Sicily Attractions Beyond the Top 10: Noto, Erice and More

8 min read · Published: August 29, 2023 · Updated: October 29, 2026 · Prices and details checked: October 2026

The best Sicilian sights outside the famous top ten sit in three clusters: the Baroque towns of the southeast, the Greek temples of the west, and a few coastal spots that work as day trips from Palermo or Agrigento. Each place below is described by its character, the city you reach it from and what to combine it with. For the headline sights such as the Valley of the Temples, Taormina and Syracuse, see our top 10 Sicily sights.

Table of contents

1. Why is Noto worth a day, and what else fits around it?
2. How do Ragusa and Modica compare?
3. What is Cefalù like beyond its beach?
4. Is Erice worth the detour from Trapani?
5. What makes Segesta special?
6. Why visit Selinunte instead of a bigger name?
7. Is Scala dei Turchi worth the stop?
8. How can you combine these places into day trips?
9. FAQ
10. Plan your Sicily trip

Why is Noto worth a day, and what else fits around it?

Noto is a town rebuilt in golden limestone after the earthquake of 1693, and its main street is the best place in Sicily to see Baroque planning as a whole rather than one church at a time. The town belongs to the Val di Noto, a group of late Baroque towns that UNESCO listed together in 2002.

Walk the main street from the town gate to the cathedral and look at the balconies on the side streets: the carved stone figures under them are the detail most visitors miss. Plan two to three hours, ideally in the morning, when the stone is lit from the east and the heat is lower.

Noto is a natural base for the surrounding towns. From Syracuse it is a straightforward drive south, and from Catania you reach the whole Val di Noto in a long day. Buses to the smaller towns are infrequent, so a rental car saves a lot of waiting.

How do Ragusa and Modica compare?

Ragusa and Modica are both Val di Noto towns, but they feel different: Ragusa is split into an upper and a lower town, while Modica is a steep, stacked town built into a gorge.

Ragusa Ibla, the old lower town, is the part to visit. It has narrow lanes, a hilltop cathedral and small squares where locals gather in the evening. Ragusa Superiore, the newer town above, has little for visitors apart from the stairway views down into Ibla.

Modica is known for its chocolate, made in an older way than most: the cocoa is ground cold with sugar, which leaves a grainy texture and a sharper taste. Allow half a day for each town, or combine both with Noto in one long day if you start early.

What is Cefalù like beyond its beach?

Cefalù is a fishing town beneath a limestone rock, and its main sight is a Norman cathedral with a large golden mosaic of Christ in the apse. The old town, together with the Arab-Norman buildings of Palermo and Monreale, is part of a UNESCO listing from 2015.

Allow two hours for the cathedral and the old streets, and more if you climb the Rocca above town for the view. The climb is steep with little shade, so bring water.

Cefalù is the easiest sight in this article to reach without a car. A regional train runs along the coast from Palermo, and the station is a short walk from the old town. That makes it a sensible half-day or full-day trip from Palermo. We cover the beaches of the north coast in our guide to Sicily’s beaches.

Is Erice worth the detour from Trapani?

Yes, if the weather is clear: Erice is a medieval hill town on a mountaintop above Trapani, with stone lanes, small courtyards and long views over the salt pans and the sea. It stands on the site of an ancient sanctuary to a goddess of love, which the Greeks and Romans later linked to Aphrodite and Venus.

The town can be walked in an hour or two. Fog and cloud are common on the summit even when Trapani is sunny, so look at the sky from below before you go up. You can drive up the winding road or take the cable car from Trapani, which saves the hairpin bends.

Treat Erice as half a day, not a full one.

What makes Segesta special?

Segesta has a Doric temple that was never finished, and that incompleteness is the reason to go: the columns stand without grooves and the roof was never added, yet the building looks almost whole against the empty hills.

A Greek theatre lies higher up the hill, with a view over the valley and out to the sea, and reaching it means an uphill walk. Plan around two hours and avoid midday in summer, because there is almost no shade.

From Palermo, Segesta is an easy day by car and combines naturally with Erice and Trapani.

Why visit Selinunte instead of a bigger name?

Selinunte is a Greek colonial city on the southwest coast, founded in the 7th century BC, and it is a large archaeological park with temples spread across a wide headland above the sea. Because it sits far from the main tourist routes, you can often walk among the ruins with few other visitors.

The temples were thrown down, most likely by earthquakes, and the toppled columns and drums lie in heaps. That gives the site a different feel from the neat temples of Agrigento: less polished, more like a ruin that you can still read. The park is large, so allow half a day.

Selinunte is best reached by car from Agrigento, Trapani or Palermo. Go early in summer and bring water and sun protection. Combining Selinunte with Segesta makes a very long day, so most visitors do them separately.

Is Scala dei Turchi worth the stop?

Scala dei Turchi is a white marl cliff on the south coast near Realmonte, shaped by wind and waves into a staircase of soft steps, and it looks striking against the blue sea. It is a short stop of an hour or less, not a day on its own.

Visit late in the afternoon, when the light warms the rock and the crowds thin. Access to the cliff itself has been restricted at times to protect the marl, so follow local signs and do not climb where it is closed.

The cliff lies close to Agrigento, which makes it an easy add-on to a visit to the Valley of the Temples. Plan Agrigento in the morning and Scala dei Turchi at the end of the day.

How can you combine these places into day trips?

Group them by region and base yourself in the nearest large city:

• Southeast day: Noto, Modica and Ragusa Ibla, starting from Syracuse or Catania.
• Western day: Segesta and Erice, starting from Palermo or Trapani.
• Agrigento afternoon: Scala dei Turchi after the Valley of the Temples.
• Palermo half day: Cefalù by regional train, with no car required.

Public transport reaches Cefalù well, but the other places are far easier with a rental car. Many historic centres have restricted traffic zones, so check parking rules before you drive in. For a full week with driving times and overnight stops, use our Sicily route planner.

FAQ

Plan your Sicily trip

If you want help turning these places into a route that matches your dates and transport, we arrange flights, accommodation and rental cars worldwide through our booking service.

Image credits: Travelissimo; Pixabay / Tama66; Pixabay / ulleo