Sicily offers an enormous range of history: Greeks, Romans, Arabs and the Normans have all left their mark on a visually stunning landscape of volcanoes and vineyards.
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Comments on Blue Guide Sicily
Blue Guides, the best-researched, best-presented cultural travel guide books in English
Hi
This is the second consecutive year we’ve been on holiday to Sicily. And Blue Guide Sicily has been our inseparable companion on both occasions. Its value as a cultural guide far outweighs the few grams it is heavier than other guides!
Sicily is absolutely dripping with history so it is great to have a guide which reaches below the surface both historically and culturally to set the scene before travelling and then really enhances sight-seeing during visits. On both occasions we followed closely several of the walking journeys through cities and towns described in the guide, this year the Ortigia walk in Syracuse being the best. As well as visually admiring the buildings we had some really interesting historical background painted in by the guide. And an accommodation recommendation was absolutely on the button! In such a 24/7 exuberant country it is wonderful to have a haven of peace to return to after a busy day knowing that we’ll get a good night’s sleep ahead of launching out on a further day of discovery.
Lipari
We learned the hard way not to pre-book the ferry to Lipari when our trains got us to Milazzo 100 mins late.
It will be really helpful to have the tourist office marked on your map. I appreciate that it may have moved addresses in recent times as suggested by our search. We only came across it by chance on our last day hidden, unsigned (and closed!) in a side road between Via Garibaldi and Corso Vittoro Emanuele.
In fact Lipari was generally poor on signage. An example being that our planned walk to the top of Sant’Angelo (“superb views”: BG) was messed up because, having got off the bus, we weren’t able to find the path leading us towards the mountain.
cf Salina who should be given a really good press for their welcome and the very helpful, friendly walk recommendation given by their great little tourist office set just above the harbour area. This resulted in a scenic bus journey followed by a great walk, and great views, up to the top of the Fossa delle Felci (watch out for the wasps!).
Taormina
I have to say that we were practically the only visitors of several thousand carrying a guide book of any description. Given that presumably most of the year the Corso Umberto is swamped with tourists it is great to emphasize for BG carrying visitors where they can find the three oases of calm identified in the BG. Number one: I would make more of the lovely little gardens and wonderful sculptures around the Palazzo Duchi di Santo Stefano (p 459). Number two is the walk up to the Madonna Della Rocca (what a wonderful little church in the rocks!) and the Castello – unfortunately closed when we arrived. And number three are the public gardens which are really lovely.
Covers the topic very thoroughly [Amazon review]
I always find the ‘Blue Guides’ excellent. Very informative and easy to use.
Great and Informative. [Amazon review]
I used an old edition of this years ago. Nice to have an updated copy! The book is very informative with lots of valuable history of the country and concise info on where and what to see.
Hello. I value the Blue Guide to Sicily. It’s the best guide for the island. I’ve traveled there many times in the last decade and I now live there three months of the year. For my latest trip, I purchased the new Blue Guide to Sicily. I have a few observations.
On Page 392-3, Feudo Bauly is said to be run by the Corsino family that has the wonderful Pasticceria Corsino in Palazzolo Acreide. Actually, Feudo Bauly is run by the Corsino family that owns the excellent Macelleria Corsino in Palazzolo Acreide. They are not related to the Corsinos of the pasticceria.
Café des Amis in Piazza Armerina, on Page 304, has been sold and is now closed to undergo renovations. So, we have no idea what the new Café des Amis will be like and whether it will still be popular.
For the traveller who wants to know EVERYTHING about Sicily [Amazon review]
The Blue Guide tradition of giving full information is capably upheld in the volume about Sicly. This is perfect when you need to know all about an archeological site. I bought this book for a short trip to the island and I found it perfect for learning all the details I crave. I recommend the e- book edition on a Kindle or tablet to avoid lugging around a weighty tome.
Hello
A few entries need to be updated in Blue Guide Sicily.
Avola – Cafe Finocchiaro is listed as one of the most famous in Italy and we drove a 100km to reach Avola. To our surprise found that the cafe has been closed since a few years.
Cava Grande di Cassibile- the entry for Cava Grande is excellent and we wouldn’t have found it if not for the Blue Guide. However, the directions to reach could be better as the signage on the actual road is very poor. Maybe include a small map.
La Foglia in Syracuse – we went to this restaurant on Blue Guide’s recommendation and I should say it has been the best meal so far in Sicily. Thanks. We have also been to Don Camillo. It is good but La Foglia is better.
Il Borghetto in Taormina – We went to this restaurant in Taormina again based on Blue Guide’s recommendation. It is in a piazza that doesn’t see much crowd but for the excellent quality of food and service this place deserves a much larger crowd. Thanks for the recommendation.
Blue Guide Sicily is how I wanted a Guide book to be with enough historical sketches, background information and good solid practical information. A few more pictures would be good, but then the book will probably become too unwieldy.