Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
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THREE PERFECT DAYS
Explore Beaches
Take the squiggly SS113 along the coast, or zip down the A20 autostrada, admiring the engineering wizardry of
its bridges and tunnels. Either way, a few stops are mandatory. Prowl the pretty sands at
Capo d'Orlando
, brake
for avant-garde art (and lunch by the waterfront) at
Castel di Tusa
and pull into
Cefalù
by mid-afternoon, in time
to savour the region's prettiest town-plus-beach combo before sundown.
Travel Back in Time
Start in Cefalù with a visit to the Byzantine mosaics of its cathedral and a wander through its enchanting tangle of
back streets. Next head inland to
Castelbuono
, where you can tour the 14th-century castle and enjoy superb
mountain cuisine in a pair of atmospherically rustic eateries. End the afternoon at
Caccamo
, touring its imposing
cliff-top Norman castle and then enjoying a meal fit for a foreign invader at A Castellana (
Click here
) next door.
Meander Through Forgotten Mountains
Link the Madonie and Nebrodi mountains with a scenic inland jaunt through a series of little-visited hill towns.
From Cefalù climb south to the mountain town of Castelbuono, then circle the dramatic Madonie mountains to
Petralia Sottana. Next, head east through the gorgeous villages of Gangi, Sperlinga and Nicosia, all perched high
on rocky ledges and surrounded by rolling, wildflower-draped hills. From here, it's an easy trip north to Mistretta
in the Parco Regionale dei Nebrodi.
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Getting Around
Trains are frequent and dependable along the coast, but once you head inland, your own
wheels are nearly indispensable, especially for exploring the scenic backroads of the
Madonie and Nebrodi mountains. Buses from coastal hubs like Palermo and Cefalù ser-
vice interior towns such as Castelbuono, Collesano, Petralia and Caccamo, but they have
limited schedules, and there's no public transport linking these interior towns to one an-
other once you get there.
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