Noto and Vendicari in a day, honey-coloured stone in the morning and an unbuilt sea in the afternoon.

A day to see the two faces of south-eastern Sicily. In the morning, Noto, the city that rebuilt itself entirely after the 1693 earthquake in the same limestone and the same style, and so looks all of a piece. In the afternoon, a few minutes to the south, the Vendicari reserve, the coast that was saved from building, with beaches, lagoons and an abandoned tuna trap. Between the two, a light lunch at Noto's best-known café.

Getting there from Spain

By plane to Catania, with direct flights from several Spanish cities, and a hire car at the airport. From Catania it is about 75 minutes to Noto along the Syracuse motorway. Without a car, the train on the Syracuse–Ragusa line stops at Noto, but reaching Vendicari is complicated: this plan is designed for a car.

The day, hour by hour

8:30 · Leave Catania. Motorway towards Syracuse and then the one that continues towards Gela, exiting at Noto. Park outside the old town.

9:45 · Baroque walk through Noto. Walk along Corso Vittorio Emanuele, climb the steps of the cathedral of San Nicolò and turn along Via Nicolaci to see the balconies of Palazzo Nicolaci, with their corbels of grotesque figures. Go into the palace: the stucco staircase, the tea room and the ballroom with the ceiling of Apollo's chariot. Open Monday to Saturday from 10:00 to 19:00 and on Sunday from 10:00 to 13:00 and from 14:30 to 18:00. Admission is paid; confirm the fee at the ticket office.

13:00 · Light lunch at the Caffè Sicilia. On the same Corso, since 1892. Order "pane, olio e tutto il resto", their bread with oil, tomato, vegetables and cheese to share, and then an almond granita or a cannolo. Half a granita costs €4 and the brioche, €2.50. If you eat at a table, the menu adds 19% for service. Beware: it closes from 9 November to 18 December.

15:00 · Afternoon at Vendicari. About twenty minutes to the south. Enter by the Vendicari gate to see the tuna trap and the Swabian tower and to swim, or by Eloro for the Marianelli and Calamosche trail. The ticket, €3.50, is valid all day. There are no bars or shade: bring water and an umbrella.

19:00 · Return to Catania. The reserve closes at 19:30. In a good hour and a half you are in the city.

With children

The Corso is flat and the monsters on the balconies keep them entertained. At Vendicari, a rucksack is better than a pushchair on the sand, and water shoes if there are stones. The family ticket costs €7.