Syracuse travel guide
Where to stay, the best time to visit, what a day costs, and the traps to skip.
Things to do in Syracuse, planned over three days
Best time to visit Syracuse
• a note or something on ✦ an occasion worth the trip
Spring, joint best window. Wildflowers, green canyons, Easter processions and in May the best fortnight of the year.
Early summer, joint best window. Full swimming, long evenings and the theatre season in full swing before peak heat.
High summer. Peak heat, crowds and prices, sea glorious but sights are ordeals at midday and Ferragosto packs beaches.
Autumn, the locals' favourite. Warm sea in September, then golden Baroque towns, Etna harvest and hiking weather in October.
Winter. Quiet, mild and cheap but not a beach trip, with some closures and the wettest months from December to February.
What's on
- Santa Lucia di Maggio first two Sundays of May
The festa delle quaglie feast commemorating the 1646 famine relieving grain ships.
- INDA Greek Theatre season mid-May to early July
Classical Greek drama and comedy performed in the ancient Greek Theatre.
- Infiorata di Noto third weekend of May
Via Nicolaci in Noto carpeted in flower petal mosaics for Baroque Spring.
- Ferragosto 15 August
Italy's national holiday peak, when Syracuse and its beaches run at maximum capacity and price.
- Festa di Santa Lucia 13 December
The city's patronal feast, with the silver statue of St Lucy carried in procession from the Cathedral.
- Ortigia Film Festival a week in mid-July
Open air screenings in Ortigia squares and courtyards, festive late evenings in the old town.
Worth the trip for
Best things to do in Syracuse
Ortigia
Wander the whole island on foot by day and again at night when the day trippers leave and the lanes fill with locals.
Syracuse Cathedral
Baroque cathedral built inside a Greek Temple of Athena, its ancient Doric columns still visible in the nave walls.
Neapolis Archaeological Park
Huge Greek theatre, Roman amphitheatre, Altar of Hieron and the Ear of Dionysius grotto in one sprawling ancient park.
Ortigia Market
Morning market by the Temple of Apollo with shouting fish stalls, citrus, capers, cheese and street food counters.
Castello Maniace
Frederick II fortress at the island tip with vaulted halls, exhibitions and open sea views on three sides, usually quiet.
Teatro dei Pupi
Tiny Sicilian puppet theatre staging paladin battles from the Carolingian epics, with a small puppet museum nearby.
Catacombs of San Giovanni
Vast frescoed early Christian catacombs, guided only, cool and crowd free, near the Papyrus Museum and Madonna sanctuary.
Forte Vigliena
Rocky public swimming platforms on Ortigia's east side, with Cala Rossa beach nearby, best for an early morning dip.
Where to stay in Syracuse
Ortigia
first trip, couples and any stay under five nights
Everything except Neapolis and the catacombs is within a 20 minute walk and evenings are on your doorstep.
Mainland Syracuse
budget trips, car based touring and early trains
Larger cheaper rooms, easy parking and the station at hand, best just off the bridges around Foro Siracusano.
Arenella and Fontane Bianche coast
beach first family trips with a car
Agriturismi, villas and resorts along the coast south, a sea base rather than a city base.
Think twice about
- Immediate station streets
Scruffy and poorly lit in stretches late at night with loitering and touting. Pass through, do not base there.
- Borgata and Santa Lucia quarter
Dense residential district away from the seafront with few hotels and nothing open late. Visit for the catacombs by day, sleep in Ortigia.
- Isolated countryside villas without a car
Unlit roads and no evening transport turn every dinner into a drive. A trap rather than a danger.
Best restaurants in Syracuse
Cortile Spirito Santo
One-star courtyard dining room with tasting menus built on Etna forest produce and day boat fish.
Ristorante Don Camillo
Ortigia fine dining institution since 1985 with creative Sicilian tasting menus and an 800 wine cellar.
Ristorante Regina Lucia
Refined Sicilian cooking in a Baroque palazzo on Piazza Duomo, with swordfish and shellfish ravioli signatures.
Apollonion Osteria da Carlo
Locals' seafood favourite where the catch of the day antipasti, raw and cooked, arrive until you stop them.
Trattoria La Foglia
Family run room serving generous Sicilian home cooking including ricotta ravioli, Norma pasta and sardine pasta.
Osteria da Mariano
Rustic traditional Sicilian classics including spaghetti with clams and skewers in the Giudecca lanes.
La Tavernetta da Piero
Traditional Sicilian cooking near the Temple of Apollo, fresh and fairly priced and popular with locals.
Caseificio Borderi
Famous market counter building huge panini to order from Sicilian cheeses, cured meats and grilled vegetables.
Outdoor things to do in Syracuse
Ortigia Island and Sea Caves Boat Tour
Shared boat circling Ortigia and entering the Plemmirio sea caves including Grotta della Pillirina, best in the morning.
Plemmirio Marine Protected Area
Protected rocky coves with clear snorkelling water and a coastal path, wild and almost completely facility free.
Cavagrande del Cassibile
Steep canyon hike down to crystalline rock pools and waterfalls, best done early with a naturalist guide on legal routes.
Vendicari Nature Reserve
Coastal reserve with birdwatching wetlands, a tuna fishery ruin and sheltered Calamosche beach reached on foot.
Rifugio Sapienza
Etna south flank base at 2000 metres for guided lava flow and crater walks, plus volcano wine and farm food tasting.
Noto
Golden Baroque town 35 minutes away, best for Corso Vittorio Emanuele and the Santa Chiara terrace rooftop view.
Fontane Bianche
Long pale sand resort beach with shallow entry, lidos and free stretches, lively and very crowded in August.
Arenella
Smaller, sandier and more local beach closer to the city, reachable by local bus for a simpler beach day.
Best hotels in Syracuse
Ortea Palace Hotel, Sicily - Autograph Collection
Full service luxury palazzo hotel just over the bridge with spa and two restaurants, the international luxury option.
Grand Hotel Ortigia
Belle epoque five star at Ortigia entrance with the rooftop terrace and restaurant and a boat served beach arrangement.
Algilà Ortigia Charme Hotel
Characterful palazzo hotel on the western lungomare with sea view rooms and a notably strong cooked breakfast.
Charme Hotel Henry's House
Small design led hotel steps from the lungomare near the Aretusa end, the romantic mid range default.
Hotel Roma
Modern rooms in a historic shell directly by the Cathedral, a location play for first timers in the Duomo quarter.
Lanterne Magiche Ortigia Suites
Stylish small suites property in the island core, the character filled mid range pick.
Maison Ortigia
Clean compact budget guesthouse near the waterfront at well below hotel prices, but it books out early.
Le Residenze Archimede
Simple budget rooms where the location is the luxury, a few minutes from the Duomo.
Is Syracuse expensive? What a day costs
| Budget | €75 a person |
|---|---|
| Classic | €155 a person |
| Splurge | €380 a person |
A day of food, drink, sights and getting around, before the room
What to book ahead
- Neapolis Archaeological Park: a few days ahead
- Teatro dei Pupi: a few days ahead
- Teatro Greco: weeks ahead
- Cavagrande del Cassibile: a few days ahead
- Rifugio Sapienza: a few days ahead
- Noto: a few days ahead
- San Lorenzo Beach: a few days ahead
- Cortile Spirito Santo: weeks ahead
- Ortigia cheap and mid range hotels sell out months ahead for May, June and September.
- Cortile Spirito Santo and Don Camillo need days to weeks. La Foglia, Apollonion and Schiticchio need a booking or opening time arrival.
- Greek Theatre performances in INDA season sell out weeks ahead, best seats first.
- Etna and Baroque towns small group tours need a few days ahead in season. Pre book San Lorenzo and Fontane Bianche lidos in August.
Is Syracuse safe?
- Ortigia and central Syracuse feel safe late into the evening, including for solo travellers, with standard crowded place awareness.
- Watch for pickpockets in the market crowd and at the station, and leave valuables out of a parked rental car.
- Agree taxi fares or insist on the meter. Carry water and avoid Neapolis and Cavagrande at midday in summer heat.
- Swimming is off rock at Ortigia and Plemmirio. Wear swim shoes, do not dive where locals do not, and respect rough sea days.
Syracuse travel tips: tourist traps to skip
- The Ortigia ZTL limited traffic zone fines drivers months later via rental companies. Do not drive in unless your hotel registered your plate.
- Piazza Duomo cafe terraces for a full meal. Pay for coffee and the view, eat dinner two streets away.
- Lungomare waterfront restaurants with photo menus and touts are the island's weakest kitchens.
- Archimedes Tomb and Tecnoparco style minor attractions are thin filler. A day trip only visit is the commonest mistake.
- Fontane Bianche in mid August is a good beach at its worst. I Monasteri golf is not a destination course.
Getting around Syracuse: public transport and more
- Walk Ortigia. Use small electric and city buses for Neapolis, the catacombs, Arenella and Fontane Bianche.
- Catania airport is about an hour away by direct coach, or about 1 hour 10 by train from Catania Centrale.
- Rent a car for one or two excursion days for Cavagrande, Vendicari, Pantalica and the Baroque towns, not the whole stay.
- Park at Talete car park at the Ortigia entrance or Molo Sant'Antonio on the mainland and walk in.
Who Syracuse suits
| Solo travellers | Good |
|---|---|
| Groups of friends | Good |
| Couples | Great |
| Bachelor parties | OK |
| Families | Good |
| Bachelorette parties | Good |
Make Syracuse your trip
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