We are planning to spend 3 days in Sicily in early November. We're not particularly interested in more than a few archeological sites and are wondering if there's more to see than that. Can you Fodorites help us?
Thanks,
Jgrace

Where are you staying? While Sicily is certainly very rich in archaeological sites, there is a lot to see besides that. Will you have a rental car? Once you tell us where you will be we can be more specific. If you are interested click on my screen name and you will find amongst my posts a trip report on Sicily from April '03.

Thanks for your reply, AP6380. We will stay in Taormina because I've heard it's so beautiful and will probably stay at the Villa Ducale. Haven't thought about renting a car although it's always a possibility. We were hoping that public transportation of some kind would suffice. Can we do day trips to Palermo and Agrigento? Thanks for your help.

Jgrace

I would suggest that you possibly do organized tours to other areas of the island, since you won't have a car. If you read through past posts on Sicily there is a specific company recommended, I think it's called CST? I did a google search, this is it I think:
http://www.compagniasicilianaturismo.it

I spent 3 days in Taormina and didn't have to go far to fill those days up. I spent 10 nights in Sicily and barely scratched the surface.

Taormina is beautiful. I would definitely take a tour (half day) to Mt. Etna. Siracusa is another option as a day tour. Your hotel can easily make these reservations for you. 3 days is not very long and you do want to spend a little time in Taormina. There are beautiful terraced restaurants and the Villa Ducale has a wonderful reputation. I'm sure that you'll love it.

Last November we spent a week at Villa Ducale as a very relaxing vacation. Be prepared to do a lot of walking down and up the hill; however, the view makes it worth every step. We walked up a couple of times and then decided that the local taxi industry needed support so we rode up the rest of the times, especially after good dinners. We did not rent a car and just stayed in the area. We went all the way down to the beach (by foot and gondola) and up to the town of Castelmola (by taxi) which towers over Villa Ducale. Villa Ducale sits well above the town of Taormina and the view is worth the whole trip. The setting for breakfast each morning on the open porch looking out over the town of Toarmina, down to the water, and all the way to Mount Etna is something I will always remember. There are a few churches in the town, many stores, good restaurants, gardens, and a Roman and a Greek theatre. There were bus tours to outlying sites, but we became too relaxed to participate. I will link you to my pictures on Ofoto.

Thanks all of you for replying and thanks, KipC for the wonderful pictures. I was seriously considering skipping Sicily all together but, now, will go to Villa Ducale and enjoy it all.
Jgrace

Sicily is the best part of Italy. 3 days in Taormina will keep you busy.