Catania (Italy)

Advantages: The Volcano, the food, the black beach
Disadvantages: the horse meat stall in the market (don't buy anything from a butchers with a cute photo of a horse outside!_

Catania lies on the eastern coast of Sicily and is, historically and culturally a part of the 'Greek' part of the Island (as opposed to the arabic West of Sicily). The most striking thing about the city is the constantly puffing, and frequently erupting volcano which colours (sometimes quite literally) the city in a magical manner. Some people don't have the temperament for Sicily, the cities here don't have the manicured edges of Tuscany or the ...
...of Italy. So Catania itself takes a little getting used to. It doesn't have the beauty of Syracuse and Palermo probably has more immediate attractions in it. It has a fine Sicilian Baroque architectural style, best seen around the Piazza del Duomo with it's famous elephant statue - the symbol of the city. This same said statue is carved from volcanic rock and, as I was cheerfully told on any number of occasions, was smashed by drunken Englishmen ... Read review

Advantages: See opinion
Disadvantages: See opinion

...on a day trip to Catania could prove cathartic. There'a also a chance that it won't and at some point I'll run screaming from the computer to seek solace elsewhere and sleep with the lights on for a week. Quite a few personal nightmares converged in the one place, on the one day and if you want to hear about them, pull your chair a little closer to the monitor, and I'll begin. Whilst on an out of season holiday in Malta, we made a last moment decision ...
...reasonable, plus an up-grade to first class was only £10 extra, and the Catamaran, The Virgin Butterfly, looked at right tasty little number on which to travel. I'm not comfortable being on the sea and so being told that this was the quickest way to get there, I decided that it'd be okay, just as long as it was quick. The young girl asked where we would like to visit on the island, and not fancying the longer journey round to Palermo, we plumped ... Read review

Advantages: good place
Disadvantages: petty crime

Catania is the second major city in Sicily after Palermo. There is a common say, that it is easier to do business in catania than Palermo. Although in my experience the 2 cities are very similar under this respect, I would not necessarily disagree with this statement. An interesting place to visit is Castello di Ursino, (Ursino castle). Located in Piazza Federico di Svevia, at the end of Via Auteri between Via Plebiscito and Via Garibaldi, it ...
...of caution for tourists, there are not too many restaurants in the centre of the town. If you have the time, try and go to Taormina, a beautiful place on the sea. Generally speaking Catania has got less crime than Palermo, still, do not cary around valuables or jewellery. ... Read review

Advantages: Great area
Disadvantages: Expensive

...ago i went out to Catania i was liveing there for 6 months. Catania is a bright place with lots of thing to do. its a wonderfull place to see the seaside is clean the people are very plesent there and its so hot. the nightlife there start around midnight people go down to the bars and eat icecream, got to the seaside. The italians when they go out they go out in a group and talk. the food there is very healthy the fish is something you have ... Read review

Advantages: An incredible country
Disadvantages: Sicilian drivers!

...Sicily - oh, where to start? The most beautiful and fascinating country I have ever visited - I cannot recommend it highly enough. But that's not going to get me any decent ratings is it? So I'll do it properly: *Where is Sicily?* As I'm sure most people know, Sicily is the area of land which appears to have been kicked by the toe of the boot of Italy. This sentence seems to sum up the way Sicilians feel about the mainland too! While the country may look small on the map, it is in fact the largest island in the Mediterranean - and one of the most populated, with the majority of its inhabitants concentrated in the island's two main cities, Palermo (the Capital) and Catania. Although it is just 3km from Italy, Sicily has a very definite identity and culture all of its own. * A brief history* Sicily's strategic position... Read review

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