Hello!

We have decided to spend 9 days in Sicily at the end of May. We'll be in France beforehand, flying Strasbourg to Palermo. Right now, we plan to get out of Palermo straightaway to spend 4 nights in Cefalu and 4 nights in Siracusa before flying out of Catania. I'd love feedback from this forum on our choices. We're a couple in our late 20s/early 30s in search of beautiful views, good food and drink, towns we can stroll through to experience the culture and ambiance, and definitely some history. I know we'd be leaving a lot behind just staying in two locations, but the trip beforehand to France will have been fast-paced so we'll be due for some downtime and sitting at restaurants taking in the day.

If you have other locations you think I should check out that fit the bill, I'd love to hear it. We can also fly out of Palermo if you have better suggestions in that vicinity.

As an aside, I also have a somewhat debilitating fear of certain dogs due to being attacked as a 3 year old. How will I fare in these places? Am I in for some serious anxiety?

Many thanks.

1) Don't run away from Palermo, certainly the cathedral and royal appartments are worth a drop by, while the town itself is a bit gritty it is not unpleasant.
2) Dogs, didn't see packs anywhere last year, the only area I might worry about is say on a farm. So avoid farms.
3) Monreale is easy to visit from Palermo by bus.

Other than that the trip looks fine, but you are avoiding most of the world Unesco sites for which Sicilia is famous

Why four nights in Cefalu? Nice enough town but you can cover the sights in a day. I would spend the four days in Palermo and see Cefalu as a day trip. You could also visit Erice as a day trip. But bilbo is right, there are many excellent sights on Sicily and you will miss most of them. (I hope that by Siracusa you mean Ortygia.)

Cefalu is a charming and picturesque beach resort - but that's mainly what it is, a beach resort. It has a wonderful cathedral, and "La Rocca", which you can hike up for fabulous views, and nice restaurants and shops, but not much else in the way of culture. With such limited time in Sicily, I think you would miss a lot by spending 4 days there.

Palermo is a wonderful city with much to recommend it. You might consider spending at least 2 days there, for some history and culture, including a half day trip to Monreale, before heading to Cefalu for 2 days. Or if you really want to spend 4 days in Cefalu, at least plan on an easy day trip to Palermo - 1 hour by train - from there.

Presumably you are planning to stay in Ortigia, the island attached to Siracusa by a small bridge. It fits all your requirements.

thursday, we were posting at the same time. great minds....

Thanks for the feedback all! We're actually looking for a bit of a beachy respite after a busy 10 days in France but we'll heed advice and shorten Cefalu by one night. We are thinking of heading east for Ortigia, now just wondering if 5 nights will be too many there. We'll certainly take some day trips.

Palermo is just our entry point this time around. We plan to spend 6 months in Italy in 2019 so will no doubt be back for a more robust visit to Sicily then.

I concur about sticking around Palermo. Also google "mondello beach"--it is an easy bus ride out of Palermo.

I agree with everthing already said, but it sounds like you are committed to Cefalu based on your interests for this trip. Ortigia is lovely; whether 5 nights is too much depends on what you want to see and experience. Siracusa itself has more than enough to have kept me fully engaged for 2 full days, and from there, you can easily visit Noto or Taormina….