Winter in Sicily

Would you like to spend the winter in Sicily without a car? This works particularly well if these three conditions are met:

• Urban location of holiday lettings
• Rental bikes available
• Good train connections

In fact, there is one place in Sicily that combines all three characteristics for a holiday without a car: the old town of Santa Flavia.

Santa Flavia is a typical small Sicilian town with little tourism and a big heart.

The station is located on one of the most modern railway lines in Sicily. It stretches from Palermo airport to Cefalù.

Bicycles are also important for a holiday without a car. Santa Flavia offers particularly high-quality rental bikes (pedelecs) for selected holiday lettings. They are suitable for everyday activities and also for excursions - even up to the surrounding mountains. And these are particularly interesting in winter. Because winter in Sicily feels like a northern European spring.

Most activities in Sicily are independent of the season. The only major exception is, of course, everything that takes place in the water.

Some activities are even particularly recommended in winter - simply because most tourists are back home.

These include hikes and visits to museums and archaeological sites. When else have you ever had a Greek temple almost to yourself?

And there's something else that goes particularly well in winter: learning Italian. Or would you like to rack your brains over grammatical subtleties in summer?

Winter in Sicily. No more tourists at last. Peace returns. You are alone now.

Alone? Not really - the Sicilians are still here and most of them are very open and hospitable. However, only a few of them speak English.

And you? Do you speak Italian? Suitable for everyday use? A chat in the bar?

No? Then you can only hang out with the few other English-speaking expats in winter.

Are you starting to wonder whether it's a good idea to live in Sicily? Then simply rent a holiday letting for several weeks in winter (see below). Once you have a good feeling, look around for a permanent home:

So, Sicily is the perfect place to escape the winter in the far north - preferably for longer than just a week or two, of course.

If you're lucky enough to be able to work from anywhere, you need fast internet these days. And that's exactly what you get for free at Casa Enza!

For getting around easily in the local area you can rent bicycles in addition to the flat.

The tiny penthouse is located in the old town of Santa Flavia and offers everything else that makes a winter in Sicily pleasant: plenty of space for two guests, lots of light, good heating, an urban environment and, last but not least, a good train network as this train map shows:

The holiday lettings we recommend are located in the old town of Santa Flavia, far away from mass tourism.

Experience the smell of freshly cooked pasta, the laughter of the neighbours and the stories from the village that no travel guide can tell you.

You will not only live in these holiday lettings - you will be part of.

But it gets even better: you can also rent high-quality bikes for all these holiday lettings.

Photography means "painting with light". And that's exactly what Sicily offers, even in the depths of winter. The sun then shines for an average of 4 hours a day!

But of course the days are short, even in the Sicilian winter. And that's perfect for street photography at night. Right now we have enough time to "paint" with colourful artificial light.

The shadows are long in winter, however. This is also a great way to "play" with light and especially to get depth into your photos. With the free online tool suncalc.org, you can estimate light and shadow quite well.

Monsters, museums and the sea. Plus plenty of fresh air and few tourists. This is Bagheria in winter:

Trees full of oranges - in the centre of the old town. Something like this only happens in winter:

The beach, the museum, the bars - in winter you share all of this with the locals only:

Shall we go to the mountains or visit the sea? Monte Catalfano offers both and really blossoms in winter:

Harbour, old town and antiquity. Plus plenty of fresh air and few tourists. This is Santa Flavia in winter:

The old town of Santa Flavia is the perfect base camp for a holiday in Sicily without a car. Of course, this also applies in winter:

In winter, Porticello is "just" a fishing village with plenty of sunshine, fresh sea air and almost no tourists:

In winter, Sant'Elia is a village by the sea as it really is. With an empty beach and an open-air nativity play:

Even in summer the Capo Zafferano lighthouse is a "lost place". In winter, you are almost alone - even on the way there: