Cycling in Baroque Sicily

Warm welcome to Sicily and charming Palazzolo Acreide, which greets you with richly decorated, honey-yellow facades and authentic back streets. Personal briefing of the trip and testing of your bike. You'll surely get some nice restaurant tips for the evening.

The first day is a nice loop from Palazzolo Acreide, around the scenic valley Valle dell'Anapo and back. You cycle partly in the middle of nature on the former railway that has been converted into a cycle path (good gravel road) that follows the Anapo river for about 10 km. You are surrounded by high mountain walls and lush vegetation, far from traffic. There is also the possibility of a detour to the charming village of Ferla.

Today you can choose between two different tours, a shorter and a longer one. You cycle in the typical Iblei landscape on rolling hills with the first stop in Giarratana, known for its onion production with onions up to 3.5 kg! Then you continue past the artificial lake Lago di Santa Rosalia (shorter tour) while the longer tour takes you out into the countryside for pleasant cycling. Then a short uphill climb up to Ragusa and its old part Ragusa Ibla, a delightful baroque town on UNESCO's World Heritage List, where today's stage ends. Evening stroll in the city and overnight stay.

From Ragusa Ibla you start with a downhill and then mostly along the Irminio river before cycling up to Modica, which unlike Ragusa Ibla is located in a valley. Don't forget to taste the famous chocolate before leaving town! The bike tour then continues along a beautiful valley to Scicli - the small baroque town known in Sweden for the famous Italian TV series "Commissario Montalbano". There you can visit his police station which is actually the town's city hall.

From Scicli you get a nice warm-up with an uphill climb before the journey continues through groves of olives and carob trees down towards the coast. First you meet Sampieri and then Pozzallo, Sicily's connection to Malta. The tour continues along the coast for a good stretch, after which you cycle through the tomato district in the Pachino area, known for its delicious cherry tomatoes. Today's stage ends at Sicily's southernmost tip in Portopalo di Capo Passero, a cozy fishing village where the Ionian Sea and the Mediterranean meet.

After about 8 km along the coast you come to today's first stop which is Marzamemi, a charming fishing village with Arabic origins, very popular during the summer months. From here you continue inland on quiet country roads until you reach the Vendicari nature reserve, a popular place for migratory birds and where you also find the remains of a tonnara, ancient tuna factory, and a fantastic beach. You don't need to wait until after the bike tour to go swimming! Then you continue to Lido di Noto and then climb up towards Noto, the capital of Sicilian baroque.

The last stage is on mostly flat roads along the coast towards Syracuse, the majestic ancient Greek city. You pass the small harbor in Ognina and the marine protected area Plemmirio and can enjoy a wonderful view of Syracuse from Isola. The hotel is only a few hundred meters from Ortigia, Syracuse's historic center with its fantastic baroque palazzi, Piazza Duomo with the cathedral (once a Greek temple) and the legendary Fonte Aretusa with papyrus to name a few. A wonderful place for explorations in Sicilian history, architecture and everyday life. Return of bicycles (if bicycles are needed for extended stay, notify us as soon as possible to see if there is availability).

After breakfast, departure home or extended stay if you want to enjoy Sicily a little more.