Catania in a day

I did miss it, because I didn't know it existed, but several folks have mentioned a good WWII museum.

I enjoyed the Pescheria, the fish market; I wouldn't be surprised if some company offers a food tour in Catania. You also have the cathedral and the very attractive area surrounding it.

You may encounter gelato purveyors offering one or both of the specialties from eastern Sicily: gelato + brioche (a breakfast item, as I understand it) and a combination of almond granita with a dab of unsweetened espresso granita on top.

The nearby city of Acireale (pop. 60,000) was recommended to me by a Sicilian, but I didn't have time to go there. Photos look promising.

Taormina's a viable day trip. Or Siracusa if you have no other opportunity to see it. Catania also has buses and a few trains into the interior, bringing Enna, Caltanisetta and Piazza Armerina (with nearby Villa Romana del Casale) within reach.

To me, the area by Cathedral of Saint Agatha is the only must see area. There are better Roman ruins elsewhere, so I wouldn’t spend much time going to them other than walking around. There is the Piazza Carlo Alberto di Savoia flea market. A supposedly good pastry shop is Paticceria Savia, 302/304, Via Etnea. It was closed when we went by, so we went to the one next door, Bar Pasticceria Spinella, and it had a large variety to select from.

I enjoyed the San Benedetto Monastery tour. You'll have to specify if you want the English tour and they may only have an Italian one, but they have a booklet with the info and the guides can answer questions in English.

You can also take a guruwalk on the first morning which will give you an overview of the history and walk you buy some of the most significant sites.

My favorite dining experience in my travels was at A Putia Do Calabrisi in Catania. It's South (near Acquicella Station) and they seat by seats, not tables. You just make yourself visible by the door until someone's mamma points at you and tells you where to sit. (They'll seat you together with whomever you came with.) There are pre set antipasti for the day, and you get a free cup of house wine. There are maybe 2 pasta options, 2 meat and a fish, and it changes every day. You get 3 courses, the wine and bread for around $11 and it's fantastic. You'll probably sit with people you don't know, you'll drink out of a plastic cup, and you won't eat better anywhere... and they'll treat you like family.

Whatever you do, eat granita to your heart's content. There's nothing like it in the US-and not anywhere in Italy I've visited outside Sicily. Savia is a wonderful place to get that and caffe crema (make sure you get it con panna!).

Don't wear cute shoes... there is a lot of dog waste in the streets.

We just returned from ten days in Catania. There's not a ton to do in the city - mainly, we went in daily for pizza and cannoli. Otherwise, we did day trips elsewhere. I will say that the WWII museum is outstanding! The fish market was okay, but the one in Napoli is much more exciting (to me).