1 Week in Sicily

Sicily is the largest island in the Mediterranean. So even after a week, I felt like I had only seen 30% of the Island. It was a fantastic trip and I’m already thinking of flying back to explore the east side of the island. Keep reading for some ideas on how to spend 1 week in Sicily.

Day 1- Palermo

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So…the flight from London to Palermo was at 5.30am which meant that I landed in Palermo at around 9am. It was interesting to step off the plane and see a mountain right next to the runway. Unfortunately, the trains were not working so I had to sit on a bus for 2 hours to get from the airport to the city centre. One of the pictures above shows Quattro Canti, which is a unique-looking intersection. Another pic shows the famous La Vucciria which is a street food market. This is where I ate an arancina (rice ball) and panelle (chickpea fritters). The cheese picture is from Capo street food market which I actually preferred. Here the prices are good, so I actually bought a lot of food from here.

Day 2- Segesta, Trapani, and Erice

On my second day I did this tour by get your guide. The first stop pictured above is the temple of Segesta which is an ancient Greek ruin. We also took a shuttle bus up a hill to the amphitheatre, and I had to walk on the way back down because I missed the bus (they run every 30 minutes). Walking down a hill in sandals and 38 degree heat was not fun but I’ll probably laugh about it 20 years.

The second picture is from the Salt Museum in Trapani. This is a family run business and the salt is produced on site. For an entry fee of 4 euros, we were given a 20-minute explanation about the place, the history of salt, and how it is produced. The third and final picture is from the beautiful medieval hilltop town of Erice. It’s full of narrow cobblestone streets, churches, and castle ruins.

Day 3- Mondello Beach

The third day was a beach day in Mondello which is the closest beach for people who live in Palermo. It’s easy to reach from Palermo with the line 806 bus, and bus tickets are roughly €1.80. The water was crystal clear and light blue which was nice to see. However, this beach is extremely crowded because there are limited free areas. It seems that most of the beach is filled with private lidos and you have to pay to enter. If you only have 1 week in Sicily, this is a beach you can easily skip.

Day 4- Palermo

I decided to stay in Palermo and explore more of the city on the fourth day. The day started off with a 30-minute walk to Catacombe dei Cappuccini. I have visited similar catacombs in Rome but these ones are different. The number of well-preserved skeletal remains piled up is just…not for the faint-hearted. It was a nice walk out of the city centre to reach this place, and I got to walk through proper Sicilian neighbourhoods where people live. The second picture is from Segreti del Chiostro in Santa Caterina. This is a bakery inside a convent run by nuns. I ordered a cake that has been nicknamed “minna di vergine” (virgins breasts) The third pic is from the No Mafia Memorial which is a free museum explaining the history of the Mafia in Sicily.

Day 5- Cefalù

Cefalù is a city you must see if you are spending 1 week in Sicily. This city was the highlight of my trip! it’s one of the most popular places to visit in Sicily, so I took a train at 7am to get the best spot on the beach. The beach was almost empty at 8am so I got a nice spot in front of the sea and had some time to meditate. The first photo was taken next to the beach. Behind those double doors I found some locals fishing by the sea. The second photo gives you an indication of how beautiful this beach and sea is. There were actually fish swimming around me when I went for a walk in the water. The third photo is Lavatoio Medievale which is an old Roman wash house.

Day 6- Monreale

On my last day I did a half-day trip to Monreale which is famous for its cathedral (pictured above) I really loved this town because it was not crowded at all. 90% of the locals waved at me in the street and shouted “buongiorno” (good morning). I love places like that, where it’s normal to strike up conversations with random people. Some teenagers approached me to speak when I was eating breakfast. This is when I realised that I actually understand more Italian than I thought. I understood them and responded in “broken Italian”.

I hope you enjoyed my post about how to spend 1 week in Sicily. As previously mentioned, Sicily is a big island so this itinerary only covers the highlights of the north/west parts.

Click here for some ideas on Food to eat in Sicily!