Catania (Sicily)-Need some help!

[kadey]

We have a short port stop (8am -1-pm) in Catania. I'm finding mixed information about what to do at that port! Some are saying it's not very nice and not a lot to do. Yet other reviews say it's an easy DIY port and very nice.I'd love some import from people who have been there recently...please help!! Thanks-Kade

[Eileen G]

We were in Catania last year and just walked around town. It is a good sized Italian city with a great fish market lots of traffic, Roman ruins mixed in with apartment buildings and some beautiful churches. Here is our report from my cruise review.

 

The city of Catania Sicily. We arrived early at 7 but we didn’t get off until 9:30 as we just planned to walk around town. It is another beautiful day although you can’t see Mt Etna very well do to haze and clouds. Mt Etna sits right behind Catania and the city has been destroyed several time by the volcanic eruptions.

I had copied a walking tour from Frommers web site and we were able to get a good map from the port information booth inside the terminal. We didn’t use the walking tour in order but used the information for each stop.

We left the port and walked up Via Cali to Via Emanuele. We turned left and continued down the street to the Piazza Duomo. We stopped in a smaller church right before the Duomo which was open. It was a very pretty church. When we got to the Piazza Duomo they were having Mass so we couldn’t go in. We took pictures and continued passed the Dioceese Museum under the arch and turned right. This is the start of the outdoor fish and produce market. A real slice of Sicilian life. The were more kinds of fish and sea food than I ever knew existed. The amount of different fruits and vegetables was incredible too. It was very crowded with many vendors yelling to buy there products. The streets were crowded too with traffic backed up as far as you can see.

From there we walked to the Ursino Castle which was only a few blocks away. It was free to enter and had some interesting artifacts. A few blocks from the castle were the Roman ruins. Unfortunately they were closed for renovation but from the outside they looked impressive. It is actually a 17,000 seat amphitheater jammed among the city buildings. You can’t see it from the street. You have to enter the museum on Via Emanuele. We were able to look through the windows and get a glimpse of it. We than went to the church of San Francesco Immacolata which is right down the street. We walked up Via Crociferi passing several baroque buildings.

Since it was hot and we were getting hungry we decided to head back to the ship. We walked back by the Duomo to see if we could go inside but it was locked up tight so we then headed back to the ship. We got back to the ship at 1 and the Lido wasn’t too crowded but by 1:30 it was packed. The ship left at 3. We are now sailing through the Strait of Messina so we can see land on either side. Later tonight we will pass Stromboli an active volcano which is on an island off the Italian coast.

 

Here is the link of some of our pictures of Catania. The first one is of the traffic and then just keep going forward.

 

http://cid-1e98e90214e77bf9.photos.live.com/self.aspx/Med%20cruise%20May%2009/P1040071.jpg

[ab0si]

If interested in Greek history, I'd suggest heading south about 40 miles to Siracusa (Syracuse). This was a mighty Greek city. Its invasion by Athens lead to the latter's defeat by Sparta in the Peloponnesian War Later, with the help of inventions by Archimedes, they held off a Roman fleet.

 

There is semi-frequent train connections (1:15 to 1:30 travel time). Probably bus transportation also.

[LovesBeagles]

We were there this past May. We went to the WWII museum. It is very nice. Interesting to see the war through their eyes. The area took a hard hit.

 

We orginally booked thru HAL but heard we could do it on our own. We took a cab there but realized we could walk back. Maybe a mile or two. An easy walk although in one area, there were no sidewalks and we had to walk along the road. Don't remember how much we saved but it was a considerable amount.

[kadey]

Thank you very much for the responses! I really appreciated your time and info.

 

Eileen G-Thank you also for the great pictures!!

[GSPLover]

 

Here is the link of some of our pictures of Catania. The first one is of the traffic and then just keep going forward.

 

http://cid-1e98e90214e77bf9.photos.live.com/self.aspx/Med%20cruise%20May%2009/P1040071.jpg

 

Loved your pictures, especially Tarquinia. Big contrast to when we were there (heavily overcast and partial rain.)