Top Sicily Unique Experiences

FEW HRS IN MESSINA? THAT'S THE BEST TOUR FOR YOU. A PERFECT COMBINATION OF LANSCAPES, HISTORY, ARCAEOLOGY AND SPECTACULAR SCENARIES

Learn the secrets of three of Catania’s traditional pasta recipes—and have the special chance to cook in the home of a “Cesarina,” a certified home cook dedicated to sharing Italy’s culinary traditions—during this private cooking class. Pick between morning and afternoon start times, make your own way to your host’s home, and learn how to prepare three recipes with their guidance. Then, enjoy your pasta accompanied by local wine.

Explore Palermo’s key sights on foot on this walking tour of the Sicilian capital. Meet your guide in a convenient location in central Palermo, and set off. Visit popular landmarks ranging from the Palermo Cathedral and Palazzo Pretorio to the Massimo Theater. Learn about the city’s long entanglement with the mafia, and meet the shopkeepers and other individuals who have pioneered a local anti-mafia movement.

On your visit to Italy, you’ll want to try authentic Italian pizza. Learn the secrets of Sicilian Pizzaioli when you prepare pizza from scratch with a professional chef. Enjoy your lesson in a famous pizzeria in downtown Taormina, where you’ll start with kneading dough and end with a delicious bite. Get a glimpse into the life of a local chef, and immerse yourself in Italian cuisine and culture.

Many cooking classes in Italy focus on complex dishes that require solid kitchen skills. On this beginner-friendly experience, learn insider tips and tricks to mastering classical Italian pizza no matter what your skill level. Under the expert tutelage of a local pizzaiolo (pizza chef) instructor, you’ll make dough from scratch and top it with traditional ingredients. Pick up easy-to-learn tips and techniques, then sit down to savor your hard-earned Sicilian feast with soft drinks to accompany your meal.

Learn the secrets of Sicilian cuisine—and cook with a Messina local in their own home—when you sign up for this immersive, private cooking class. Pick between morning and afternoon class times to best suit your schedule. You’ll be cooking alongside a Cesarina; a local ambassador of Italian cuisine that has been carefully vetted and is part of a national network. Enjoy an authentic experience, prepare several gourmet dishes, and sit down to enjoy your meal (with local wine on the side).

Master three different traditional pasta recipes during this private cooking workshop in Messina. Head to the home of a local cook for a culinary immersion. Put your cooking skills to the test at your own workstation with ingredients and tools. Then, taste your home-cooked creations, paired with red and white local wines.

Immerse yourself in a private dining experience at a local's home, enjoy an exclusive cooking demo and taste authentic recipes treasured in family cookbooks passed down by real Italian Mammas. Feel the warmth of Italian hospitality as you connect with local people. Enjoy a 4-course menu including starter, pasta, main course with side dish, dessert with drinks included (water, selection of red and white wines from regional cellars and coffee). This experience is held by Cesarine: Italy’s oldest network of 1000+ home cooks all over the country in more than 500 cities. They are passionate and welcoming hosts that open the doors of their own homes to curious travellers for immersive culinary experiences.

Escape the tourist track and embark on an exclusive, private dining experience in a real-life local home. Taste hard-to-find, home-cooked delicacies, passed down in family cookbooks over generations. Dinners or lunches include four gourmet courses, plus a selection of regional red and white wines. You’ll also have a chance to watch a cooking demonstration to learn time-tested cooking secrets.

Experience the local cuisine of Palermo at a deeper and more personal level by meeting and dining with a cook in their Palermo home. Watch as they prepare several authentic recipes including fresh pasta, main courses, and desserts taken from family cookbooks. Then, it’s time to taste the typical dishes for yourself, which will be served with beverages and warm Italian hospitality.

Attention: foodies and independent thinkers. This flexible, market-to-fork cooking class encourages you to let your imagination run wild as it beings with no set menu and lets you pick your own ingredients at a local market. Unlike other cooking classes with preset menus and step-by-step instructions, with this tailormade experience, a personal instructor helps you to create whatever inspires you most.

Connect with a passionate home cook in Palermo and experience the city’s culinary culture first-hand with this private pasta class and meal in a local's home. Hone your kitchen skills by preparing three different types of fresh pasta and sauces with the help of hands-on instruction from your host. Then relax over a family-style lunch or dinner featuring the dishes you’ve prepared together paired with local wines.

Discover one of Sicily’s most beautiful cities—and enjoy a hands-on introduction to traditional Italian cuisine—on this full-day Taormina tour. Depart in the morning from your Messina hotel or port, and travel in a comfortable, air-conditioned minivan. Upon arrival in Taormina, head to a traditional restaurant for a cooking class. Learn how to make pizza under the watchful eyes of a chef, and then enjoy your meal alongside some local wine. Finally, stroll the Corso Umberto, and discover Taormina’s history, before returning to Messina.

Sicily is known for its unique cuisine and there’s no better way to experience the culinary side of the island than with a local. Join a home cook to choose ingredients at the neighborhood market and food shops, and then head to their Syracuse kitchen for a cooking demonstration featuring classic Sicilian dishes. Cap off your experience with a four-course lunch or dinner including wine and, of course, espresso!

The Sicilian driving style is not for the faint-hearted—so do your nerves a favor with a private driver/guide. See lava flows and craters, and visit Mount Etna itself, before enjoying a scenic drive to Taormina, Sicily’s most elegant resort town, with its stylish Greco-Roman theater. Please note: all entrance fees are at your own expense.

The 3 hours walking tour will be an eye-opening experience to discover a different face of Palermo, a city which is rebelling against the Mafia.Guided by locals, you will deepen your knowledge of the notorious Sicilian mob and learn about the anti-mafia movement. The Teatro Massimo, the open-air market "Il Capo", the Memorial dedicated to prosecutors and judges killed by the Mafia), the Cathedral, the City Hall and Piazza Pretoria: every stop is a cause for reflection, a chance to mull over the realities of the Mafia and consider the civic movement against Mafioso power.

If Italian cuisine is known for one dish, it's certainly pasta. But for foodies that want to uncover the secrets of this ubiquitous ingredient—and create something truly special—don't miss this private Catania cooking class. With this home-based culinary workshop, follow along with a home cook as you learn to prepare three traditional Catania recipes. After your hard work, join your host to sample your delicious creations, and enjoy a glass of local wine.

The old town, the waterfront, Via Libertà, the 'Falcone Tree' Memorial: pedal along 12 kilometers between the center and the outskirts to discover the city that is reborn and will never forget its past. Riding through the pedestrian areas of the old town center of Palermo and along the cycle lanes that connect it with the outskirts, you will discover how Palermo is changing 'inside and outside', healing from the wounds inflicted by the violence of the Mafia which reached its peak with the massacres of 1992. This tour is a tribute to the memory of heroes like the prosecutors Falcone and Borsellino, whose murders pushed the Sicilian people to react against the Mafia and inspired collective action of a whole generation of antimafia campaigners. Young people today are still committed to improving society and making change, volunteering in grass-roots movements like Addiopizzo.

This private cooking session in a local home offers a fully immersive culinary experience in Marsala. A local host will greet your private party and teach you the fundamentals of Italian cookery. After being given the necessary supplies and equipment, each visitor will prepare three classic Italian dishes and then sit down to sample them with regional wine.

This soap and olive experience offers an alternate to winery visits and a chance to learn about the often surprising global history of soap. Take a guided tour of the soap museum—housed in a restored 19th-century building surrounded by olive trees—and learn about eons-old soap-making processes. Then, make your own soap bar and finish with a tasting of local olive oil.

Experience authentic Italian hospitality with a private tour in a local home. Watch a cooking demo where a traditional dish is prepared before your eyes, then enjoy a delicious 4-course meal featuring family recipes. Savor regional wines, coffee, and warm company in a welcoming atmosphere. Hosted by Cesarine, Italy’s oldest network of home cooks, this tour connects you with local culture through food.

It can be hard to plan activities in Italy that aren’t extremely costly. This tour of the House Museum of Soap in Sciacca allows you to tour the restored 19th-century building of the museum while learning about the history and science of soap for a very reasonable price. Plus, you can take a workshop and learn how to make your own soap with local ingredients.

See Palermo, Sicily through the eyes of a local on this casual, customizable, and private walking tour. Let your tour leader fill the itinerary with their top sightseeing spots, or list your preferences ahead of time to make sure you see exactly what you want to. If your hotel is in the city center, enquire about starting the tour there.