Arrive at Palermo Falcone-Borsellino Airport, where your private transfer will take you to your hotel in the historic centre of the city.

Palermo has been shaped by Phoenicians, Greeks, Romans, Arabs, Normans and Spaniards, with traces of each still found in its architecture, markets, churches and food.

Depending on your arrival time, begin with a relaxed visit to Ballarò Market. Dating back to the Arab period, this lively market is filled with seafood, citrus, olives, spices and traditional street food, offering a wonderful first introduction to Palermo.

This evening, enjoy a welcome dinner in the historic Kalsa quarter. Taste classic Sicilian flavours, including pasta with swordfish, mint and eggplant, accompanied by a glass of Nero d’Avola.

Begin at the Norman Palace and the Palatine Chapel, commissioned around 1130. Inside, Norman architecture, an intricately carved Arab-style ceiling and Byzantine gold mosaics come together in one of Palermo’s most important historic interiors.

Continue to San Giovanni degli Eremiti, where the Normans constructed a church on the site of an earlier mosque while preserving its distinctive red domes.

At Palermo Cathedral, discover a building begun by the Normans in 1185 on a site that had previously served as both a mosque and Christian basilica. Its architecture carries traces of the many periods that followed, including Norman, Arab, Gothic, Catalan and Baroque influences.

Inside the cathedral are the royal tombs of some of medieval Sicily’s most significant figures, including Roger II, Constance, Emperor Henry VI and Frederick II, known as Stupor Mundi. Their monumental porphyry sarcophagi provide a fascinating connection to the period when Palermo was at the centre of a powerful Mediterranean kingdom.

Continue to a surviving Norman-era palace incorporated into Palermo’s ancient city walls. Still associated with descendants of Frederick II, the residence contains frescoed ceilings, ancestral portraits and details accumulated through centuries of family and Sicilian history.

Later, visit the monastery bakery of Santa Caterina for freshly filled cannoli prepared from recipes traditionally associated with Sicily’s convents.

The late afternoon is yours to enjoy at leisure. If you wish, you may independently visit the Capuchin Catacombs, where thousands of preserved Palermitans have been displayed since the late 16th century. As the experience can be confronting, this visit is entirely optional.

Travel privately from Palermo into the Norman heartland of Sicily.

Your first visit is Castello di Caccamo, one of the largest and best-preserved Norman castles in Italy. Set high above the valley, the fortress was developed in the 12th century over an earlier Arab stronghold. Inside is the Sala della Congiura, where Norman barons plotted against King William I in 1160.

Continue to the coastal town of Cefalù, where its Norman cathedral rises above the medieval streets. Commissioned by Roger II after he survived a storm at sea, the cathedral is known for its 12th-century mosaic of Christ Pantocrator.
Enjoy free time for lunch and a walk through Cefalù’s historic lanes and old fishing harbour before continuing to Monreale.

Visit Monreale Cathedral, commissioned by William II in 1174 and renowned for approximately 6,000 square metres of Byzantine gold mosaics. Continue into its peaceful cloister, surrounded by 228 paired columns, each decorated with different carvings and designs.

Return to Palermo, with the evening free to enjoy as you wish.

Leave Palermo with your private transportation and travel west through the Sicilian countryside.

Begin at the Arab baths of Cefalà Diana. Dating from around the year 1000, this rare Islamic-era bathhouse survived the Norman period and still retains a Kufic inscription on its exterior.

Continue to Segesta, where an imposing Doric temple stands in an isolated position among the hills. Built around 420 BC, the temple was never completed. Its columns remained unfluted and the structure was never given a roof, yet its isolation helped preserve it through the centuries.

Nearby, visit the ancient theatre carved into the hillside, overlooking the valleys and distant coastline. Both monuments are associated with the Elymians, an ancient people whose origins remain one of Sicily’s historical mysteries.

Later, continue to the medieval hilltop town of Erice, your base for the next two nights.

Spend the morning discovering Erice, where the Norman Castello di Venere stands on a site once dedicated to Venus and, before her, the Phoenician goddess Astarte.

Walk through the town’s medieval streets and stop at a traditional pastry shop known for almond sweets based on recipes once prepared in Erice’s convents.

Descend towards the coast to visit the salt pans of Trapani. Salt has been harvested here since Phoenician times, and traditional windmills still stand among the shallow, pink-tinged waters.

Continue by boat across the lagoon to the island of Mozia, once an important Phoenician settlement in the western Mediterranean. After the city was destroyed and abandoned, much of the island remained untouched by later development.

Visit the Whitaker Museum, home to the Charioteer of Motya, an exceptional ancient Greek marble statue discovered on the island.

Return to Erice, where the evening is yours at leisure. You may wish to try the local fish couscous, one of western Sicily’s characteristic dishes and a reminder of the region’s close historical connection with North Africa.

Travel south to Agrigento and the Valley of the Temples, one of the finest surviving collections of ancient Greek architecture outside Greece.

Ancient Agrigento was once one of the wealthiest cities of the Greek world before being attacked by Carthage in 406 BC. Walk along the archaeological ridge to see its surviving temples, including the remarkably preserved Temple of Concordia.

Continue along the coast for a stop at a viewpoint overlooking Scala dei Turchi, known for its striking white marl cliffs descending towards the Mediterranean.
In the afternoon, travel inland to Villa Romana del Casale near Piazza Armerina. A landslide buried the Roman villa for centuries, helping to preserve one of the world’s most extensive collections of Roman floor mosaics.

The mosaics depict hunting scenes, mythology and everyday life, including the well-known images of female athletes often referred to as the “bikini girls.”

Continue privately towards southeastern Sicily for the evening.

Begin the day in Ortigia, the historic island centre of Syracuse, once one of the most powerful Greek cities in the Mediterranean.

Visit the Cathedral of Syracuse, built directly into a 5th-century BC temple dedicated to Athena. The temple’s original Doric columns remain incorporated into the cathedral walls. Over the centuries, this site has served as a Greek temple, Christian church, mosque and cathedral.

In the afternoon, travel north to Taormina and visit its ancient Greek theatre. Carved into the mountainside and later adapted by the Romans, the theatre offers sweeping views towards the Ionian Sea and Mount Etna.

This evening, enjoy a special farewell feast near Taormina, featuring the flavours of Sicily and a tasting of Etna wines produced from vineyards growing in the volcano’s mineral-rich soils.

Enjoy your final breakfast in Sicily before your private transfer to Catania Airport for your onward journey.

Your time in Sicily concludes after eight days exploring the Greek, Phoenician, Roman, Arab and Norman influences that have shaped the island, from Palermo and Erice to Syracuse, Taormina and Mount Etna.