Steep walk to Erice, Italy?

If you don't get a first hand experience response then look at Goggle earth and see if you can judge the grade from the pictures.

Erice is over 2,400 feet in elevation, almost half as high as Denver, CO, but straight out of the sea. We were there in 2012, before Rick Steves had any printed material on Sicily. We had a tiny rental car, and the ascent was steep even with a motor! Once in the old city, it was the tightest driving ever, with super-narrow, tiled streets, and scarily constrictive turns around corners lined with hard stone walls.

There is still a little up and down once in the old town, but no more than going up or down a couple flights of stairs. Good thing for you taking a bus; it would be at least a 2-hour climb on foot.

I was in Erice 4 years ago and can't swear to the accuracy of my memory, but I believe the walk between the parking lot and the center of town is fairly steep. I fear that this is one of those "If you have to ask..." situations, but perhaps I am misremembering and being unduly pessimistic.

The historic center of Trapani is quite flat.

There is a parking lot at the bottom, at Porta Trapani (that is where I parked and walked up to the castle, a fairly steep 500m walk). But you can also park on top near the fortress. There is another parking lot there. You can use google images to see photos of the town and see the steepness of the streets.

Thanks everyone for your responses. It’s as we thought it is after looking at Google Earth and elevation maps- steep going from the parking lot where the bus leaves us by the Porta gate to the center of town. I just wanted some anectdotal evidence!

Have you considered taking the cable car (funivia) from Trapini up to Erice? As I recall, the cable car arrives very close to the town center. For your return, you could take the cable car or walk downhill to the bus stop.

Thanks for your response! Yes, we are aware of the cable car, but it only takes you as the same parking lot where we are going to be dropped off by bus....then we take what we think is a steep walk into the center of town. So cable car wouldn’t need help. I’m mostly concerned with how steep the walk is to the center of town.

We will be on a Rick Steves tour with approx. 25 people (not sure of number yet) and it’s probably not logistically good to split us up to go into quite a few cable cars. Thanks again.

Sounds like that lot will get you much closer that I’d realized, and once you see the town, you’ll appreciate why a bus can go no further than the lot. But if this is a Rick Steves tour, the tour staff at Rick Steves’ company can give you detailed information about how arduous the final ascent will be, how much time it will probably take participants on foot, and if there are any other options for reaching the old town. Getting there will be worth it!

Having taken the RS Sicily tour, I don't recall any steep walk into Erice town center. Your question made it sound like you were visiting on your own and would arrive by bus at a lower parking lot, thus the confusion.

That’s good to hear. Yes, it’s our 4th Rick Steves tour. When my husband called the company to ask a few questions about the tour, he was told that from the parking lot (probably the one by the gate, not the one where you carry the cable car) to the center of town the grade was 10% and distance was about 1/4 mile. That may me worry and want to check with travelers who have been there. Sorry if my question was confusing!

Sorry for typos in previous message!

I spent 3 nights there last year. The cable car and the bus drop off location are very close to each other; pretty much across the street from each other. The walk from the Porta and parking lot to the town center is 3/10 of a mile uphill. It is fairly steep. When we were there, many older people just took their time walking up and down the hill. If you need to walk slower, leave yourself plenty of time to get back to the bus so you don’t miss it. The walk to the castle is about the same distance, maybe a little more. There are some nice views from the castle and nearby garden/park, but the castle itself is underwhelming and not worth the admission price. You can pretty much walk around the entire town in an hour. Along the street up to the main plaza is paticceria Maria Grammatico. It has some nice pastries. Also, that street is full of tourists and some of the restaurants will charge tourists different (higher) prices than locals, if a price isn’t specified on the menu. After the tourist busses depart around 4-5pm, the town is almost completely empty with most shops closed by 6pm. Most restaurants will be closed by 10pm or begin closing about that time. The road up to town is a very steep winding road with plenty of switchbacks. Once we got to the to our hotel, we parked the car and didn’t move it until we left.

christine, we were on a RS tour there earlier in the year. We weren't in Erice long enough to make its an issue - we didn't get very far into town anyway, before we had to turn around and get back to the parking lot. Its a steep street but not unreasonably walkable. The wind was more of an issue.

Thanks again everyone for your responses!

We were just there. It’s somewhat hilly, but no major inclines if you stay on the main roads. When were up there a fog descended on the town making it cold, damp and visibility of only a hundred feet or so. The views are great before the fog, but no great buildings to tour. Only go up there if the sky is clear. Cable car operated thru the fog but I understand shuts down if it gets windy.

We were just there in May. Hubby and I joke that no matter where we walked it was uphill, both ways. I swear we never walked downhill even though we had to have to make it back to the cable car.

You can do this! Yes, it's a bit steep but you can take your time. As I recall there were a few places (one a fabulous bakery!) to stop in on the way to the top. Not more than a quarter mile, worth the walk up and I would not call it a difficult walk at all. Lovely views from the top. We were also on a RS tour; the tour office is your best source for the most current information. Enjoy this most wonderful tour!