You will be crossing continents and seas to come to this beautiful island in the Mediterranean, so why not make a holiday out of it? In fact, we insist that you do!

Sicily is full of history, gorgeous architecture, delicious food and great weather. We think that you should dedicate a week to visit it, but you are certainly welcome to stay longer!

Below is an image of the places in Sicily that are worth visiting. But don't get too excited - Sicily is a big island (for comparison, it will take you over 4h to drive from Palermo to Catania via the highway). That's why our suggestion is to focus on either the West or the East part of Sicily if you are only staying for a week. Two weeks should enable you to do a quick tour of around all the places listed here.

The places that are not mentioned in the map but we think are worth the visit:

- Egadi islands (Favignana) off the coast of Trapani with its Tuna fisheries and the Florio family history.

- Castellamare del Golfo and several beaches around it.

- The fishermen town of Scopello and its famous Tonnara - if you can brave the crowds..

- The town of Modica in the southeast of Sicily with its Baroque buildings and the chocolate museum.

- Marzamemi - a fishing village in southeast Sicily, close to Noto, with its colourful fishermen's houses, historic tuna fisheries, and the aristocratic palazzo.

- Eolie islands off the Northern coast of Sicily for the most beautiful sunsets and the nature undamaged by civilisation.

- A quiet town of Salemi with its traditional castle-like neighbourhood and the Museum of Mafia (the exhibitions are all in Italian).

Here are several Instagram profiles for Sicily inspiration and travel advice:

@visit__sicily

@visit.sicily

@italyenthusiast

Palermo deserves a separate chapter as it wouldn't be a mistake to call the entire city an open air museum. We feel delighted to come to Palermo and we used every opportunity while organising this wedding to spend a day or two in this city.

A few places that are an absolute must visit when you're in Palermo (in no priority):

- Palermo Cathedral,

- Palazzo dei Normanni or Royal Palace of Palermo,

- Teatro Massimo,

- Martorana Church,

- Quattro Canti or Four Corners,

- The Fountain of Shame,

- Duomo di Monreale,

- Chiesa di Gesù Bambino or Church of Jesus (absolute Baroque work of art!), as well as Chiesa dell'Immacolata Concezione al Capo or Church Immaculate Conception,

- Stanze al Genio,

- The Capuchin Catacombs (not for the weak!)

Don't forget to visit the following food markets to try the amazing Sicilian street food:

- Mercato di Ballarò,

- Mercato Vucciria.

Absolute must try foods when you are in Sicily in no particular order:

- Arancini in all flavours!

- Seafood, especially the Sicilian pesce crudo (raw fish).

- Sicilian couscous: Sicilian food took influences from North Africa, therefore the Arabic cooking styles and spices can be found in Sicilian cuisine.

- Sicilian pizza: have you tried a pizza with french fries? Pizza is typically an evening food in Sicily, so look for it for dinner rather than lunch.

- Sicilian cannoli: famous across many regions and countries, but the best only found in the small town of Dattilo!

- Genovesi pastry: soft and fluffy pastry filled with ricotta cheese and nuns are doing it right in Sicily.

- Gelato or ice-cream - have you tried the jasmine flavour yet?

- Local limoncello.

- Local olive oil.

- Aperol spritz.

Here are some places that are worth visiting and trying out some of what is listed above: