A rough looking town. Graffiti everywhere, including on some monuments and major tourist attractions, very rugged looking people (many I wouldn’t dare think about approaching) and unappealing streets and piazzas for the most part. I didn’t get a good vibe as soon as I arrived and it didn’t really get better after that….possibly worse. A few reasons for that….I became ill again and couldn’t climb Mt Etna, I got bitten 100 times by bed bugs and one of the girls staying at the hostel nearly had her bag stolen by as a passing motorcyclist as I was walking next to her. And the quality of the food (importantly) was quite poor - cheap ingredients used resulting in inferior quality product. And the women were chubby. It was a bit of a slap in the face after Scilla and Tropea.
The only things I did like about Catania were the hostel staff, the hostel guests, the train line out of there, and the guide whom I met for all of 2 minutes when she came to pick me up at 8:30am to climb Mt. Etna only for me to say….”sorry, but I’m too sick to go”. She was willing to take me beyond the bounds of which she was authorised, to the rim of the crater at the very top so you could look down into its bubbling insides brought back to life after a small eruption earlier in the year. We had originally planned to go at night (3pm-2am) but the weather forecast wasn’t favourable at night. So disappointed on both fronts. Would be so cool to see at night when it is active.
If you want to avoid the crappy group tours that take you up to only 2000m by vehicle to see….not very much, and get some real exercise, give Carmelo a call (from Etna Excursions) on +389 155 6178, but only if you are reasonably fit and healthy and have suitable clothing.
Some people used Catania as a base to explore the south east of Sicily, Taormina, Siracusa and even Agrigento. I would suggest a day in Taormina (didn’t go myself but based on comments from others), a couple days in Catania only if you are visiting Mt Etna (there is also an affordable scenic railway line around the entire mountain, through national park, that would be quite pleasant on a clear day, c.3hrs and €7.50), and a couple of days in Siracusa (including a half day trip to sleepy Noto, Ragusa or the beach down south, Marzameni. Agrigento is only worth a few hours, just to see the Valley of the Temples.
I don’t have too much else positive to say about Catania other than perhaps the fancy wine bar / restaurant I found. Took a few of the peeps from the hostel there on a Sunday night. Was packed. All you could drink event for €10 where you can select from about 50-60 different wines to try. Short pours and pushy pretentious Italians means that you don’t drink too much. Free finger food if you can elbow the inconsiderate vultures hoarding around the snack table out the way. Nevertheless, great way to try many Sicilian wine varieties amongst the wannabe snobs of Sicily. Dress up a little so you don’t look stick out too much.
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| They will add 'eria' to anything! |
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| The main church in town which had an Indian wedding out the front |
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| One of the Roman theatres dug up. Was covered with houses not so long ago. |
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| Mt Etna.....all 3,000m of it. Will be back to climb you another time. |
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| The crazy man in white was singing opera songs to strangers |
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