Sicily for Christmas

Where in Sicily do you plan to be?

We will probably fly in to Palermo but are planning to visit Carini. No set itinerary yet.

I have friends in Taormina, Sicily and every year I look jealously at their Christmas/New Years pictures on Facebook. Taormina is quite busy with tourists in the summer,but in Winter - even Christmas and New Years it is quiet. I just went to Palermo and Cefalu and Taormina and Syracuse this September and enjoyed it like always. If you want to rent an apartment in Taormina, look at legendofsicily.com. The website just had some difficulties, with the front page showing Syracuse, but if you click on accommodations, you will see the apartments for rent. Many have a view of the Med. Sea, which is absolutely stunning from Taormina. Ciao, and if you decide to go, let me know!

We are definitely going and right now have plans to start out in Milan. I have relatives I am going to look up in Carini, but would like to find out if the tourist sights will be open the week after Christmas. We will rent a car so can stay anywhere. Thanks for the apartment lead and please give me any other info! Thanks!

Jo-we visited Sicilia (first time there) last Christmas. We were at an argiturismo for Christmas Eve & Day, and used hotels the rest of the time (mostly using Lonely Planet's Sicily guide for references), so don't have Sicily apt. info. We rented an apt. in Rome thru vrbo.com, however. Most sights, like the Greek temples at Agrigento before Charistmas, and the Villa Romana del Casale outside of Piazza Armerina the week after Christmas were open, although it might help to confirm the hours each day and maybe phone ahead. We ran into only a couple of sights that weren't open the whole trip. Back on the mainland, although several sources indicated the ruins at Pompeii would be closed on New Year's Day, they were open, although with short hours.