8 days from £799

SUGGESTED ITINERARY

Day 1 UK to Siracusa
Scheduled flight to Catania where we are met by our professional tour manager and executive coach for the transfer to the 3* Hotel Park in Siracusa for a two night stay on a half board basis. After check in, we have dinner in the hotel.

Day 2 Siracusa & Noto
Today we spend the morning with a local guide in Siracusa, the most important and powerful Greek city from the 5th to the 3rd centuries BC. This fascinating town is home to Sicily’s earliest Doric temple, the Temple of Apollo, and its Parco Archeologico features the Teatro Romano, the Altar of Hieron II and the spectacular Teatro Greco carved from the hillside. Lunch is at a working farm winery where we also have the chance to taste some of the local wines. In the afternoon we visit Noto, a delightful Sicilian town with wonderful examples of Baroque architecture. We return to Siracusa for our evening meal in our hotel.

Day 3 Piazza Armerina & Agrigento
This morning we leave Siracusa and make our way to Agrigento. En route we visit Piazza Armerina and the Villa Romana del Casale and join a local guide to introduce us to some of the finest surviving mosaics from Roman antiquity. After a stop for lunch in Enna, we arrive in Agrigento and check in to our 3* Grand Hotel Mose where we spend the next two nights on half board basis.

Day 4 Valley of Temples & Kolymbetra Garden

Our guided tour of the Valley of Temples introduces us to one of the most impressive complexes of ancient Greek temples outside Greece. Our local guide shows us round the Doric temples dating from the 5th century BC, straddling a low ridge and with nine of the ten original temples still visible and some still beautifully preserved. We have a typical country open air lunch at the ancient gardens of Kolymbetra Garden.

Day 5 Selinunte & Erice
We leave Agrigento and travel to the west of the island. Our first stop is Selinunte, one of the great cities of Magna Graecia, and whilst the city has virtually disappeared, eight of its magnificent temples are still distinguishable particularly the socalled Eastern Temples. We then travel on to the beautiful medieval town of Erice. Poised on a crag overlooking the sea, this is a delightful medieval town with stunning views. Afterwards we travel on to the coastal town of Cefalù where we stay 3 nights on half board basis in the 3* Hotel Le Sabbie d’Oro.

Day 6 Cefalù & Castelbuono
We have a free morning in Cefalù. This charming medieval seaside town boasts a splendid cathedral built in the twelfth century during Sicily's Norman era. You have time to visit the mountain top archaeological site with its Greek temple, the ruins of a castle and great views of the coast or you may prefer a more leisurely stroll along the town's narrow streets, full of shops and pleasant sights. Lunch at your leisure or join our optional lunch in a local restaurant. In the afternoon we have an excursion to Castelbuono, a mountain town in an attractive wooded location about 25 kilometres from Cefalù, boasting a castle once owned by the Ventimiglia family, feudal lords of several towns in the area.

Day 7 Palermo & Monreale Abbey
We visit the capital of Sicily, Palermo, and have an included guided tour taking in the awe inspiring Palatine Chapel in the Palazzo Reale and the stunning 12th century Monreale Abbey. In the afternoon you are free for shopping or to visit the Teatro Massimo and Museo Archeologico.

Day 8 Cefalù to UK
This morning we have free time in Cefalù prior to our scheduled flight home to the UK.

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