Syracuse (Siracusa) is a medium sized city in Sicily, Italy with an interesting mixture of ancient and modern. Syracuse is a city on the eastern coast of Sicily and the capital of the province of Syracuse, Italy. It was once described by Cicero as "the greatest Greek city and the most beautiful of them all."
Syracuse is an ancient town on the sea, which was of great importance as Greek Syracuse. It has a well known archaeological zone and a historic centre on the island of Ortygia (Ortigia).
Syracuse is a pleasant town, with plenty to occupy tourists for at least a couple of days. It's also a good area for seeing the south-eastern corner of Sicily, including the Baroque towns of Ragusa and Noto, several archaeological sites, and the lively city of Catania.
Piazza del Duomo, Syracuse
Get in
By bus
Regular buses run to and from Catania, Noto, Modica, Ragusa and Gela as well as more local destinations.
Syracuse is served by orange urban buses run by AST, whose bus station is just across the bridge into Ortygia, at Riva della Posta.
By train
The railway station is 10 minutes walk from the centre of the old town. 2 daily intercity trains from mainland Italy (Rome and Naples) continue on from Messina via Catania to Syracuse. There are also different daliy sleeper trains from mainland Italy (Rome, Milano, Venezia, Turion, Genova and Biologna) to Syracuse (Sircusa). Less frequent local trains continue on to Noto, Modica, Ragusa and Gela. These trains from the mainland connect via a ferry.
Siracusa is also served by direct trains from Rome (a ten-and-a-half-hour journey). There are frequent trains from Catania (a couple of hours away). From Palermo train travel is a bit harder; you will need to change at least once (usually at Messina), and the journey will take 6-7 hours. The railway station is on Via Crispi, a twenty-minute walk from Ortygia.
Note that in addition to the five
