Sicily

For best advice, google "Sicily sights" and "Sicily attractions" or "Sicily accommodations". You will find lots of helpful information and photographs. Even search for "weather Sicily".

I use google all the time when I am planning a trip.

Weather in fall is perfect in Sicily, better than the summer time when it's really hot.

There are several ancient sites, so see them all if you have time. Segesta is great as is Agregento on the western side of the island.

We found the Lonely Planet guide book for Sicily to be very helpful when we were there a couple of years ago.

This is the best site I have seen for info on Sicily:

http://www.bestofsicily.com/faqs.htm#holidays

A must must must see is Taormina, Sicily. It is a nice resort-type town just a short drive from the Catania airport. Many Cruise ships stop in the port. It is very charming. Also, it is close to Mt Etna. I agree that fall is a wonderful time to go to Sicily. I have family there, and I usually go in the summer, but 2 years ago I went in early October and the weather was great. Also, it is harvest time and there are a lot of festivals for pistacchios, chestnuts, olives, etc. Bring a rain coat because it may rain from time to time. I got the National Geographic book on Sicily which was pretty good and tells you about the festivals and sites, but I would recommend getting another guide too with maps and other adivce. Palermo is an interesting stop too. Big city, a lot of trafic and pollution, but rich in culture. Just be aware or your surroundings. I wanted something else from my vacation, so we did a day trip. If in Palermo make sure to take the bus to Monreale to see all the mosaics in the cathedral. My parents loved their visit to Agrigento. One thing to keep in mind is that Sicily is a beautiful island, but it is not as well organized as the north. In Palermo the bus driver was just sitting in the middle of the bus with his feet up, and the locals were urging him to get the bus moving, but he sat calmly back and said, "I can leave before or after the scheduled time, I will depart when I want!" Then, he proceeded to make chit chat with the locals asking them how they took their coffee in the morning and asked the woman to take off her shoes to see how tall she really was since she was in a hurry to go and buy shoes before the stores closed. The next bus pulled up behind us, and then the driver got up and we departed shortly after. No joke, you cannot make this stuff up! My brother and I couldn't look at each other otherwise we would start laughing.

Good archaeological sites to see: Agrigento (#1 on my list) on the south coast, Piazza Armerina, Morgantina (#2 on my list - near Aidone) in the interior section, Tyndaris (Tindari) on the north coast. Syracusa has a great museum that is well worth the visit. Taormina is beautiful and has some interesting sites, but it can be expensive (watching Etna erupt after dark was a real treat however!) If you are willing to take the ferry across to the mainland, the museum at Reggio de Calabria is well worth the trip- the bronzes alone are worth it!

Driving is a great way to see the island- but some roads are often unbelievably narrow and steep (even in the towns). If you're used to European driving, it won't be TOO bad, but I would advise caution to someone new to Europe/Italy (be sure to pull the mirrors in!) Many of the main roads have awesome scenery and I found many of them to be lots of fun to drive. I was there from the third week in May through the end of June- only in the last couple of weeks did the weather get uncomfortably warm. I did note that most areas seemed to be rather windy (at least for someone used to Florida), and I understand that is normal.

Besides he normal highlights;

Modica, close to Siracusa, and is famous for their chocolate. Noto is a great little town also and was rebult from scratch in 1694 in grand style.

Don't miss Selinunte near Palermo. There is also a great temple at Segesta that I liked as much as Agrigento.

The little town of Aci Trezza, just north of Catania, has a small china man hat island right off the coast and is full of photo ops.

We drove around the island in Oct. Driving was not bad and the weather was perfect.

You can see pictures of our trip at my personal blog at http://gadtravel.blogspot.com/

If you enjoy Classical Mythology/Literature, read the CliffsNotes for Homer's Odyssey and Virgil's Aeneid.
Odysseus and Aeneas had quite a bit of adventure in Sicily.