Siracusa/Ortigia

Funny--we're just about to book 3 nights in October in Ortigia, at the start of a trip before taking the train to Taormina, Salerno, finishing in Rome. We had basically a week in Sicily, which is not enough to tour the entire island, so this was the choice.

Never have been there but am starting to do research and this place has relics & artifacts from 500-700 BC, and looks to be a perfect place to begin our trip. We're flying into Catania from Rome, and hope to get private transport instead of (what they say is) a very serviceable bus for 8 Euro. No doubt we'll be on fumes from an overnight flight from the US, a 2+ hour wait at Roma Fiumicino, then an hour flight to Catania.

We really enjoyed our time in Ortigia. I think you will have plenty to do. I would take a look at the RS Sicily guide for ideas. There is a walking tour. The cathedral was lovely, there is a market, ruins, a puppet museum and a fort. We spent a fair amount of time just wandering the streets. We also took a day trip to Noto via train. On the mainland (Siracusa) we walked to the Basilica di Santa Lucia for the Caraveggio. There is an archaelogical park and a modern church on the mainland that we skipped.

@Jay, We flew from Minneapolis to Rome to Catania. There is a very comfortable bus at the Catania airport that goes directly to Siracusa. We walked to Ortigia from the bus stop, but you could easily get a taxi from that point. Catching the bus at the airport couldn't be easier.

We spent a week on Ortigia and did not want to leave! You can do day trips to Noto, Ragusa and Modica if you want. We loved Ortigia!!
This was part of an almost three weeks in Sicily.

@ Suki: we will be visiting those other places when we get a car and start touring the island. So we will just stay put and walk and eat and visit some markets and churches, I guess! I would like to visit the museum of archaeology in Siracusa, but I’ve heard mixed reviews about it. If we’re lucky, we will get good weather.

We spent 3 days there and it was lovely. One of the churches, I’ll have to check my notes or google it maybe, has a fantastic crypt tour.

@Barbara, crypt tour is at Catacombs of San Filippe Apostolo

Four nights is perfect. I adored Ortigia. Relaxing was my primary objective and it suited the bill wonderfully. I spent hours on the main square, I think it’s my favorite in Europe. Great people-watching and a passegiata that does not seem to end. There’s worthy sights too. The Archeological park along with the Museo di Orsi make for a solid day of sightseeing. Noto is an easy bus ride away and a nice day trip. If the weather is nice, the boat tours are reasonable and nice way to spend a few hours.

Ortigia is a great place to relax - if by 'relax' you mean eat, shop, chill, and experience 'dolce far niente.' And, it's a very easy place to walk around with plenty to see and do: sunrise, sunset, ancient Greek ruins, shopping, lazy afternoon drinks on the piazza. I stayed 7 nights two years in a row - can't wait to get back!

If anything, four days isn't enough! We were there 5 and never bored. Ortigia is lovely just to stroll, but there is also a very good archeological museum, some ruins both in town and just outside of town, and the puppet show and museum (book ahead online). The cathedral is interesting with columns from the Greek temple built right into it, and there are a couple of interesting churches both in Ortigia and on the mainland that are worth some time. The market is less impressive than many others, imho, but still worth an hour. Pretty fountains, scenic passageways and lanes, some interesting architecture, and great gelato and food complete the picture. You could do a day trip to Noto, but if you do, I'd suggest taking the bus, not the train. The town is an uphill walk from the station and taxis are scarce. The town was ok; nice architecture but not much else other than the main street. It clearly has been discovered by day-trippers. We found the whole place to be a bit of a circus.

You are all confirming my instincts about the place. I’m loving everything you suggest, keep it coming.
We will pass through Noto on our way to Ragusa later when we have a car. I know about the ZTLs and all of that horrible parking trouble but that’s the way we’re going to have to visit Sicily.

I’ll be a contrarian by saying a half day on Ortigia was sufficient for my wife and I. We didn’t spend a night there but I can see how a night there might be relaxing especially after the day trippers leave. The main cathedral was nice, but the temple ruins were disappointing compared to others on the island. On the day we visited, we also visited Noto.

@ Robert: My new favourite expression “dolce far niente” I love it!

In terms of driving in Sicily, we avoided the big cities and didn't have much of a problem at all. If you have time, I'd encourage the bus (does end up on top of the hill near city center) or train (at the bottom of the hill but goes more frequently) to Noto, but if you have to/want to drive, there are plenty of places to park close to city center. For Ragusa, there are a couple lots just below the crest of the hill Ragusa sits on. We stayed in Ragusa. I ended up having my husband stay with the car and I walked to our inn and the owner/manager walked to our car and helped my husband find a place to park. If you are staying in Ragusa, make sure to ask about parking so you are prepared when you arrive. We drove the countryside loop (RS Sicily drive) to Modica and Scicli and didn't have any trouble finding parking.

bap;
I just booked an apartment for five nights there for mid-April not 10 minutes ago!
I don't think 4 whole days will be enough.
We won't have a car and plan to spend at least a day and a half enjoying Siracusa/Ortigia, and the other two doing day trips to Noto and Catania.

See you there perhaps!! ;)

@ jules: Thanks for the tips. We are going to sleep in either Modica or Ragusa. I'm starting to lean towards Modica. So we'll pick up our rental in Siracusa (actually it's right on the edge of Ortigia), drive to Noto then Modica. Next day Ragusa and Piazza Armerina. My understanding is that Ragusa Ibla is the area to visit, so we don't need to go up top to Ragusa Superior?

SJ: Have a good one and cross your fingers for bright sunshine! Maybe we'll cross paths; I'll be wearing sunglasses and runners ;)

So will I , bap!
Look for the gray hair too……😄

I did notice people going up to Superior, but we didn't have time. We did a walking tour in charming Ragusa Ibla and found plenty to do. We really liked staying there. Gorgeous! We stayed at B&B Terrazza dei Sogni di Emilio Azzone right in the middle of town. Spotless and excellent breakfast. The view from their rooftop terrace was amazing.

I, too, loved Ortigia, including the main piazza, the food, and sites mentioned above. Do consider a guided day trip to Mt Etna. Good friend and I took the train one early morning to Catania and were picked up by our guide with a van for a lovely day on Etna and its area. Also not mentioned in Ortigia: if you have any interest in early Jewish history, one of the oldest (maybe oldest?) mikvahs (ritual baths) in Europe is a beautiful and moving site in the basement of what is now a hotel in Ortigia. Also re. transport from Catania airport: leaving our hotel in Ortigia to go to Catania airport, our hotel booked us an early morning taxi that cost us I believe approx 60-70’euros. This was approx 5 years ago, but it’s possible that if you carefully negotiate with a taxi driver at the Catania airport BEFORE you get into the taxi you might find a reasonably priced option for an easy way to get to Ortigia. Perhaps check with your Ortigia hotel re. what they think is a fair price by taxi from Catania airport.

@jules: Aren’t Alta and Superior the same thing? You make three distinctions here: Alta, Superior and Ilba. I thought that there were only two.
Nevertheless, thanks for more info. Not leaving until the 28th of March and if you can believe it, we’ve added heart stents to the mix (my husband)! I think we’ll be slowing everything down. Sheesh not how I imagined our 6 week epic trip to Italy.

They are. I will correct. Sorry to hear about your husband.

We are just starting to plan our vacation to Ortigia at the end of April/beginning of May 2024. I have a few questions for those who have previously visited the town. We will be coming from Catania airport, so should we just take a bus to Ortigia for the three nights of our visit? Could we pick up car at airport, stop at Noto and then go to Ragusa for a few days, or should we get the car at the airport upon our arrival? It seems like there is much to see between Ortigia and Syracuse and use public transportation if we need.

We have been to Italy several times but never to Sicily and trying to figure out the logistics of traveling to mainly the mid and eastern side of the island. We are also on a budget, so any suggestions of hotels? Thank you

We were just in Ortigia in May for three nights. We had intended to go to Noto one afternoon but the sun was brilliant and we decided against it (the forecast was for rain and more rain).

We were good with three nights but would have wanted a day trip had we stayed longer.

We rented a car upon leaving Siracusa and drove to Ragusa. We talked of stopping in Noto but did not because of the weather (now raining) and we had a tour at 3 pm in Ragusa. Anyway, I would consider making day trip to Noto by bus while in Ortigia unless you are spending an equivalent length of time in Ragusa or Modica. There is lots to see there.

We loved Ortigia our 4 days there and the ruins in Siracusa. We took the bus to hot Noto (mid June) and arrived when everything was shut for lunch pretty much. Then the return bus was one hour late. We flew out of Catania and fortunately a very brief stay. Our least favorite place during our 18 days in wonderful Sicily