{"id":4649,"date":"2025-08-25T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-08-24T22:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/uat.locautorent.com\/blog\/weekend-in-catania-what-to-see-and-where-to-go\/"},"modified":"2026-03-23T14:50:35","modified_gmt":"2026-03-23T13:50:35","slug":"weekend-in-catania-what-to-see-and-where-to-go","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.locautorent.com\/en\/blog\/weekend-in-catania-what-to-see-and-where-to-go\/","title":{"rendered":"Weekend in Catania: what to see and where to go"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Weekend in Catania: what to see on the first day<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n\n
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\nThe weekend begins in the magnificent Piazza Duomo, the true beating heart of Catania<\/strong>. Here you\u2019ll be welcomed by \u201cU Liotru,\u201d the iconic stone elephant, symbol and protector of the city. The square itself is a baroque triumph, framed by the majestic Cathedral of Saint Agatha<\/strong> and imposing buildings like Palazzo degli Elefanti. Don\u2019t miss the Fountain of Amenano, where you can glimpse the underground river flowing beneath the city.
\nJust a few steps from Piazza Duomo, you can dive into authentic Catania by visiting La Pescheria, the historic fish market<\/strong>. It\u2019s a real sensory feast of colors, sounds, and aromas, where you can witness the lively shouts of vendors and taste the freshest seafood. La Pescheria transforms daily from a bustling morning market into an open-air dining area in the evening<\/strong>. For lunch, we recommend Trattoria La Paglia or Osteria Antica Marina, both located near the market and famous for their fresh fish dishes.
\nIn the late afternoon, continue exploring along Via Etnea<\/strong>, the city\u2019s main artery stretching 3 km toward Mount Etna and offering breathtaking views of the volcano. This pedestrian avenue is a paradise for shopping lovers<\/strong>, full of stores and caf\u00e9s. Along the way, you\u2019ll also encounter masterpieces of Sicilian baroque. A detour onto Via dei Crociferi<\/strong>, a UNESCO World Heritage site, is a must: a short street packed with baroque jewels like the Church of San Benedetto and the Arch of San Benedetto.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

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Where to go on the second day in Catania<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n\n
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\nA weekend in Catania wouldn\u2019t be complete without an excursion to the majestic Etna<\/strong>, Europe\u2019s highest active volcano. Many tour operators offer half-day excursions, perfect for those with little time<\/strong>, often including tastings of local specialties. These tours are suitable for everyone, including families and seniors.
\nUpon returning from Etna, the afternoon can be dedicated to culture. We suggest visiting the Monastery of San Nicol\u00f2 l\u2019Arena<\/strong>, one of the largest monastic complexes in Europe, now housing a university, where you can admire ancient Roman mosaics in the underground areas. Alternatively, explore Ursino Castle, a 13th-century fortress<\/strong> that now hosts the Civic Museum. For a taste of Catania\u2019s \u201chidden\u201d side, consider visiting the Roman Theatre and Odeon or the Roman Amphitheatre at Piazza Stesicoro.
\nIn the evening, immerse yourself in Catania\u2019s nightlife<\/strong>, intense and lively especially in the historic center (around Piazza Duomo, Piazza Universit\u00e0, and Piazza Teatro Massimo). And, of course, you can\u2019t leave Catania without tasting its iconic dishes<\/strong>: pasta alla norma<\/em>, arancino<\/em>, Sicilian cannolo<\/em>, granita with brioche, and horse meat are must-tries perhaps even while enjoying the unique atmosphere of dining inside a lava cave<\/strong>.
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Catania\u2019s historic center is compact and easily explored on foot, but for longer distances or to move around entirely at your own pace you can consider renting a car from our Catania car rental office<\/a> or another Locauto branch in Sicily.<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Weekend in Catania: what to see on the first day The weekend begins in the magnificent Piazza Duomo, the true beating heart of Catania. Here you\u2019ll be welcomed by \u201cU Liotru,\u201d the iconic stone elephant, symbol and protector of the city. The square itself is a baroque triumph, framed by the majestic Cathedral of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":4650,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_seopress_titles_title":"Catania on the road: must-see places | Locauto","_seopress_titles_desc":"Catania, the \u201cblack city\u201d that continuously rises from the ashes of its volcano, Mount Etna, is a destination brimming with life, history, and unmistakable flavors. Perfect for a weekend getaway, this Sicilian city offers an explosive mix of baroque architecture, lively markets, breathtaking excursions, and cuisine that will win you over. Its history...","_seopress_robots_index":"","_seopress_robots_follow":"","_seopress_robots_imageindex":"","_seopress_robots_snippet":"","_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_robots_breadcrumbs":"","_seopress_robots_freeze_modified_date":"","_seopress_robots_custom_modified_date":"","_seopress_robots_canonical":"","_seopress_social_fb_title":"","_seopress_social_fb_desc":"","_seopress_social_fb_img":"","_seopress_social_fb_img_attachment_id":0,"_seopress_social_fb_img_width":0,"_seopress_social_fb_img_height":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_title":"","_seopress_social_twitter_desc":"","_seopress_social_twitter_img":"","_seopress_social_twitter_img_attachment_id":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_img_width":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_img_height":0,"_seopress_redirections_value":"","_seopress_redirections_enabled":"","_seopress_redirections_enabled_regex":"","_seopress_redirections_logged_status":"","_seopress_redirections_param":"","_seopress_redirections_type":0,"_seopress_analysis_target_kw":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[205],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4649","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-weekend"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.locautorent.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4649","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.locautorent.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.locautorent.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.locautorent.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.locautorent.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4649"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.locautorent.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4649\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6760,"href":"https:\/\/www.locautorent.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4649\/revisions\/6760"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.locautorent.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4650"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.locautorent.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4649"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.locautorent.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4649"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.locautorent.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4649"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}