Spending a day in Siracusa & Noto, Sicily
Siracusa and Noto are two cities in the south east of the Italian island Sicily. If you are planning a trip to the island and happen to be around there, you should definitely pay a visit to these two beautiful cities! During my trip in Sicily I stayed in the east side of the island and made a one day trip to Siracusa and Noto. In this article I will give you some tips to do and visit when travelling to those cities.
The first city we went to, was Siracusa. In this city we also spent the most time. This city was the capital of Sicily for a very long time and still it is a very big city. One of the most beautiful places of the city is close to the water, because it has a port with lots of boats and a great view!
Parco Archeologica della Neapolis
At the beginning of the day, we spent some time in this archaeological park where you can find the Roman and Greek theatre. Together with the theatre in Athens, this Greek theatre is the biggest and has place for 15.000 people. Furthermore, there are many more relics to see from different ages in the park. It is very impressive and really worth the visit. I can remember I paid € 5,- for the entry of the park, but I had a 50% discount because I have an age between the 18 and 24 years old.
Ortygia
This place is absolutely a must see of Siracusa! I really loved this ‘island’. Ortygia is part of Siracusa, but only attainable by bridges, because its located on a little island. Here we spent most of the time during the day. A really beautiful place is the Piazza Duoma, a square with a breath taking church. The pictures above and below will show you a great impresion of Ortygia.
After Siracusa, we spent like an hour in Noto. This city is not as big as Siracusa, so we did not need so much time. There was one main street (Via Vittorio Emanuele), where you could find a lot of the hot spots. There were a lot of eateries and cafes where you could try the famous gelato, which we also did. I took a gelato with the flavour strawberry and my sister took a gelato with the flavour coffee. It was very delicious and the flavour was very good and real.
Noto is famous for the baroque architecture and has some beautiful buildings. Only for the baroque style it is already recommended to pay a visit to this city. In 2002, this city became part of the UNESCO World Heritage list. In the main street which was mentioned earlier before, you can find a lot of churches and palaces with the baroque architecture.
This is how I experienced a one day trip to Siracusa and Noto. We did our trip with a guide and in a group, but I would recommend to go on your own, so you will not be dependent of the guide. I had the feeling that I missed a lot of the city and wanted to see much more. Because we visited these two cities together in one day, there was not that much time to spend in each city. That is unfortunate, but a good remember for a next time. However, I had a great time and was really happy I paid a visit to those cities, because it was absolutely worth it!
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