Rank in order your favorite experiences in Sicily
 

If you had to rank in order your favorite experiences in Sicily, what would they be?

Not good at lists, but the antiquities in Sicily are spectacular. The food is wonderful, the countryside beautiful and the people were extremely nice.

Coming back to this for future travelers...We had the most amazing experience in Sicily and while it's hard to rank in order, the highlights of our trip were:
- Hiking and swimming at the Alantrara Gorge
- Having drinks at Raya on the Aeolian Island of Panarea listening to the zen music while watching Stromboli erupt
- Staying on Stromboli and taking a boat ride to see the eruption up close - AMAZING!!!!
- Staying at La Foresteria Planeta Estate (winery) in Menfi:
- Having a wine coursed dinner in beautiful dining room overlooking the vineyard
-Sitting by & swimming in their gorgeous infinity pool while
- Going to their private beach club
- Dining at Hotel Villa Athena overlooking the Valley of Temples (while Lenny Kravitz serenaded us from the Google Secret Camp - surprise bonus!)
- Visiting Bar Vitelli (the ride up) in Savoca - the wedding scene of the Godfather'
- The amazing food all over Sicily (and pizza in Stromboli)

The architecture & history were amazing as expected, but these were the highlights of our trip for us <3

Segesta
Monreale
Agrigento
Piazza Amerina
Ortigia/ Siracusa

Monreale
Cappella Palatina, Palermo
Papyrus museum, Siracusa

(didn't get to Piazza Amerina but wanted to and would have put that second probably)

We are going in April, and I'm cheered by HappyTrvlr and TDudette's lists. These are all at the center of our itinerary.

JES28, your experiences sound lovely.

Segesta was exteaordinary, set in the mountains overlooking rhe sea.

Do you mean Selinunte? I don't recall that the sea is visible from Segesta, although I agree that it is beautifully situated. Maybe I've got things mixed up.

And to JES, glad you enjoyed Sicily. Like IMDonehere, I'm no good at choosing favorites. Of your favorites, this sounds very appealing to me: - "Hiking and swimming at the Alantrara Gorge." Thank you for reporting back.

The sea is, indeed, visible from Segesta's theater, but not from the temple. From Selinunte, the sea is only visible from some of the ruins away from the main temple area.

Ohhh. We visited the theater only very quickly as it was extremely overcast and about to rain. That's probably why I don't remember. I guess I'll have to return on a nicer day.

Agrigento temples
Circum Etna train
Segesta
Syracuse Archaelogical site
Montreale

@ Leely: The view from the theater in Segesta is stunning. I hope you get to see it one day!

Also though Cefalu was a real seaside gem. Not far from Palermo - could be a good base for folks preferring smaller towns and especially drivers. I stayed in Palermo and liked but in retrospect may have preferred Cefalu.

Like others have said, it's hard to rate Sicily experiences in order since there are many sights that are very special.

- Going to top of Etna via cable car with stop in Zafferano Etnea for honey
- Visiting Greek theatre in Taormina early in the morning when it's fairly empty
- Wandering Ortigia and eating at Fratelli Burgio outside.
- Valley of the Temples, Agrigento
- Villa Romana Piazza Armerina
- Cappella Palatina in the Norman Palace, Palermo
- Monreale Cathedral

My husband would say seeing loads of Bee Eaters - a bird he had been looking for for many years in other parts of Italy.
Loved Sicily so much we are going back this April and doing many of the same things, but also adding in Erice and perhaps a stop in Cefalu.
Curious about the Alcantara Gorges - but will not be there during swimming season!

It is quite lovely, even without swimming, and IIRC, it's one of the few places in the world where one can see extensive fractured basalt formations.

I just realized that I never answered the OP’s question – perhaps because I don’t think I can. :( I saw an awesome variety of things while in Sicily, and I honestly can’t begin to place then in rank order, nor would I want to do so! I can say that I consider the cathedral and cloisters of Monreale (no T) and the mosaics of the Villa Romana del Casala to be among the world’s great treasures.

Valley of the Temples in Agrigento
Ancient Greek theatre in Taormina
Villa Romana del Casale's mosaics
Cathedral of Monreale
The cassata everywhere in Sicily
Mt. Etna climb
There are so many more. Sicily's sights are spectacular.

Here are some random highlights

Sitting in the Greek amphitheater in Taormina with Etna in the background.
Getting within 800 ft of the peak of Etna
Segesta
Sellunite
The fresh fish for dinner most nights.
Argigento
The beauty of the island.
Instead of fighting the insane drivers, joining them

The Roman Villa tops (there is very little as good as this in the whole Med)
Enna castle (read the story first) and views all over the Island
Palermo the grityness the museums and the royal appartments
Monreale (only Ravenna competes with this)

Frankly some of the Roman remains were not that impressive compared to others in the Med, but if you only go to one place in the Med to see Roman/Greek stuff then Sicily is very very good

Some of the food was not so impressive, I think it is worth stepping away from anything near a major tourist item and some (repeat some) Sicilian food is only meh, but nothing can beat the freshness of the vegetables.

1. The piazza in Ortigia, glowing in the sunlight and then gleaming at night as we walked to the little bakery where we bought freshly filled cannolis every evening after dinner. 2. Sitting on the rocks on the little beach far below our rental cottage in Scopello, watching the waves come in on Easter Sunday morning. 3. The temple at Segesta surrounded by wild flowers and lovely, lonely countryside. 4. Taormina, with Mt. Edna trailing a stream of vapor as a backdrop to its gorgeous setting.