI if you can, they could ask 50 euros for a couple of km (unless you’re very rich of course ;-) )..In Sicily few people speak...

If you don't want to get trapped...... Stay 100 Km away from the market. Pickpockets, snatch and grabs, 'Gold sellers' , empty boxes........ you name it...... been there, done that. ONCE IS ENOUGH If you're there on tour, skip the tour, or play the part as deaf, numb, blind and dumb.

I cannot say enough bad things about McDonald's. I don't know VT's policy on trash-talking multinational corporations so I'll just leave it at that and those of you who agree or diagree with me can do so.The reason I put McDonald's in the Tourist Traps is because, frankly, if you are in Catania and you go there, you are doing yourself a disservice....

Catania is a city that is built right at the edge of the Etna mountain, Europe's tallest active volcano. Its shape looms over the city, and you can see the mountain from pretty much everywhere. It's interesting to see that Catania, though built on the seaside, is a city that faces the mountain, and not the see. For instance, Via Etnea, its main...

Caltabellotta - a wonderful hilltop town reached by a fine bus trip from Sciacca which is reached by bus from Agrigento. Have something warm off-season because its an icy blast that hits you at the top even when its warm in the town.

Alcantara Gorge. A gorge created when the cold water of the Alcantara river split the volcanic basalt rock. Weird and wonderful rock formations and a popular tourist trip but take the bus and spend a couple of hours exploring the lower reaches of the valley.

Scooters can be the best vehicles for the big cities. And they are being used by everybody, young, old, well dressed or very sporty and with every occasion (maybe not for going to church).

Climb at the top of Etna. The vulcano is still active and it has an eruption each year or each two years. But, fortunatly, there is no recent big eruption able to reach Catania, which is at only 50 Kilometers, as it occurred in the past.There were, here and there, sulphur smokes (not a pleasant perfume).Very impressive landscape.You can climb alone...

Beautiful cathedral in the Piazza Duomo. Constructed between 1070 and 1093. G. Palazzolo and architect G. B. Vaccarini restored the cathedral after a 1693 earthquake. Dedicated to the martyred Agata it also has relics inside.