Sicily parking/driving advice?
 

I have gotten many good ideas from this forum and I hope some of you can give me some advice regarding parking/driving in Sicily. We will be in Sicily for 7 days at the end of March with a rental car. We are spending 3 nights in Siracusa (a day trip to Ragusa and Noto), 3 nights in Piazza Armerina (a day trip to Agrigento) and 2 nights in Catania (a day trip to Taormina). We are senior citizens – early 70s. We can’t do much climbing – walking around is no problem. I know some of the towns we are visiting are very hilly, and some have parking far from the center. I would like suggestions for the best places to park to minimize climbing in:
--Ragusa –Ibla or Superiore– do we need to see both?
--Noto
--Caltagirone - top or bottom of the famous steps (with access to ceramics shops)
--Valley of the Temples
--Taormina

Also, we’ll be stopping in Caltagirone en route from Siracusa to Piazza Armerina. Both Michelin and Mappy suggest going north from Siracusa up to route 194, then west through Lentini. I assume the roads are better this way and less mountainous than going due west from Siracusa. Has anyone driven due west? Either the SS124 through Florida or the SP14 through Canicattini Bagni, both of which go through Palazzolo Acreide, and then on the SS124 to Caltagirone. Is it really that bad? Is it more picturesque?

One last question. Any wineries that are interesting to visit in the areas I’ve mentioned?
Thanks, Barbara

I was in Sicily in October last year, and drove to some of the places you mention. Here are my recollections - I am sure somebody with more local knowledge will be able to help.

Siracusa - I found parking on Ortigia almost impossible, except for the large municiple car park on the East of the Island near the market.

Taormina - There is a large pay carpark down the hill from Taormina, well signposted. They run a free shuttle bus up to the town about every 20 minutes.

Noto - we parked on the roadside about half a mile from the town centre -, but this would be no good to you as it was a reasonably steep walk up to the town. There were a fair number of parking bays near the park next to the town gat, but the are did seem busy.

I hope you enjoy your trip - I really enjoyed Sicily and think it may become a regular destination for me.

Hi Barbara,
Some more relevant info for you:
1) Agrigento (valley of temples) is a very impressive site, but it's quite spread out. You have to do quite a bit of walking to see all the site, but it's generally easy terrain, only one hill to climb. There are parking lots near both enterances.
2) On the East side of Sicily, the main highways make for good driving, but some of the smaller roads can be mountanious and curvy which makes for slow progress. On the up side, the scenery is quite picturesque. All the roads are generally well mantained.
Have a great trip!
Larry

Last summer, I found free public parking on the east side of Caltagirone. It turned out to be a pretty good spot for both the stairs and ceramic browsing in the center of town. It's actually about mid-way between both. If you walk northwest, you'll find yourself near the stop of the stairs (as you wander into the city and past the ceramic artistry school), and if you walk southwest, you'll soon be at the base of the stairs in the center of town.

Of course, southwest is down the hill, so it's a bit easier to navigate. But the parking area also had benches with a great view of the valley to the east. A perfect place to sit and eat a picnic lunch.

Dear Bdg,

The best advice I have is to (1) rent a small car, (2) reserve hotels in advance that have parking available and that are well-located in areas you want to walk around, and (3) time your visits to towns and cities when there is likely to be less traffic.

My husband and I have driven in Sicily many times, and we make a good team. (He does most of driving and I navigate.) A little over a year ago, I went to Sicily with my mother (in her 70's), and I did all the driving. We went stayed in Taormina, then stopped in Caltagirone and also the Villa Romana del Casale, stayed in Agrigento (San Leone), stopped in Noto, stayed in Siracusa (Ortygia), then drove to Milazzo, parked the car and took a ferry to the Aeolian Islands. A wonderful trip, but I often had to fit through very tight spaces, and driving in Siracusa and Ortygia is especially challenging. Morning traffic was memorably difficult there - a sea of cars trying to work their way through countless round-a-bouts.

Best of luck!

Rainbow