10 Insider Tips To Visiting Catania
Are you planning on visiting Catania during your Sicilian vacation? You’re in for a treat! It’s a little rough around the edges, but Catania offers incredible food and a glimpse into real, fast-paced Italian life.
I had the pleasure of calling Catania home when I lived in Sicily. I’ve experienced the ins and outs of daily life in the city, and I’m here to share some “insider” tips to visiting Catania!
Despite its gritty exterior, Catania has grown in popularity among tourists over the last few years. It’s a side of Italy that many don’t expect. Far from pristine, Catania can be a bit obnoxious and alarming to the senses with its variety of noises and smells, questionable driving, and graffiti-ridden alleys.
Yet, somehow that’s all part of its charm. Catania is approachable and doesn’t take itself too seriously. It lets you be yourself and take a break from the social media poses and outfits. And did I mention the food?!
In a city known to be a bit overwhelming, it helps to get some advice from someone who’s lived there. So let’s get into some tips you won’t find on every “Guide to Catania.”
Using taxis in Catania
Taxis were a bit of a running joke in our household while living in Catania. Getting from the airport to the city center by taxi was often a frustrating experience. It could cost €25, €40, or even €55. Basically, whatever the driver felt he could get away with that day.
At some point, a local Catanese friend gave me the phone number for a taxi service that changed our taxi lives!
Radio Taxi Catania charges a standard €24 to go from Catania to the airport and vice-versa. That is THE BEST price you will find.
Their website has a link to their WhatsApp account, which helps if you don’t speak Italian. You can send them a text to ask for a taxi pickup. Just use Google Translate to help you with the language.
If you aren’t able to use that specific taxi service, my advice is to try to negotiate a price before you get in the taxi. Most taxi drivers won’t want to set a price beforehand, but it’s worth trying.
Using the metro/subway in Catania
Catania has a very straightforward and easy-to-use metro. There is only one line and 12 stops.
The metro is particularly great for getting to and from the train station and downtown. The Stesicoro metro stop is downtown and the Giovanni XXII stop is at the train station.
The other potential perk of the metro is that you could stay outside of the historical center. There are affordable accommodations around the Milo, Borgo, Giuffrida, Italia, and Galatea metro stops. Those areas are all safe.
Those are also areas that most tourists probably don’t see when they visit Catania. But some of the best food can be found there because that’s where the locals live.
For example, our favorite pizzeria, Lievitando, is close to the Giuffrida metro stop. If you’re looking for a place that’s affordable, tourist-free, and that has amazing pizza, take the metro!
It’s worth mentioning that the metro is only €1 per trip. Just be sure to have some coins on you.
Using buses in Catania
So there’s good and bad with the buses in Catania.
The city bus service isn’t reliable, especially when you need to be somewhere at a particular time. It can also be confusing to know which bus to get on.
I would say, don’t use the bus to get around Catania. Walk or use the metro.
But the buses that go in and out of Catania to other destinations are pretty good!
Using the bus is a great option to get from the airport to Catania. Also, going to places like Taormina, Siracusa, and even Palermo by bus is reliable and very affordable.
Catania’s bus terminal website lists all the destinations you can get to. There’s a lot.
I always used Trainline to book bus tickets in advance and see the available departure times.
€3 Aperitivo
After all the transportation talk, let’s get into something fun. Cheap aperitivo!
To be honest, aperitivo isn’t the greatest in Sicily. It’s oddly overpriced compared to what you can get in central and northern Italy. It can be a bit of a tourist trap in Sicily.
But fear not! I know a place! And it’s conveniently located right in the heart of downtown Catania.
Caffè Bellini Garibaldi is known for its cheap €3 cocktails and €1.50 beers. Some days they give you some nuts and chips with your drinks. Some days they don’t. But what more can you ask for when you get a €3 Aperol Spritz right by the beautiful, main piazza?
A little warning… There is another bar just a few doors down from Caffè Bellini that also offers €3 drinks. We’ve had some terrible experiences there with the staff and our bills. So don’t confuse it for Caffè Bellini, which I can 100% vouch for.
Don’t eat on via Etnea
Via Etnea is the main street of Catania. The street ends in Catania’s main piazza, Piazza del Duomo. It’s where all the super touristy action happens.
While there are some exceptions, the restaurants on via Etnea aren’t the greatest. There are even people who will approach you to try to get you to eat at certain restaurants.
It’s not even that the food on that street is going to be bad. But there’s better food and better deals to be had off via Etnea.
The farther you go up the street, towards Mount Etna, the farther you get from the tourist area. So you may find something good up there.
Also, I’m mainly suggesting to stay away from sit-down restaurants in the downtown core of that street. Bars, where you can get arancini, gelato, and coffee, are still good in that area. Although, you might pay a bit more.
Eat around via Plebisciuto
If you’re up for an adventure in Catania, stroll down via Plebiscito. It’s well-known to be one of the craziest areas of the city. In the evenings, traffic is loud and chaotic, and barbeques grilling meat are lined all along the street.
It might not sound like somewhere you want to go, but there’s some great, cheap food to be found!
One of my favorite restaurants in Catania, La Terrazza del Barone, is just off via Plebiscito. I wrote about why I love it in another post:
The 9 Best Food Experiences I Had While Living In Sicily
This is also the street where you’ll find horse meat. That’s mainly what’s grilling on those barbeques. So if you have your heart set on trying some horse, via Plebiscito is the place to be.
The Etna train
A great way to get a closer view of Mount Etna when you’re staying in Catania is to take the Etna train.
There is an old train system that runs from Catania, around Mount Etna, and ends in the seaside town of Riposto. From Riposto, you can take the regular train system back to Catania.
Even though this trip takes up most of a day, it is worth it if you love looking at beautiful scenery. The second half of the journey is particularly beautiful. You’ll see vineyards, lemon and orange trees, loads of cacti, and plenty of volcanic rock.
You can also stop in the town of Randazzo for a few hours, long enough to have lunch and stroll. Randazzo is one of my favorite towns in Sicily. It’s quiet, but you’ll feel that you have it all to yourself. And there’s some amazing food stops there! You can read more about it here.
You can buy your train tickets outside the Borgo metro station, then take the metro to Nesima, where you board a bus to Paternò. The bus drops you off at the train station, and off you go around Etna!
The trip used to be simpler. The train would leave right from Borgo station in Catania, but it recently changed. I’m hoping they’re just working on the rails in Catania and that departure point reopens soon.
This train ride is something most of our Sicilian friends knew nothing about. The only reason we discovered it was because it was near our apartment. It’s not something most tourists are likely to stumble upon while visiting Catania.
Areas to avoid for accommodations in Catania
Like all cities, Catania has areas that can feel a bit unsafe or that just look very run-down. It can be hard to tell what the neighborhoods are like when you’re looking at accommodations online.
I would personally avoid staying anywhere south of Castello Ursino. Even the immediate area around that castle isn’t a great place to be once it gets dark. The castle is pretty close to the main piazza in Catania, but the atmosphere at night is quite different in those two locations.
I would also steer clear of staying near the train station or anywhere west of Piazza Dante Alighieri. Those areas can feel a bit precarious at night.
During the day, I felt comfortable anywhere in Catania. So don’t be afraid to explore any area before dark.
The Ognina-Picanello neighborhood is another area I wouldn’t want to book accommodations in, just because it’s a bit too out-of-the-way. It’s about a 45-minute walk from downtown and the metro doesn’t reach that quarter.
Treats you’ll only find in Catania
There are a few tasty treats that you can find only in Catania. I want to share three of my favorites.
Crispelle. These are small pieces of fried dough that can be savory or sweet. The savory ones have either anchovy or ricotta inside. The sweet version has rice in the dough and is dipped in honey and dusted with powdered sugar. I’m partial to crispelle stuffed with anchovy, but the sweet ones are very popular.
The best crispelle in Catania (according to many locals and myself) is at Casa delle Crispelle on via Plebiscito.
Seltz. This is a simple drink you’ll find at chioschi (drink kiosks) around Catania. These kiosks are often small, covered structures where locals grab a quick drink. The famous seltz is made with soda water, freshly-squeezed lemon juice, and salt. It’s an electrolyte boost on a hot day, but I recommend asking for half the amount of salt they normally add.
A favorite, central spot to get a seltz is at Sicilia Seltz by Piazza Stesicoro.
Rame di Napoli. You can only try these delicious, soft cookies if you visit Catania in October/November. They are made with chocolate, cinnamon, and cloves. You can find them in most pastry shops that time of the year.
The overnight train to/from Rome
If you’re arriving or departing Italy from Rome, a great way to get to or from Catania is by train. Many people might not think taking the train between Rome and Sicily would be convenient, but sometimes it is!
The overnight train can be particularly practical because it kills two birds with one stone. You’re getting to your destination and you have accommodations for the night.
It’s also a unique experience because the train has to be loaded from the rails to a ferry when it crosses between Sicily and the mainland of Italy. Once the train cars are on the ferry, you can get some fresh air and say hello or goodbye to Sicily on deck.
Sometimes we found it more practical to take the overnight train to Rome instead of a super early flight from Catania. And the cost of the train can be about the same as flying if you take into account the taxi fare to the airport.
And if you’re someone who could happily look at Italian landscapes all day, the day train between Rome and Sicily is wonderful. You’ll pass through stunning Calabria and Campania. It’s a long, but beautiful ride.
You can check the train fares and book tickets with Trainline or Trenitalia.
Those are my insider tips to visiting Catania!
If you have questions about visiting this wild, beautiful city, leave them below. I’ll respond and include those topics in future blog posts.