Catania Travel Guide

Traveling to Catania is going to be fun! Plan on a few days to take in all the things you want to see. At the center of the city is Piazza Duomo. There is a fountain off to the left of the center of the traffic circle. Its been there for a few hundred years. Across from Piazza Duomo is the the Cathedral of St Agatha, Patron Saint of Catania. Her body is suppose to be buried under the altar of the church there. Down the main road in Catania on the left, go slowly or you will miss it is a partially covered COLLESIUM! Yes, a collesium! You can go underground but its sealed off so you dont get killed under there. This collesium is a smaller one than the one in Rome but none the less quite impressive! Its been here 2000 years as the city built up around it! If you go around the corner from Piazza Duomo and ask for directions you can find the house of composer Bellini.. they have a museum now and you can go in there. They have a wax relief made of his face after death.. kinda weird.. but neat too. Its as he left the room when he died over a hundred some years ago. You can also go to the castle on the water.. or near the water. This castle has been there since 400AD! Lava has surrounded it many times from Mt. Etna and it is no longer Sea Side, but take a tour through it and you wont be sorry! Most Restaurants have FANTASTIC food. Try the Arancini A Ragu! Rice meat and Cheese Cones! Watch the taxi drivers, sometimes they want to take you the LONG route.. learn Italian and have a map handy so you know where you are going. Watch out for the kids that are pick pockets!.. dont go to the port side of the city.. lots of drugs and hookers.

Catania is not that archaelogically famous as Taormina to its north or Syracusa to its south... but let this not distract you... the city is lovely in its own right, with a very seeable and vibrant centre and plenty of options to sample Sicilian cuisine and to stay... it is also the place from where to see Mt Etna, though you could also approach from Taormina (numerous options exist, from seeing it in the horizon from Catania, circling it on a train, going up a parallel mountain for a view or, if you are an enthusiastic vulcanologist, trekking up with an expert for a closer and detailed view - but you can't climb too much on Etna itself... its one of the world's few live volcanoes)... Catania is also the transport hub in this part of Sicily (the way Palermo is in the west) with an international airport and train links to just about anywhere in Sicily... so you are likely to cross it if you are in Eastern Sicily... if you do, spend a couple of days here... and yes, if you fly into Catania as I did, the views of Mt Etna from the top, from your plane, are unbeatable really...

OK, travel tip for Catania. DON'T DRIVE IN CATANIA!!!! Please don't, unless you're a very experienced driver in Italy it is just a bad idea, most people would go into cardiac arrest stepping into the traffic over there. Plus parking is difficult, although if you pay an Italian to watch your car (around 1 euro or so) you dont have to worry about your car getting broken into, but if you dont pay, they probably will. Catania is pretty cool though, very lovely at night, there is the Elephant Square there and it is beautiful at night. Make sure to stop at the cafe' and have a little expresso and a pastry. Catania also has a very lively market in the mornings and i goes on from about 8.30am - 1.00pm. You can find just about anything there, some very cool, cheap, cheap clothes and fresh fruit. I would stay away from the seafood and meats since they sit out there all day with little or none refridgeration. That is definatly your place to find a great bargan. If you are travelling on a budget, stop and have lunch at a "tavola calda" and have a little baked in bun, really tasty and cheap.