Things to do in Trapani

Trapani sits on a sickle of land. The Greeks called it Drepanon, which means exactly that. The old town fills the spit, and tours in Trapani go out to the islands or down the coast to Marsala.

The old town on its spit

• Corso Vittorio Emanuele. The main street, running the length of the old town.
• San Lorenzo. The baroque cathedral, on that street.
• Church of Purgatory. Keeps the wooden statue groups carried through the streets in the Good Friday procession of the Misteri.
• Torre di Ligny. A 17th-century watchtower at the far tip of the spit.

Salt, wine and the lagoon

South of town the coast turns to salt pans, with windmills among the basins. Marsala is 30 km on, about 40 minutes by road. It gave its name to the fortified wine.

One winery visit there takes about 45 minutes. It runs through cellars cut into tuff, past oak barrels aged by the solera method. It ends with seven wines and snacks.

A longer day adds the Stagnone lagoon. Flat-bottomed boats circle Mozia, a Phoenician island.

The sea and the hills

• Favignana. Tuff quarries, the old tuna plant of the Florio family, and the coves of Cala Rossa and Cala Azzurra. Levanzo, the smallest of the three inhabited islands, has the Faraglione rock.
• The boat days. They last about eight hours. Some stop for lunch on board, with pasta and pesto alla trapanese; others leave four hours free on Favignana.
• Erice and Segesta. Erice is a walled hill town above Trapani, with a cable car up. Segesta, inland, has a Doric temple of the 5th century BC and a theatre. Both fit one loop of about 90 km.

Practical

• Weather. August afternoons average about 30C. January days sit near 15C. Rain falls mostly between October and March.
• At the quay. Boats leave from the Marinella quay on Via Ammiraglio Staiti. Arrive 30 minutes early. A small marine-reserve fee is paid in cash and is not in the ticket.
• Wind. Rough seas can cancel a crossing. Keep a spare day on a longer stay.
• Getting here. Trapani-Birgi is a small airport south of town. Palermo's airport is about 100 km east.
• Eating. Fish couscous and busiate pasta are the local orders. Lunch runs late.