Catania in 1 Day: all you need to know

Declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site, Catania has attractions you'll love to see, starting with the fact that it stands at the foot of the most active volcano in all of Europe, Mount Etna.

Whatever your plan to visit Catania, in this itinerary I will focus on showing you some of the best things to see and do in Catania in one day, whether you go for work or pleasure, alone or with the whole family, including the kids.

Assuming you have arrived in Catania in the evening of the previous day, you will start your sightseeing early in the morning. Your day is going to be very busy, so the first thing I recommend is to start the day with an early and hearty breakfast, so that you have time to do this itinerary which is sure to be one of the best tours of Catania you can do.

For breakfast you have two options, the first one is to have breakfast at your hotel or place of accommodation. And in case you don't want to do it that way, or your accommodation doesn't offer breakfast, then you have the second option which is to eat out. In this case, I recommend going out to the first place on your itinerary and eating near it.

Since you will be starting your tour in Villa Bellini Park, some of the places where you can have breakfast near the park are:

• Insigne Café, one of the most special places in Catania to try some Italian sweets.
• Due Pistacchi, ideal for a light breakfast and some local delicacies.
• Fud Bottega Sicula, one of the cheapest places to eat in Catania.
• 7+ Catania, a great place for burgers and other not necessarily Italian food.
• Sazi e Sani Catania, a good place to enjoy a coffee and a granita, or any other Sicilian speciality.

Around 8:00 is a good time to start your walk in the Villa Bellini park, the first place to visit on your itinerary, which is nothing less than the lungs of Catania, a quiet place where you can breathe fresh air and fill yourself with energy and desire to walk, to start your tour of the city. If you want, you can enjoy a granita or any other Italian snack at the Pasticceria Savia in front of the park.

The interesting thing about Villa Bellini is that it is a favourite place for locals to relax, walk or play sports, so as a tourist, it is a place you should not miss. With more than 70 thousand square metres of paths, fountains, beautiful gardens and even playgrounds, visiting this place is a must, especially if you are going to Catania with children.

It is a public park that opens from 6:00 to 21:00, so 8:00 is the ideal time to enjoy its atmosphere. I recommend that you don't spend more than an hour touring its spaces, so around 9:00 you will continue to the next point of the itinerary.

Shortly after 9:00 it is an ideal time to tour the Teatro Massimo Bellini, a building with an elegant structure dating back to the end of the 19th century. You'll love visiting the interior as you'll be able to see the striking foyer, the four-storey theatre, the gilded boxes and the frescoed ceiling.

As a theatre, this structure is considered one of the best in the world thanks to its superb acoustics. To visit the inside of the theatre, I recommend you sign up for a guided tour, which lasts approximately 40 minutes. As the theatre opens from 9:00, you will be able to enter in the first group of visitors. You'll love the structure both inside and out.

On the ceiling you will be able to appreciate some of the most important works by the master Bellini, such as Norma, Mirata, Puritani and Sonnambula. You will love the tour inside, but if you want to get to know it in its main activity, which is to entertain the public, you can go to a show in the evening, after finishing the tour of the city. Performances are usually after 20:00.

Just a few metres from the Bellini Theatre is the main artery of the city of Catania, and it is none other than Via Etna. At three kilometres long, this avenue is not only popular but also one of the best places in the city to see Mount Etna framed by buildings.

If you're in Catania at Christmas time, you're sure to love passing along this street because it's lined with shops. It's also popular because it's where you'll find the University Square, a great place to take some great pictures. You can also see the palaces of San Giuliano and the University facing each other on both sides.

Via Etnea is located in the heart of Catania's historic centre and serves as a connection between Piazza Duomo and the ancient Tondo Gioeni. It is a must-see during your visit because it is not only considered the nerve centre of the city, but it also divides the old town in two.

Well, maybe you don't buy fish per se, but what you can do is to walk around the Pescheria, one of the most addictive places in Catania, and it's also very close to Via Etna, so you'll be there in a couple of minutes if you're driving.

Of course, if you want to buy fresh fish and experience the peak of this popular market, it's best to visit early in the morning, but depending on your itinerary, you should be at the Pescheria around 10:00 or a few minutes after that time, so you'll still have time to enjoy the hustle and bustle of buying and selling.

What is most appealing about this market is that it tends to be chaotic most of the time and even messy, which sets it apart from the rest of European culture, and that is where the charm of this place lies, in how different it is. I recommend not staying here until after 11:00, so that you arrive on time for your next appointment.

Very close to the Pescheria, in the same historical centre full of monuments in Catania, you will find the next place to visit in your tour, and it is none other than the Cathedral of Catania, which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and evidently the most important religious building in the city.

Guided tours have their pre-established schedules, and in the case of this itinerary, you have the option of entering in two groups, one that enters at around 10:45 and another that enters at around 11:15. In this way, the time you want to spend visiting the Pescheria is up to you, whether it is half an hour or an hour.

Going back to the church, guided tours must be booked in advance and usually last around 2.5 hours. During the tour you will get to know the interior of the structure, and learn about the history of this place, from its origins dating back to the 11th century, to the many reconstructions it has undergone as a result of earthquakes and eruptions.

Leaving your tour of Catania Cathedral at around 13:00, you will probably want to have something to eat before continuing your tour of the city. To recharge your batteries I recommend you to visit some of the restaurants in the city, which are located very close to the centre where you will be at this time.

The good thing about having your lunch break here is that you have endless options to try typical Italian cuisine, and I would say that the city centre is ideal for some of the best food tours in Catania. Even if you've had enough of Italian food and want to try something different, you'll find options for that too.

Uramakao, Osteria Antica Marina and Rasoterra Pizza Experience are some of the places near Piazza del Duomo and the Cathedral where you can have lunch after leaving your tour of the Cathedral.

As you won't be staying for lunch for long, by this time it's probably after 14:00. Very close to the restaurant where you have decided to have lunch, you will come across other interesting places within the historical centre of the city, which are none other than the Piazza del Duomo and its elegant Fontana dell'Elefante. You will also see the Fontana dell'Amenano nearby.

This is the very heart of the whole city, where most of the streets are located and where you can experience the most authentic Catania and its inhabitants. You will have time to take lots of pictures, especially at the Fontana dell'Elefante which is one of the most iconic places in the whole city.

The Fontana dell'Elefante is a fountain located in the centre of the Piazza Duomo and its main element is an elephant carrying a tall obelisk on its back. Moreover, the elephant is smiling. As you are going to this place in the afternoon, you are bound to find the square quite crowded.

I recommend staying about an hour at this place, so around 15:00, you should move on to the next point on your itinerary.

A few streets away from the Piazza Duomo, you will find one of the best places to see in Catania in 2 days or less, and it is none other than the Roman Theatre. It may take you a few minutes to notice its entrance because at first glance it looks like an ordinary building. Just after the doors open you will find yourself in front of an architectural relic of Roman culture.

Part of the history of this theatre is what you will notice most about the structure, which is that it was built with volcanic material from Mount Etna and was designed to hold 5,000 spectators. If you look to one side of the theatre, you will find the Odeon, another venue similar to the Roman theatre but much smaller and built to seat around 1,500 people.

To enter the Roman Theatre of Catania you will have to pay an entrance fee of around 6 euros. The theatre is open from 09:00 to 18:30, so, assuming you arrive at the theatre after 15:00, you can stay for thirty minutes to an hour.

Around 16:00 you can walk down Via Crociferi, another of the main streets to see and photograph in Catania. During your walk along this street you will be able to find up to five different churches, which is why it is known as the street of churches.

The Church of San Francesco, the Church of San Camillo, the Church of San Giuliano, the Church of San Benedetto, and the Collegio dei Giesuiti are the religious temples you will see along the way.

One of the icons you will be able to see in this street is the Arco di San Benedetto, which, according to legend, the Benedictines built during one night, because they had been forbidden to start construction for fear of an earthquake.

Not only can you take photos of the façades, but I also recommend that you sit down to rest in one of the cafés located on this street. As tasting Sicilian sweets is a must if you visit Catania, I recommend you try cannolis, cassatas, pistachio granitas and brioches. You will stay in this street for no more than 30-40 minutes, so that you will be on time for your next appointment before the venue closes.

You can drive to get there faster, but you can walk from Via Crociferi to the Amphitheatre. In either case, it won't take you more than 10 minutes to get there.

The Roman Amphitheatre of Catania is located right in the centre of Catania, and although nowadays it looks like some ruins in the city centre, in its time it was one of the largest amphitheatres of the Roman Empire. It had a seating capacity of about 15,000 people. Standing, it could hold thousands more.

I can assure you that you will find it interesting that only a fragment of the grandstand remains of this megastructure, while everything else has been preserved under the modern constructions that were erected over the years and centuries. It is incredible to imagine what it might have looked like in those times.

Seeing and photographing the Roman Amphitheatre should not take you more than an hour, bearing in mind that they close at 18:00, and the last tickets are sold at about 17:30.

One of the places you must visit during your tour of Catania is undoubtedly the Benedictine Monastery of St. Nicholas. This will be the last stop on your tour of the city, and the best thing is that you can book an evening visit, which will take you inside the monastery when it is just getting dark, an incredible and mysterious experience.

This monastery is the second largest in Europe, and during this guided tour you will get to know each of the most interesting places inside the monastery. You could start this tour around 18:00, so you will be on time from the Amphitheatre to the Monastery, and you will even have time to discover some of the streets in between, before entering your guided tour.

If you are one of those people who love mystery, this tour is for you, because you will walk through the corridors of the monastery in absolute silence. You will also get to know the cloisters, the Roman domus and walk through the long corridors where the view is lost. You will be able to take a tour of the kitchen and the underground storerooms, which today have been converted into the Museo della Fabbrica.

Your guide will of course tell you everything you need to know about the history of both Catania and this special place. Visits to this temple can last as long as you have planned, but you will know the exact duration when you make your reservation.

After leaving the Monesterio, you'll definitely want to grab a bite to eat for dinner. One of the best bets for an evening meal, and then perhaps a return trip to the Teatro Massimo Bellini, but this time to enjoy a play, is the Vico San Barnaba.

This is a restaurant where you can find local Sicilian food. But besides that, you will be struck by the location of the restaurant, because its structure is in the middle of an old house, so its atmosphere is unique and almost magical. In addition to the food, you will have the opportunity to enjoy a good dessert after dinner.

If you decide to stay longer in Catania, I recommend taking an excursion from Catania to visit other amazing places just outside the city, such as Mount Etna itself, which is an incredible experience.

In case you want to enjoy a little more the night in Catania, I recommend you to go to see an Opera show, preferably at the Teatro Massimo Bellini. That way, you will have the opportunity to get to know the theatre in every possible way, on a guided tour, and watching a show inside the theatre.

After eating some dinner, it is time to go on to your hotel to rest, bearing in mind that the next morning you will have to transfer from Catania to the airport to go back home.