• 8 days, 7 nights
• Palermo, food market and Monreale, Segesta, Erice, cooking class, Agrigento, Piazza Armerina, Siracusa, Taormina, wine tasting, and Mt. Etna

Arrival in Palermo airport and welcome by our driver. Transfer to Palermo city and check in at a charming four star hotel. Dinner on your own and overnight.

+ Included: Breakfast
Meeting with your driver and your guide. You’ll be enchanted by Palermo’s wide boulevards, traditional Sicilian Old Quarter, and baroque palaces. You’ll see the city’s main sights, including Quattro Canti (the Four Corners), Palermo’s extravagant baroque square. The square is ringed by four buildings with baroque sculptures that depict the Four Seasons, Spanish kings, and the patron saints of Palermo’s four old quarters. See the twelfth-century Cathedral of Palermo, which houses a pantheon of royal tombs. After you will be taken to Palermo’s food market “Capo”, typical par excellence, full of colour and folkloric. Here you will taste typical street food such as pani ca meusa, panelle, arancini... We suggest to lunch at Antica Focacceria San Francesco.
In the afternoon you’ll discover the Arab-Norman splendour of the Monreale Cathedral. This nearby treasure dates from the 12th century and shows the diverse architectural influences of both the Normans and the Arab population. Return at hotel and overnight stay.

+ Included: Breakfast
Departure for Segesta, ancient village in the Western part of Sicily, and visit to its magnificent Greek Theatre and Doric Temple, masterpieces of Greek architecture in Sicily. Transfer to Erice, a wonderful and mysterious medieval town made famous in ancient times as the birthplace of Venus. Walking through the cobble – stoned streets of the town, smelling a variety of aromas emanating from the numerous pastry shop for which Erice is famous. You will see the Norman Castle and the Duomo. Stopping at the world famous pastry shop by Maria Grammatico, here we will taste almond sweets, genovesi and nougat to match with Marsala wine.
Lunch on your own. Then, transfer to a Baglio for a cooking lesson. Baglio is a villa recently restored and converted into a charming and exclusive little hotel. You learn how to prepare some of the most representative recipes of the culinary Sicilian tradition. At the end of the cooking lesson dinner in the Baglio and visit of its beautiful winery with wine tasting. Overnight stay at the Baglio.

+ Included: Breakfast and dinner
Departure to Agrigento to visit the beautiful Valley of the Temples, one of the most representative sites of Greek civilization in the Mediterranean area. Visit to the Temple of Hercules, the Temple of Juno, the Temple of Castor and Pollux, the wonderful Temple of Concord and finally the beautiful Garden of Kolymbetra. Lunch on your own in Agrigento.
Transfer to Piazza Armerina where you’ll view the extraordinary floor mosaics in the Roman Villa del Casale. The famed Roman mosaics housed in this third century villa are among the best preserved in the world, depicting scenes from everyday life. Scenes include children at play, and big game hunts showing some of the exotic African animals brought to Rome for gladiator games. Accommodation in a charming Farmhouse between Piazza Armerina and Caltagirone. Typical Sicilian dinner at the farm and overnight stay.

+ Included: Breakfast and dinner
Breakfast at the farm and departure for Siracusa. Until the Arab conquest of 878, the city was the capital of Sicily. It was by far the most important city on the island. We will visit the Ear of Dyonisus, the Greek Theatre, the Altare di Ierone. Walk through the historical centre on the Ortigia Island to admire the Cathedral, constructed over the ancient Temple of Athena, the Aretusa fountain and the ancient streets. We suggest to lunch at exclusive restaurant Don Camillo.
Transfer to your charming hotel in Taormina. Then walk through the historical centre of this beautiful town, famous for its Greek-Roman Amphitheatre and its enchanting view of the Ionic Sea and Mt. Etna. Dinner on your own. Back to the hotel and overnight stay.

+ Included: Breakfast
Relax in Taormina. During the afternoon, transfer to Tenuta San Michele, an ancient estate located on the slopes of the volcano Etna. The farm, which belongs to the noble family of the Baron Scammacca del Murgo, is surrounded by extensive vineyards and has a panoramic view of both Mt. Etna and the sea. You will visit the winery and taste their best wines as Etna Rosso, Etna Bianco and the extraordinary Murgo Brut. Return in Taormina and overnight stay.

Optional - on request: departure to the Viagrande. During the tour you will admire the beautiful volcanic landscape of the biggest European volcano. You will stop in Viagrande, here you will meet Mrs Eleonora Consoli in her La Cucina del Sole (The Sun’s Kitchen). Eleonora has written several cookbooks on Sicilian gastronomy and is the unofficial expert on Sicilian cooking in the world. She will conduct a hand-on cooking class, teaching the class. A Taste Week In Sicily 3 of 6 several classic Sicilian dishes. Your lunch will be spent with Eleonora in her home.

+ Included: Breakfast
Departure to Rifugio Sapienza, located 1.900 m. above sea level, where it will be possible to visit the small, inactive Silvestri craters. It is possible to go by cable-car up to 2000 metres and then by Jeep up to the new craters opened in 2001 at 3000 metres above the sea level (1 hours, not included). Return in Taormina and free time for shopping. Return at the hotel and overnight stay.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------