Ragusa
ItalyCsa
© OpenStreetMap, CARTO
Sicilia bedda | Beautiful Sicily
Why visit
Ragusa is essential viewing for anyone interested in Baroque architecture or Sicilian food. Walk down the 340 steps from the upper town to Ragusa Ibla, the views of the duomo (Cathedral of San Giorgio) emerging from the limestone gorge are memorable. Eat at one of Sicily's densest concentrations of Michelin-starred restaurants, Duomo, Locanda Don Serafino, La Fenice. Day-trip to neighboring Modica for chocolate (the cold-process Aztec method survives here), Noto for the year's most exuberant Baroque, and Scicli's filming locations. The Iblean Plateau dry-stone wall landscape stretches in all directions.
When to avoid
July and August bring punishing 35 to 40°C heat and the limestone radiates it back at you, walking the steep stairs becomes brutal. Restaurants pack out for dinner in Ibla. Book ahead. Sundays see most shops shuttered. The infamous Mongibello sirocco wind from Africa can blanket the city in red Saharan dust. Don't drive into Ibla, streets are narrow and parking is impossible. Park in upper Ragusa and walk down. Catania airport's drive (90 km, 1.5 hours) is mostly fine but watch for aggressive driving.
