Trapani, Sicily

Last March we stayed in the old town of Erice, above Trapani, at the Hotel Moderno Erice. It was a nice and characterful place. They have a restaurant, but we had a great meal at Ristorante San Monte Giulianotry the squid-ink pasta! In March, it was quite cold up there in Erice, so bring a coat if you go any time soon. Walking around Erice, especially at night or in the early morning, is fun, especially on a clear day when you can see far across the Trapani coastline. From what I saw, there is apparently a funicular that can zip you down to Trapani. Not sure on the cost, though. Regrettably, we did not get to see the actual town of Trapani below, but the Blue Guide Sicily has useful city plans and a list of important sites. We did, however, survey some of the old salt pans and windmills along the coast. If good sea salt is your thing, vendors sell it for cheap, especially near the harbor that runs ferries to the small island of Mozia. If you like ancient things, Mozia is interesting for its unique Phoenician remains, while the archaeological museum in Marsala (housed in an old wine cellar) has more important remains from the ancient site of Lilybaeum and the remains of a Punic (N. African) ship reconstructed! The wine in the area is also good, so if you can go to Marsala, check out the Donnafugata winery.

Hi Peter, We will be in Trapani in April. We just booked Agriturismo Baglio Costa di Mandorla - it was recommended on this site and has good reviews on Trip Advisor. We will have a car and are hoping that this location will be a good one for exploring the area (Marsala, Erice, and Trapani.) The owner was very responsive to our e-mails.

It was in 2007, but we stayed at Ai Lumi (www.ailumi.it) and it was great. The same people own the Tavernetta restaurant, which was also great. We really enjoyed Trapani and made day trips to Erice, Marsala and Segesta from there.

Try to spend two hours exploring Old Trapani: it's very small and can very easily be covered on foot. In particular, don't miss the exquisite 18th Century wood carvings of the Passion of Christ in the Church of the Purgatorio, smack in the heart of the Old Town. They are life-sized, and are taken out of the Church during the Procession on Easter Sunday. The B/B Ai Lumi is one of the best-situated in the Old Town, accessed through a lovely baroque courtyard teeming with character. If you have time, you can take the ferry or a hydrofoil to the Edagi Islands offshore, or even all the way to Pantelleria, nearly six hours away (by car ferry). The most significant tourist sights in the Province of Trapani are: Marsala, Erice, Segesta and Selinunte. All can be reached by public transportation from Trapani. Naval enthusiasts won't miss the relic of the Carthaginian WARSHIP in the archeological museum in Marsala, unique on earth. (There's more to see in Marsala as well).

If you are willing to consider an apartment, we loved Il Pesco and its super-friendly and wonderful hostess, Lucia. You can find the apartment on TripAdvisor. The only two downsides are that the building is under some construction at the moment, but the construction only happens during the day so we never had a problem with it, and the apartment doesn't have wi-fi (although Lucia has a smaller apartment with a terrace upstairs that does have wi-fi). We didn't spend much time in Trapani itself, as we went to Erice (charming but touristy), Segesta (impressive temple), and Selinunte (interesting to see the town remnants). For restaurants, I recommend Miei Amici near the northern shore for pizza, especially if you are getting tired of the typical Italian thin crust Neapolitan style. We also enjoyed Trattoria da Salvatore on Via Nunzio Nasi.