The Ultimate Guide to Catania, Sicily

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Catania, Sicily is a beautiful, Baroque city on the east coast of the Mediterranean’s largest island. The powerful Mount Etna stands tall over the city and dominates the skyline. It’s a UNESCO World Heritage Site with a history that dates back to the 8th century BC.

Catania is the perfect mix of Greek and Roman history mixed with Baroque charm, delicious food and vibrant locals.

This is the perfect getaway for a solo traveler who wants to mingle with the locals at a wine bar in the evening, or couples who want a romantic dinner with fresh seafood and good wine, followed by a stroll through the maze of attractive alleys lit up with twinkling lights.

Have I got your attention yet?

Complete Guide to Catania, Sicily

History of Catania, Sicily

Living in the shadow of an active volcano has its consequences, and has shifted the landscape around Catania more than once. The worst was the eruption in 1669 that wiped out the southern part of the city and extended the city’s coastline over a kilometer.

The city was once again devastated on January 11, 1693 when an earthquake with a 6.2 magnitude destroyed most of the city. The main quake lasted for 4 minutes and the aftershocks continued for at least 3 more years! The entire southeastern area of Sicily was destroyed, recording 54,000 deaths and 12,000 deaths in Catania alone (63% of the population at the time)!!

The region bounced back and rebuilt in the 17th-century Baroque style we see today.

Tips For Your Trip to Catania, Sicily

• It’s HOT – bring some sunblock… bring a lot of sunblock! Seriously… a lot.
• Skip the make-up during the day, it’s not worth it
• Bring your walking shoes… I ruined two pairs of sandals *face palm*
• Plan for a few days in Catania if you want to see everything, it’s a lot bigger and more spread out than you think
• Always have an action plan for your day trips… do you need to book an excursion to Mount Etna? Pre-plan your route through Taormina? Pin some locations for possible dinner options on Google Maps?
• If you bring cash to exchange, there’s only a few places around town. ATMs are also very sparse… I only saw a couple of banks throughout the city that had a cash machine on the outside of the building.
• Don’t forget siesta time! (Why can’t the UK have a designated nap time?!?!) There are very few places that are open between 2pm-5pm, so plan accordingly. There are also plenty of restaurants that don’t even open until 7pm!
• “Via” means “street” and it comes before the street name (example: Via Etnea) and the number of the building comes AFTER the street name (example: Via Etnea, 454 – in English it reads 454 Etnea Street). Definitely helpful when taking taxis or googling addresses!
• Save Via Santa Filomena on your Google Maps NOW. If you’re wandering around aimlessly looking for a place to eat, you will absolutely find something on this street!!

How to Get to Catania from Catania-Fontarossa Airport

There are two main airports in Sicily, Palermo and Catania. While it’s possible to travel by train from Palermo Airport to Catania (about 4 hours with only one change!), I’m only going to be covering Catania-Fontarossa Airport!

The airport is about 20-30 minutes from the city center of Catania… it’s SO CLOSE… literally right next to the city.

Yes, there is a major train station in Catania and the tracks run RIGHT BEHIND the airport… however, there is no train station at the airport. You have three options.

Taxi

By far the easiest way to get to the city center… but also the more expensive choice. It’s about 30-40 euros to get from the airport to the center with a taxi and that’s worth it to not be on an overcrowded bus during the Covid-19 pandemic. BEWARE of the “taxi drivers” holding up the taxi signs as soon as you exit the terminal… they are NOT metered and will DEFINITELY screw you over with cost. They are also conveniently blocking the way to the taxi rank and the airport bus stop, so keep your mask on!

Bus

Definitely the cheaper option, however, the amount of people that wait for the airport bus is A LOT. Imagine everyone getting off the flight and choosing to take the bus… and you get crammed in!

The bus is convenient and runs a circular route through the city every 20-30 minutes (so there will always be a bus). My advice if you’re trying to budget – splurge on a taxi from the airport when you arrive and then hop on the airport bus when you’re departing – it won’t be as full!

Rent a Car

This one would normally seem like the easy way out. You don’t have to deal with everyone else’s timetable, you can come and go as you please… BUT, you need to consider the crazy Italian drivers.

If you’ve driven in New York City, Washington DC, Paris, or Bangkok… then you’ll be alright. I don’t think there’s any road rules in Sicily. There’s signs, speed limits and markings on the road, but I don’t think anyone obeys them! It will also work out to be more expensive per day!

What to Do in Catania, Sicily

Piazzo del Duomo

This is the main city square in Catania… it’s also the busiest square in Catania. Surrounded by cathedrals, cafes, and buildings made of lava stone and limestone, this piazza is a MUST-SEE for anyone visiting Catania.

Cattedrale di Sant’Agata

This Cathedral dedicated to St. Agatha was originally built in 1073, but badly damaged in a 12th century earthquake and then practically left in ruins during the 1693 earthquake. Like much of the city, the cathedral was rebuilt in the beautiful Baroque style.

You’ll have to go to the church to see the opening times, because the times found online are sometimes incorrect.

Elephant Fountain

You CANNOT miss the photo opt with the Elephant Fountain! This is the symbol of Catania and the locals are very proud of it!

No one really knows what the elephant means or why the Romans chose an elephant…

The elephant was carved out of lava stone in the Roman times and the obelisk was added sometime after (but no one really knows when), in the 1700’s, architect Giovanni Battista Vaccarini restored the statue and created what you see in the piazza today.

Castello Ursino

Price: €3 per person

This 13th century castle was on the coast and harbor of Catania prior to the Mount Etna eruption in 1669 which added more then 1km of coastline. Now the castle is in the city center, surrounded by Baroque townhouses, churches, and a small park.

At 3 euros per person, this is a steal and a great place to escape the heat for an hour! There’s 3 levels packed full of Greek, Roman, Norman, and modern history… and I LOVED it here! If you’re big on history then visiting this castle and museum is a BIG must!

The top level does have bathrooms, vending machines and a place to sit down. There is no cafe in the castle.

Benedictine Monastery of San Nicolò l’Arena

Price: €8 – Guided tours only

The Monastero dei Benedettini di San Nicolò l’Arena is Europe’s second largest Benedictine monastery and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The monastery was founded in 1558.

Today the monastery is used as the the Department of Humanities for the University of Catania.

Attached to the Monastery is the Church of San Nicolo l’Arena and it’s the largest church in Catania. Definitely worth walking around with it’s incomplete facade and minimalist interior (compared to other churches in Catania).

Via Etnea

This is probably the most famous, and most popular street in Catania. It’s the main shopping hub for the city and it’s always bustling with locals and tourists. It runs from Piazzo Duomo all the way up to Parco Gioeni.

You don’t even have to go into any of the stores (although there’s plenty to choose from – including some super cute local boutiques), you can just walk up and down enjoying the street and people watch while eating your cannoli or devouring your gelato.

Roman Amphitheatre

Dating back to the 2nd century AD, this Roman amphitheatre seems like it comes out of nowhere! One second you’re walking down Via Etnea and the next you’re looking down into a Roman amphitheatre!

If you don’t want to walk around the ruins or they are closed, you can still look down on them and it’s definitely worth a looksy since you’ll probably be in the area anyway!

La Villa Bellini

Need a place to get away from it all? Then come to this beautiful park! It’s the perfect place to climb to the top gazebo and admire the view of the city and Mount Etna.

It’s normally pretty peaceful here, so you can have a park bench all to yourself while you indulge in your cannoli.

The entry is free and the main entrance is right on Via Etnea.

Visit the Fish Market

The Catania fish market is one of the largest in Italy and Rick Stein describes it as the best in Europe. (He filmed episode 3 of Mediterranean Escapes here if you wanted to watch as a reference).

The fish market is every weekday 7am – 2pm with varied hours on Saturday.

It’s always super busy and hectic and has become somewhat of a tourist attraction in Catania. Even if you don’t buy anything (let’s be real… I wouldn’t know what to do with a WHOLE SWORDFISH – but I do love swordfish), it’s a lot of fun to look around.

Walk down Via dei Crociferi

This is a VERY popular Baroque street. I actually didn’t read anything about it prior to visiting and just stumbled upon it while I was walking around. It is a VERY attractive street… the gorgeous architecture, the winding stairs, the stoned streets… seriously… attractive!

It’s close to Piazza del Duomo and on the way to the castle… so you have NO EXCUSE not to walk this street!

Get Lost!!

On that note – you NEED to get lost in the labyrinth of streets in Catania! It’s not just Via dei Crociferi that’s a beautiful street, there’s so many other amazing streets and alleyways.

Most are lined with umbrellas or pinwheels or lanterns or rainbow colored ribbons…

I could go on…

One of my favorite areas to walk around is the San Berillo Art District. The art is quirky and it’s not as touristy as some places around in the area. (If you walk down the alleyway past the Street 54 restaurant – you’ll feel like it’s a dead end – it opens up to an eccentric courtyard with restaurants and bars! I HIGHLY recommend First for pre-dinner drinks)

Catania is a small city (compared to a lot through mainland Italy), but it’s still HUGE!

I also think the heat doubles your journey time! Google usually lies to me – if a walk is 15 minutes according to google maps, it will probably take you 30 minutes!!

Also, avoid MASSIVE blisters on your feet… bring sneakers everyone, not sandals from Primark!

Where to Eat in Catania, Sicily

There’s so many restaurants, cafes, and trattorias to choose from that it can get really overwhelming… or you can just eat continuously all day and make it to all of them!

I’m pretty sure most of my time in Sicily is spent eating and drinking.

It’s a tough job researching all the time… but someone’s gotta do it! Do you see the sacrifices I make for you guys? *wink wink*

And I’m not even going to talk about my journey to find the BEST Aperol Spritz in Catania! *smirk*

This isn’t a full list (I’ll save that for another post), but it’s a place to start for your own food journey in Catania.

You can always book a food tour on Viator and get a walking tour AND a food tour all rolled into one!

Bar Brasserie

Address: 43/44 Piazza Stesicoro
Website: No Website

This is the first place I ate at in Catania… and it was a lasting impression! The Aperol Spritz were delicious, the atmosphere had a great vibe, the owner is super friendly with great recommendations and the food is on point!

Go here for lunch and get the antipasto platter… it is absolutely unbelievable! This is the perfect taste of Sicily to start your holiday off right with a selection of meats, cheeses, and some Sicilian staples.

Alè Ristorante

Address: 41 Via Santa Filomena
Website: Official Site

If you pick one street to eat dinner on every night, it has to be Via Santa Filomena and if you only pick one restaurant on that entire street, it has to Alè Ristorante. I feel like this is a hidden gem among the slew of restaurants on this street.

The entrance is right next to another restaurant (which leads you to believe that both doors actually belong to the same place)… but they don’t! I wanted to go into the other restaurant and accidentally walked through the wrong door because the other restaurant’s door was blocked by two people chatting.

Best mistake ever.

The food is fresh (straight from the fish market!), delicious, and the manager had plenty of recommendations… ALSO, you sit in a secret garden that’s in a beautiful courtyard with twinkling lights – it’s a great place to get away from the hectic streets of Catania during dinner time.

Macondo Wine and Book

Address: 95 Via Vittorio Emanuele II
Website: No Website

This is the perfect place to chill out and have an after dinner drink… or two… or three…

Funky chairs made from repurposed pallets, leather couches, and local art line the outdoor alleyway of this trendy bar. If you want to escape the heat inside, then you can enjoy the reading area or play a board game!

Pasticceria Savia

Address: 300 Via Etnea
Website: No Website

This place is ALWAYS busy… but it’s not packed with tourists, it’s filled with locals! You know that’s a good restaurant…

This is the perfect place for a light snack or you can grab a to-go treat, like the infamous cannoli!! They are delicious here!

It’s directly across from La Villa Bellini (that big park I talked about earlier…) on Via Etnea, so it’s centrally located and easily accessible!

Where to Stay in Catania, Sicily

I cannot recommend 454 Etnea Luxury Rooms enough! It’s just an amazing all-around wonderful experience!

The location is the perfect mix of “in the middle of everything” and “far enough away for peace and quiet”. This boutique hotel is located on Via Etnea, just past Villa Bellini on the right. The hotel is a 17 minute walk to the main tourist area of Piazza Duomo, an 8 minute walk to delicious food and drink and a 25-30 minute walk to Catania Centrale Train Station.

The hotel is modern, clean and comfortable… you guys, there’s a mini bar! Everything is controlled by your room key and a touch pad in your room! The owner is wonderful and has some great tips for local spots – many of which I used!

The price is perfect for everyone, especially budget travelers and it includes breakfast! So more time for exploring, less time worrying about where to eat breakfast before your day starts! Book DIRECTLY with them (avoid booking.com and other third party sites) and save about 10 euros a night!

Best Day Trips from Catania, Sicily without a Car

Having the train station so close to the city center is super convenient, which makes day trips from Catania really easy! There’s also lots of reasonably priced tours on Viator and GetYourGuide! (What I always use).

Catania Centrale Station Tips

• Train tickets are SUPER cheap! (I ALWAYS use Trainline.com to check out train times)
• You don’t need to pre-purchase your ticket! Buy it at the train station and don’t forget to add your return ticket too!
• You’ll need your passport when you purchase tickets at the train station, HOWEVER, I just had my UK drivers license and that was good enough. The next time I bought tickets, I didn’t get asked for ID. (I don’t know if that’s a regular thing or just a tourist thing?)
• Most of the tickets you purchase will be open ended tickets so you can take any train to and from your destination!
• To give you an idea of how cheap tickets are – my roundtrip to Taormina was under 10 euros
• Always try to take the express train! There will be fewer stops and you’ll get there faster, duh!
• Try to avoid trains between 11am-1pm because EVERYONE coming from the airport is trying to get to their destination with their suitcases! It can be chaos!
• There are bathrooms on the platform that cost a euro to use the facilities! However, they are some of the cleanest bathrooms I have seen in a public area!
• There is a small cafe where you can purchase snacks or water for the journey.
• Announcements are also said in English, so you won’t miss anything important like platform changes!
• I always look at trainline.com to see the train schedule and make sure I am getting on the correct train because, unlike the UK, they don’t show where the train is calling at, only the final destination. So a train to Taormina is to Roma and a train from Siracusa is to Messina.

Mount Etna

Can I really write a post without including a day trip to Etna? Absolutely NOT!

Mount Etna is Europe’s highest active volcano – it’s also one of the most active volcanoes in the world!!! And trust me, it’s VERY active! You can’t miss Mount Etna if you’re staying in Catania… it’s always in the background smoking away.

I learned SO MUCH about Mount Etna and got to see everything I wanted to see without even trekking to the summit! There’s definitely some walking involved, but it’s the perfect tour to get a taste of Etna… you’ll see the Valle del Bove, explore a lava tube cave, and end your tour with trekking around the Silvestri Craters.

They even pick you up at your hotel/Air BnB in Catania!!

This is the EXACT tour I did (see below) and I cannot rave enough about Simone’s knowledge and authenticity and how much fun I had! (Not sponsored – I just had a blast!). There was only 4 people on the tour so it felt very personal.

If you don’t have Get Your Guide, this is the exact same tour on Viator.

Taormina

This is the most popular day trip from Catania and it’s super easy to get to! This beautiful baroque town pours down the foothills of Mount Etna into the beautiful Ionian Sea.

The main attraction is the second largest Greek Theatre in Sicily – with a pretty amazing view too!

The train leaves from Catania Centrale Station and goes direct to Taormina- Giardini Naxos Station. You’ll have to take a taxi to either the bottom of the cable car or the top of the hill… don’t try walking it!

I recommend getting dropped off at the bottom of the cable car because the ride up is beautiful!

Siracusa and the Island of Ortigia

Siracusa is ANOTHER baroque town on the east coast of Sicily. Fun fact: The famous ancient Greek mathematician, Archimedes was born here in 287 BC back when Sicily was a Greek colony.

There’s plenty of things to see and it’s almost unfair to do a day trip to this city and not spend more time here, you can check out the Neapolis Archaeological Park with the Greek Theatre or the old town Siracusa, better known as the Island of Ortigia.

Honestly, I would skip the Greek Theatre (I think Taormina’s is better because of the view) and focus on Ortigia.

The ruins of the Temple of Apollo greets you as you enter the island and the main square is beautiful and bright with the Cathedral of Syracuse dominating the piazza.

Visit the castle on the tip of the island  and walk past the Fountain of Arethusa. Oh, and bring your bathing suit if you want to relax in the teal waters of the Ionian Sea!

To get to the island from the train station, walk out the main entrance and turn left. It’s only a 15-20 minute walk to the island, so there’s no need to take a taxi and it’s a straight shot from the station!

Do you have any more questions? And feedback is always appreciated! Are you planning your trip to Catania, Sicily? Let me know in the comments below!!

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