Flavors of Sicily

Welcome to Sicily! You will meet your private driver outside the baggage claim area at Catania airport. The driver will have a sign with your name on it. From here there is transfer directly to your hotel in Noto. The remainder of the day is yours at leisure to explore the local area or rest in your hotel.

Italy flag

Sicily State Flag

Local bar

Salami & Cheese

highlights

Hotel Porta Reale

overnight

The day begins with a walking tour around Noto. Begnining at the main street of lower Noto, Corso Vittorio Emanuele, to visit the enchanting facades of the main churches, convents, and palaces built by the most important religious orders and aristocratic families. We will then move to the upper part of the city along Via Corrado Nicolaci, which is renowned for the wonderful 18th-century sculpted balconies of the Nicolaci di Villadorata Palace. Stepping along the alleys, we will be back to the main street, where we'll find all the most important monuments listed as UNESCO World Heritage since 2002. Granita tasting in one of the most renowned patisseries. Following this, there is a visit to a farm located in the countryside of Noto where the owners promote respect for biodiversity and focus on traditional farming in order to produce high-quality local products. You will be impressed by their life experience and discover how they manage their family farm. You will start with a pleasant stroll through the family estate and enjoy a delicious light-lunch rich in aromatic herbs, spices, and seasonal vegetables. Lastly, on to a local winery specializing in local varieties and Nero d’Avola grapes, after the talk about the wine making process, you will sit around a table to sip their best wines.

Noto Cathedral

Noto Organic Farm

Noto

Winery visit

highlights

Hotel Porta Reale

overnight

This morning starts with an authentic and off-the-beaten-path adventure, featuring a small cheese producer in the lush countryside outside Ragusa, distinguished for its fertile land and superb local cuisine. Here, Modica cows graze freely in the Hyblaean mountain countryside every morning and produce abundant high-quality milk that the farm uses to produce fresh and wholesome local cheeses: provola, caciocavallo, tuma and ricotta. The farmers' methods are ancient and traditional, and their rhythms are slow. Throughout the visit, you will follow the entire journey of the milk, starting from the stables and concluding at the creamery where the cheese is crafted. You'll observe various stages of production, from the curdling of the milk to the formation of the cheese, including the stretching and shaping of fresh provola and DOP Ragusano cheese, as well as the preparation of ricotta. After this there is a tour of a watermill located in the middle of a canyon, where you will learn about Sicilian indigenous durum wheat varieties and the traditional way to grind them. Then, you will have a nice light lunch with local specialities made with the flours produced at the watermill. The last visit of the day is to the Hands-on Chocolate Experience, where you will have a sweet dive into the world of the “Modica Chocolate”. During this cooking lesson you will learn how to make your own local chocolate bar and discover its history and traditions.

Dairy farm visit

Formaggio - Cheese

Lunch at Watermill

Chocolate Experience

highlights

Hotel Porta Reale

overnight

This morning you will check out of your hotel for the onward journey to Taormina. First stop is in Syracuse for a market and cookery tour. Firstly a visit to Ortygia Market, where your chef will introduce you to local vendors as you try Sicilian treats. After buying some ingredients, we will head to the kitchen for a private hands-on cooking class. Lunch with the typical Sicilian dishes you’ve prepared and local wine. After lunch the journey continues to Taormina.

Ortigia

Ortigia Market

Syracuse Fish Market

Cooking class

highlights

Hotel Metropole - Taormina

overnight

Heading out towards the nearby Mount Etna, there are several visits in todays tour. First a guided tour of a pistachio farm in Bronte. The town of Bronte is known as the birthplace of pistachio, this rural area features a lava landscape on which lush pistachio trees take root. A visit to a farm will allow us to discern the stages of the processing of this product, whose nickname is green gold. You will enjoy the excellent products made with pistachios. Following this, on to an olive farm in the countryside of Randazzo, during which you will have the chance to delve deep into the world of "Mount Etna PDO Olive Oil”. After strolling through the olive groves, you will join a guided professional tasting of three different olive oils. Finally, you will have lunch with delicious dishes prepared according to the Sicilian culinary tradition. The last visit of the day is to a winery located on the northern side of the Mount Etna volcano where they produce wines with native varieties (Nerello, Mascalese, Nerello Cappuccio and Carricante) growing in very rich mineral volcanic soils. After visiting the vineyards and the wine cellar, you will sit around a table and enjoy a tasting of their wines before heading back to the hotel.

Pistachio tree

Olives

Mount Etna

Wine & Grapes

highlights

Hotel Metropole - Taormina

overnight

In the morning there is a guided walking tour of Taormina which includes a visit to the Greek-Roman theater, the Roman Odeion and the main Medieval buildings of this city, known as the "Pearl of the Ionian Sea". Then Brunch at an orange farm that produces a special “amari” (digestive liqueurs) selecting the best peel of “PGI Blood Orange” from their groves, spring water and the wild herbs of Mount Etna. After walking among the orange groves to learn about the history and peculiarities of this Red Orange, you’ll go in the distillery to discover the secrets of the “amari” produced in this farm. The experience will end with a Sicilian brunch, to enjoy the local sweet and savory delicacies paired with wine and digestive liqueurs. The journey continues on to Palermo for the next 4 nights.

Taormina

Taormina Duomo

Greek Theater

Orange trees

highlights

Grand Hotel et Des Palmes

overnight

After a brief introduction to the food heritage of Palermo, you'll head to a pastry shop for coffee and a small pastry. Next, you'll walk to a hidden deli to enjoy some of the typical fried delicacies loved by the people of Palermo. No food tour in Palermo is complete without a stop at a grocery store that sells cheese and cured meats from the nearby mountains, where you'll have the chance to taste some special delicacies. Then, you'll walk through the Capo Market and stop at a fish shop to taste some raw fish. The tour will conclude with an unforgettable ice cream. The remainder of the day is yours at leisure to continue to explore Palermo or rest at your hotel and take advantage of the amenities on offer.

Fresh coffee

Palermo

Palermo market

Palermo market

highlights

Grand Hotel et Des Palmes

overnight

Cooking class at a beautiful manor farm near Segesta. The cook will help you create the traditional recipes of Western Sicily and you will prepare two seasonal dishes with fresh local ingredients. You will have a nice walk among the olive groves and learn about the olive oil production. During the meal, you will have the chance to taste the dishes you have prepared and other local specialties. Your guide will take you back to Palermo for another free afternoon.

Cooking pasta

Private Cooking Class

Olive grove

Olive Oil

highlights

Grand Hotel et Des Palmes

overnight

The day begins with the Marsala saltpans, where you will be shown different types of salt, which emphasize the taste of seasonal fruit and other Sicilian delicacies in a rich and carefully prepared tasting. This is followed by a wine tasting with light-lunch in the countryside of Marsala. The far end of Western Sicily is also renowned for the production of some of the best wines on the island, thanks to the use of native grape varieties such as Grillo, Inzolia, Catarratto and Nero d'Avola, which mature exposed to the warm breeze that blows from the Sahara. Therefore, the fundamental part of a food and wine journey in the Marsala area will be a visit to a family winery, with a production of native varieties that is a not-to-be-missed gem. Here, we will have a light lunch with the traditional dishes from the region, paired with the main wines produced in the local area. Lastly a tour of the ancient and fortified settlement of Erice which is enclosed by huge city walls of Phoenician origins Its strategic position, which is emphasized by the presence of monumental city gates, gave wealth and prestige to the settlement throughout the centuries, as demonstrated by the several architectural Norman remains Aragon and Spanish rules spread inside the narrow alleys of the urban layout. We will walk among the shady streets, taste the delicious local following the monastic tradition, and enjoy an amazing view on the wonderful maritime landscape below

Saltpans

Nero d'Avola Wine Tour

Marsala lunch

Erice Pastry

highlights

Grand Hotel et Des Palmes

overnight

Your guide will advise you of pick-up time from your hotel for transport to Catania airport. We trust you will enjoy this taste of Sicily tour. Happy travels!

Palermo

Palermo Coast Lazur

Vineyard visit

Pasta and wine

highlights

Grand Hotel et Des Palmes

overnight