Agrigento (Valley of Temples), Sicily

Agrigento would be our next stop and we spent one night here. The city is on one side of a hill, and to reach it you drive over these massive suspension bridges which makes you feel like you’re on a roller-coaster. When we arrived there was loads of smoke which we assume was from bush fires, so it felt like we were driving into a strange futuristic land. The city itself isn’t that exciting but does have all the typical old streets that are nice to walk around. These are especially aesthetic at night when they are lit up and we had a lovely meal sitting outside that evening.

The main attractions are just outside of Agrigento where you have the Turkish Steps and the Valley of Temples.

The Turkish steps are natural steps that have been carved by erosion to the limestone cliffs. Back in the day these were often used by pirates and smugglers who could sail right up to them and easily jump from their ships to the steps and gain access to land without being caught by the authorities! 🏴‍☠️. You must park on top of a cliff and walk down to the beach to see the steps. We went to see the sunset and to be honest where a bit under whelmed and didn’t think they were that special, because you can no longer go onto the steps as these have been gated off by Italian authorities to protect them. That said there was a very cool beach bar and after looking at the steps for a short while, we went to the bar and enjoyed a few cocktails while the sun went down while listening to some groovy tunes 😎.

The Valley of Temples would turn out to be a real highlight when it came to visiting historical sites during our time in Sicily. The site is a quick drive from Agrigento and we read it was best to visit it first thing in the morning to avoid the midday heat. We got there when the site opened at 8.30am and it turned out to be a good decision as when we left the site 2 hours later it was uncomfortably warm. Also, by getting there early you miss the tour groups who visit later in the day and the site is considerably less crowded.

There are 7 main temples, which are all in the Doric style within the site. They are in amazing condition, and we were impressed by the size of them. We spent a couple of hours here and there are useful information boards in English and Italian. This was a real highlight of our trip 🏛.