Catania Things to Do

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This can be an extraordinary experience!!!! Trust me, italian markets are ALIVE: sounds, smell, colors, yelling, the mix of everything... it is WOW.
We bought fruits and spices from here and we were, usually, desperately looking for good places to eat seefood, since i was thinking only about it.

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This is a real gem of a site. It is very well preserved and well worth the time. The stone is beautiful and makes for an atmospheric experience.

You are able to wander over much of the site making for an intimate visit. It gives you a very good feel for how towns were built on top of the Roman ruins.

There is a nice little museum filled with recovered carvings at the exit.

I had to practically drag my friends with me. They had a great time and we have talked about it several times.

So put this site on your list you will not regret it.

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To the west of the fish and produce market there is a little park. It under the arches of a bridge. It is a nice intimate spot. Here you will find groups of men playing a card game that I am unfamiliar with. It is fun to watch as they take it really seriously kind of like poker in the States. There is lots of arguing and laughter. This is a must see in Catania.

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Just off the Piazza Duomo is the most fantastic open air market. There are bakeries, cheese, olives, meat and fish, fish, fish, every imaginable fruit and vegetable. The prices are great.

It is a cultural treat. The vendors are very engaging and friendly.

Do not miss the park to the south of the market. We watched a fascinating card game being played by lots of men. I was completely unfamiliar with the cards so was clueless to know who was winning. It was great fun.

Don’t miss the very popular and folkloristic open markets (every morning except Sunday):
-the fish market next to Cathedral square (Piazza Duomo)
-the huge open market (food and clothes, but better the food part) not far from the underground Roman arena (along the Etnea street)

Walk Etnea street during the day & night, and it will look very different. Don’t miss the Opera Theatre dedicated to Vincenzo Bellini (the famous composer from Catania), gorgeous inside, but usually open just for concerts and Opera. Have a walk on Via Crociferi, a evocative Baroque street, and the stairs below, usually full of young people after 10pm.

If you can, visit the Benedettini monastery, actually the main site of the ancient University of Catania, you will dream of studying literature in such a beautiful and inspiring building (or perhaps not :-DD )

Of course enjoy the beaches if you come during the summer. Rock beaches made by lava are much much better than sand beaches, you can get to them by bus on the way to Acicastello (you can pay about 6-7 euros entrance in a private "lido" very well organized)

If you have time, don’t miss Acicastello and Acitrezza, small villages on the seaside north of Catania (you can get them by bus from Catania railway station or from Piazza Alcalà, not far from cathedral square)..

About ETNA VOLCANO:
It is very nice to go up until 2000mt (Rifugio Sapienza).Difficult by public bus, cause at the moment (perhaps it will improve) just one bus a day, leaving every morning (close the railways station) at 8.15am, and just one bus that go back to Catania at 16.30 (AST company, http://www.aziendasicilianatrasporti.it/,tel 0957461096)
From Rifugio Sapienza you can walk on that area (very nice, there are at least 3 old craters to visit) or go until the top (in a good weather day, only in summer) until the top and the active craters (3300m) by cableway+guide (http://www.funiviaetna.com/index.aspx) for about 40-50 euros.
Another experience (but more expensive, about 60-70 euros) is to look for a private agency that pick up you at your Catania hotel and give you a nice tour of Etna area.

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There are various trips you can do with Mt Etna, from taking a train around the base of the volcano to actually trekking to the very rim, encased in steam & sulphur. Guide took about 10 of us up, cost $55 euro each. Very informative, appeared to be multi lingual, funny - overall entertaining, also safe. Approx time for tour was about 5 hours.
Recommend hiking boots, Walking pole/s, Sunglasses. beany and all weather jacket because the weather does change, anything that stops rocks getting in your boots, I ended up with half the mountain in mine!.

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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.

Etna is 3233 meters high; it has a typical volcanic landscape, with solidifed "rivers" of lava. It is used for skiing in winter, so be prepared for the cold at this altitude, even in summer. Even in good weather in summer, the top of the mountain is usually covered in cloud, obscuring the wonderful views.
One bus a day runs to and from Catania and Nicolosi, to Rifugio Sapienza about 1400m below the summit on the south side, giving you enough time for a trip up the mountain and a wander.If you have a car rented, use the "Etna South" highway, starting in Giarre. It leads in soft windings up to approximately 1900 meters where you`ll find parking lots and a very good restaurant, offering a famous "Vulcanoe Pizza"