Best time to visit Sicily

Cold and somewhat rainy, this is a wonderfully quiet time to explore major sights like the Valley of the Temples and Monreale.

Mount Etna can be admired at its most dramatic – snow-capped and brooding, with skiing on the slopes possible at Piano Provenzana and Rifugio Sapienza.

Blood orange season in full force, with sanguinello, tarocco and moro varieties from the Catania plain flooding markets across the island.

Mild and bright between fronts, temperatures climb to 14-17° and the southern coast enjoys particularly sunny stretches.

During the early days of February, Catania's Festa di Sant'Agata takes place in a series of candlelit processions – one of the world’s greatest religious festivals.

In late-February and into early-March, pink-white almond blossoms carpet the Valley of the Temples, celebrated during the Almond Blossom Festival in Agrigento.

Spring brings with it a warming of temperatures and wildflowers blooming across Sicily’s interior.

The Sagra del Mandorlo in Fiore continues into early March in Agrigento with almond blossom and folkloric processions among the Greek temples.

Wild fennel, broad beans and the first artichokes hit the markets – Sicilian spring cooking starts shifting visibly toward the green and herbal.

Mount Etna hiking opens at all altitudes – snow recedes, wildflowers emerge on the lava slopes, and the lower trails are at their most photogenic.

Sea swimming is still cool (around 17°C) but bold souls dive in, while beach clubs in Cefalù, Mondello and San Vito Lo Capo begin reopening for the season.

Vizzini's Sagra della Ricotta (late April) is a prominent local cheese festival. The Catania-province town is in full sheep's-milk mode, with cassata and cannoli on every corner.

Widely-regarded as the best month to visit Sicily, temperatures are balmy, the sea is warming and granita of every flavour stakes its claim.

Sea temperatures climb to around 19-20°C. Mondello, Cefalù and San Vito Lo Capo's white-sand beaches are genuinely swimmable and still uncrowded.

The Greek Theatre Festival at Syracuse begins where classical tragedies are performed in the 5th-century BC theatre, exactly as they were 2,500 years ago.

San Vito Lo Capo, Mondello and the Egadi Islands are on top form with turquoise water, white sand and excellent snorkelling around Favignana's tonnara.

Stromboli's volcanic activity is best viewed by night with hydrofoil excursions running at full schedule.

Tomato, eggplant and sweet pepper season properly begins. Caponata, parmigiana and pasta alla Norma appear at their sun-ripened best on every Sicilian table.

Temperatures in Sicily reach well into the 30s, so inland archaeological sites like Agrigento and Selinunte are best at opening or after 5pm.

Beach season is in full swing with sea temperatures reaching 25°C and the Egadi, Aeolian and Pelagie Islands ablaze under the Mediterranean sunshine.

Watermelon, peaches, prickly pear figs and the first tomato harvest define the markets, which you can enjoy late into the evening.

Temperatures are scorching and Ferragosto (starting on the 15th of August) brings locals to the coast in their droves.

Sea swimming and island hopping are a firm favourite with temperate water and beach clubs running until late.

Mount Etna is often very active during this time, making for a staggering backdrop in the evenings.

Sea swimming remains fantastic, while crowds thin dramatically and the humidity eases.

Grape harvest gets going across Etna's slopes and the Marsala plain – Nerello Mascalese is particularly worth a visit.

The Cous Cous Fest takes over San Vito Lo Capo for ten days with international chefs competing in one of the Mediterranean's great food festivals.

Enjoy glorious early-autumn warmth and the sea still at swimmable temperatures (around 23°C) in the first half of October.

Harvest energy is in full swing across the island. Zafferana Etnea's Ottobrata festival runs every Sunday in October, when apples, mushrooms, chestnuts, honey and grapes from Etna's slopes are celebrated.

Capizzi's Nebrodi black truffle festival and the Bronte pistachio festival in early October overlap, defining the eastern interior's autumn food calendar.

Sicily experiences the wettest weather of the year, and the Aeolian and Egadi Islands largely shut down for winter.

Olive harvest peaks across the island with village frantoios producing new-pressed extra virgin oil, unfiltered and peppery.

Agira's cassatella di ricotta festival celebrates the season's defining sheep's milk pastries.

Mount Etna can be skiable in snowy years. With luck, there’ll be snow on the summit while citrus groves fruit at sea level in spectacular contrast.

Modica's Cioccobarocco chocolate festival – the Aztec-influenced cold-pressed chocolate of Modica is celebrated throughout the baroque town's atmospheric streets.

Christmas markets fill the baroque streets of Catania, Palermo and the Val di Noto. Caltagirone's ceramic nativity scenes are among Italy's finest.