Sicily in a week - Siracusa

Siracusa or Syracuse doesn't matter, it's the same place. Located in the southeast corner of Sicily Island. This 2700 year old city is notably for its rich Greek culture and it's listed as UNESCO World heritage site. It's a lovely city, clean and not so crowded as in Palermo.

to get to Siracusa from Enna, we took a bus to Catania takes about 1hour 20 minutes (cost : 7.70Euro) and from Catania to Siracusa was about 1 hour cost : 6Euro so total was 13.70Euro one way / pax from Enna to Siracusa.

But one can take a direct bus From Palermo to Siracusa takes about 3 hours ride, cost 12Euro/ pax @ Palermo main station

the bus stopped at a station, well more like a small bus stop somewhere near to Ortygia (or Isola di Ortigia) about 10 minutes walk or like us too tired to walk can share a taxi for 10Euro

our bed and breakfast is located in Ortagia

which includes breakfast....yummy. cost 50Euros/ pax for 2 nights.

Ortygia is an offshore island was occupied by the Greek colonists, who fortified it and constructed the earliest structure including the temples of Athena and Apollo. i would recommend to stay in Ortygia rather than the city in Syracusa

most of the attractions are within walking distance. Pretty little boutique shop

alfresco dining @ the piazza

beautiful historic building

Piazza Duomo

built in the 7th century over the great Temple of Athena (5th century BC)

interior

Fountain of Diana and some buildings nearby

this is the temple of Apollo, well more like what's left of it. yes i know you expected something more, but yup that's it. i was a little disappointed. 

view of the mainland from Ortygia

interesting shape of a church

street art?

stunning Mediterranean sea 

tip: always bring along your bikinis, you'll never know when u need a dip in the sea.

after a long walk we found a nice stop for a quick dip.

it's ok the east side of Ortygia on the map

there is no sandy beach in Ortygia so if you have special sandals bring along

we can even see the Castello Maniace from our swimming spot.

though we stayed 2 nights here, we only had time for 1 day roaming around Ortygia and the next day we did a day trip taormina. There is still much more to see in Siracusa, like the Greek theater, Roman theater entrance fee cost around 10Euro ( but some say not worth the time) we didn't manage to visit it so can't comment on that. Overall Siracusa is a very quiet and lazy town, clean and like other cites in Sicily people are really friendly. I would say probably 2 days is enough to cover everything.

Next to Taormina. i do hope i can finish sicily before the end of the year. Just in case. Merry Christmas 2013 everybody!!! 

~ ciao ~

Sicily in a week - Enna

Enna a relatively small town up on a hill, and if you see on the map it's roughly located at the center of Sicily. We did a short detour to Enna on the way to Siracusa, was abit tiring but got some really nice shots.

From Palermo we took a bus to Enna cost 10Euro/ pax for 1 way, distance about 1.5hours bus ride.

there is also a ticket office where one can store their luggage. if you are lazy to carry it around. It's safe

just opposite the bus stop there is a whole area of cemetery

very very big area

I've never seen anything like this, so dense. From far it looks like a mini apartments

the view was spectacular here, overlooked the famous Piazza Armerina. Due to time constrain we didn't manage to visit it but seeing it from afar works too

I was at awe, totally jaw dropping moment

zoom in

zoom in

panoramic view of Piazza Armerina

if only we had more time :( Piazza Armerina a must visit!!!

going to the town

though the town is abit small but it's really clean and the people are really friendly

some churches and cathedral

it's a very quiet place or maybe it's still early :)

Italian, quiet?? lol

basically it's just the cathedral and the Castello of Lombardia to cover in Enna

and of coz the beautiful scenery

the Castello di Lombardia is free entrance

the 1st and 3rd court of the castle

it's one of the largest and most ancient in southern Italy

this castle's origins are related to a fortress erected in the 1st millennium BC by the Sicani at the foundation of the ancient Henna

we were the only tourist there....spooky

beautiful wild flowers

just behind the castle there is a big viewing area on top of a large rock

Enna is the highest Italian province capital and i bet on top of that rock is the highest point

climbing up

Enna

again jaw dropping moment

me at the highest point of Enna

Photo by Alice

again we were the only tourist there :) was totally at peace here.

after exploring Enna for about 4 hours

we bought a bus ticket from Enna to Catania for 7.70Euro/ pax, 1 way. We wanted to go Siracusa directly from Enna but the they only have buses to Catania and we were advised to buy our ticket to Siracusa @ Catania. Although it's slightly inconvenient, but at least they have buses from Catania to Siracusa every hour, so not that bad.

From Enna to Catania the bus takes about 1hour and 20 minutes. And from Catania to Siracusa takes about an hour and cost 6euro for 1 way. The bus tickets are quite pricey add up but bus is the easiest and the fastest way to travel around Sicily.

I'm not sure if i would recommend Enna but if one are visiting east of Sicily Island from Parlemo or vice versa and one doesn't mind the long bus rides , Enna is actually worth visiting for a day trip or a short stop along the way

Next stop Siracusa

~ ciao ~