Siracusa Trip Report October 2017

We stayed in Ortigia for 8 nights mid October 2017 in an Airbnb on the north promenade with a splendid sea view.  We travelled by public transport for three weeks around Sicily on that trip so parking was not an issue. Traffic mostly just circulates around the outer walls and even there is limited so it's a relaxing place to be. 

Ortigia itself is worth a few days to wander around the old streets of soft coloured stone, admire the sunrises and sunsets and explore the various monuments and historical centre. 

There are also some areas where it's possible to access the sea, although it would definitely not be my choice for a beach holiday. 

We also used Ortigia as a base to visit Siracusa itself, Noto by train and Plemmirio park for hiking and Fontane Bianche for the beach by bus. It's about a 15/20 minute walk from the centre of Ortigia to the train station and coach stops. Apparently there was a shuttle bus but in the end we usually walked it as our host very kindly took us from and back to the station when arriving and leaving with cases.

There's a (in our limited experience) perfectly on time coach service between Siracusa and Catania Airport.

We liked the general atmosphere in Ortigia, the food market with an excellent selection of fish and other products, the small shops with friendly people, the old stone houses, the promenade which takes you right round the 'Isle' of Ortigia, the oval shaped Piazza del Duomo, just about everything actually.

We weren't particularly lucky with the weather since we had three days with at least some rain, although the rest were warm and sunny, but Ortigia is one of the best places I've ever been.