Sicily is a place to tour rather than loaf on beaches. Historic sights, from ancient Greek temples to baroque architecture, are thick on the ground – hardly surprising when you consider that the Greeks, Arabs, Spaniards and even Normans have all left their mark. If you really want to understand Sicily, rather than just see it, we would recommend exploring on an escorted tour. 
Recommended tour operator: ACE Study Tours
ACE Study Tours says
As Britain’s most experienced operator of cultural travel, we suggest an eight-day escorted tour of the historic highlights of Sicily.
Our investigations into the island’s rich past begin in Palermo, where the labyrinthine medieval streets and grandiose piazzas are home to one of the Mediterranean’s greatest cultural treasures – the Palace of the Normans.
We then set out in search of ancient Sicily: Segesta, the setting for one of antiquity’s most perfectly preserved temples; Selinunte, strewn with awe-inspiring columns felled by earthquakes; and Agrigento, Pindar’s “most beautiful city of mortals”, where we wander through the magnificent Valley of the Temples. In the celebrated Roman villa at Piazza Armerina we inspect some of the most vivid ancient mosaics in existence.
Syracuse, “the greatest Greek city and the most beautiful of them all”, in the words of Cicero, will be our base for a whole-day excursion to Taormina, a corner of paradise that boasts an especially impressive Graeco-Roman theatre. Catania, which lies in the shadow of Mount Etna and boasts an exuberant array of Baroque edifices, is also on our itinerary.
The tour will be accompanied Dr Alex Koller, an expert art historian. The price includes accommodation, return airfare, breakfast and dinners, all excursions and admissions.
Click here for more information and prices for this tour of historic Sicily
