Agrigento – Tips for the Valley of the Temples, Restaurants and Beaches august 11, 2024 – Posted in: Italy, Travel – Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,

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Visit the Valley of the Temples in Agrigento and Everything Else!

The Valley of the Temples is, of course, a must-see when you visit Agrigento, but the beautiful mountain town on the southwestern coast of Sicily offers so much more. There are plenty of great restaurants, a cozy nightlife, and it’s close to one of the really good beaches on Sicily’s south coast. Here’s a guide to attractions, food, and experiences in Agrigento.

The Valley of the Temples in Agrigento

When you look out over the Valley of the Temples from Agrigento itself, it becomes clear that the string of temples below you was just part of the large city community, Akragas, which had over 200,000 inhabitants. Spread across the entire area was the Greek colony, which stretched from the rivers on both sides all the way to the coast and far inland.

Akragas was founded around 582-580 BC by Greek colonists from Gela, who originally came from Rhodes and Crete. They settled here in the fertile area and named the city after one of the rivers, Acragas. As the city grew, Akragas became one of the most important cities in Magna Graecia, the Latin name for the Greek colonies in Southern Italy. In 406 BC, the city was plundered by forces from Carthage and never fully regained its dominant position. Akragas became part of the Roman Empire in 262 BC, under the name Agrigentum.

Today, the archaeological area in Agrigento is a UNESCO World Heritage site – and rightly so! The Valley of the Temples is truly unique with its well-preserved Greek temples. Start your tour at the main entrance, where you’ll find the Tempio di Giunone (Temple of Juno) and continue all the way down the wide roads to the Temple of Zeus. Between the temples, you can also admire the impressive fortifications, residential areas, and an agora.

Giardino della Kolymbethra

Near the Temple of Zeus, you’ll also find the stairs leading down to the Kolymbethra Garden, a shady gem in the middle of the archaeological park. If you haven’t already purchased a combo ticket, it costs an additional €7 to visit the garden in the valley.

The water supply to Akragas converged here in Kolymbethra, which enriched the soil for the beautiful orchard you can visit today. Here, you can stroll among ancient olive trees and enjoy the scent of citrus and almond trees, sheltered from the strong sun.

The Archaeological Museum

In conjunction with the sights in the Valley of the Temples, there is also the archaeological museum Pietro Griffo. We visited the museum the day before touring the Valley of the Temples, which is recommended. If you’re an archaeology enthusiast like us, you can spend many hours in both places, so one day is not enough for both!

Even if you’re just generally interested in history, you can easily spend 3-4 hours exploring the many artifacts in the museum. The museum is organized by time periods and discoveries, and you’ll get the most out of it if you have some prior knowledge of the Greek colonization of Sicily.

Even without an extensive history background, you’ll still gain a lot from the visit because the museum is simply stunning! Most impressive is the colossal telamon, a statue of Atlas from the Temple of Zeus, which towers 8 meters high over the large hall. The many Greek vases and the clear development in craftsmanship, technique, and decoration can also leave most people speechless.

Plan Your Visit to the Valley of the Temples

As mentioned, the Valley of the Temples is a large and impressive area. If you’re not an archaeology enthusiast like us and just want to have a grand experience on your vacation, you can easily stick to visiting the temples at the main entrance and the fortifications between them.

On the other hand, if you want to see everything, there are about 10 km to cover in the valley, including the Giardino della Kolymbethra, which takes about 5 hours. If you have difficulty walking, you can hop on a shuttle bus that will take you to the different areas. It costs €3.

The temple park is, however, a fantastic starting point for a delightful hike, with wide paths all the way, where both strollers and wheelchairs can move securely. If you need to leave the paths and get right up to the temples, there are loose stones, so wear good shoes, preferably hiking shoes or sneakers with a solid sole. There is a café between the two largest temples, but it’s still a good idea to bring plenty of water and snacks.

Arrive when the Valley of the Temples opens. Even in October, when we were there, the place was well-visited, and it quickly fills up with people.

Tickets and Maps

When you purchase a ticket to Parco Archeologico della Valle dei Templi di Agrigento, you can choose to combine it with a ticket to either the Kolymbethra Garden or the archaeological museum. See ticket prices and opening hours here on the official website: The Valley of the Temples / La Valle Dei Templi.

On the website, you’ll also find a great guide to a tour through the park. You can also read about where to start and end your tour: Itinerary. If you want to read a bit more about Agrigento and Akragas, there’s a good summary here: Wikipedia – Agrigento (English).

How to Get to the Valley of the Temples

From the town down to the Valley of the Temples, you can choose to walk or take the bus. From the main train station Agrigento Centrale to the main entrance of the temple park, it’s about a half-hour walk. You can see the route on a map here: Google Maps. If the map doesn’t load, set the starting point to “Agrigento Centrale” and the endpoint to “Ingresso e biglietteria Valle dei Templi.”

Bus No. 2 runs from the bus station at Piazzale Rosselli all the way to the entrance of the temple park. See a timetable – click here. When returning, you can board the bus at the same place. Note that it doesn’t take the same route back but a 50-minute scenic tour along the coast. If you don’t want to wait, there are often taxis at the main entrance.

These are the only options for getting back to town from the main entrance near the temples. However, Bus No. 1 runs back to town from entrance 5 near the Temple of Zeus at the other end of the park. You can safely take this bus as you have seen everything there is to see in the park. See a bus schedule for route 1 – click here.

Route 1 also goes to and from the archaeological museum. However, you can also take a shortcut down the beautiful stairs from Agrigento Centrale and specifically Salita Damareta (find the street name on a map). It takes about 20 minutes to walk down to the museum.

Other Exciting Sights in Agrigento

We had four nights in Agrigento, which we divided into: one day exploring the sights in Agrigento city, one day at the archaeological museum, one day in the temple park, and one day at the beach in San Leone / Dune.

On the first day, we visited the city museum in Agrigento, Museo Civico. The small museum is located in the old medieval monastery building. The museum itself can be visited quickly, but it is worth a visit for the beautiful, historic building.

If you ring the bell next door, you can buy cakes from the nuns at Monastero Santo Spirito. They also make a special sweet couscous with pistachio nuts. The couscous is made according to an old and well-kept secret. You can only enjoy this fantastic dessert here and at the restaurant Ex Panificio.

You should also not miss the viewpoint where Via Empedocle and Piazza Luigi Pirandello meet. From here, you get the best view over the Valley of the Temples, and in the evening, the temples are lit up.

There are many more things to see in Agrigento, and you can read more about them here: Agrigento – Old Town

Beaches Close to Agrigento

Below Agrigento, you will find the most beautiful beaches between the towns of San Leone and Dune. Bus No. 2 runs from the bus station all the way down to the beach towns. Tickets can be purchased at the kiosk in the old cinema “Cinema Astor”. You can find the bus schedule here: TUA – Line 2. As mentioned, Bus No. 2 only runs in one direction (counterclockwise), so you can easily get off the bus, walk a little further west, and then catch it again.

Feel free to get off at the marina in San Leone and walk along the water’s edge to the beach bars at Dune. It’s about 2 kilometers with the most lovely sandy beach, and when we were there in October 2022, it was almost deserted. Understand it if you can: both the water and air were like a warm summer day!

Good Restaurants in Agrigento

Every town in Sicily has its specialties, and in Agrigento, it is veal roulade with eggs, sardine rolls with a type of cake cream, and a dessert couscous with pistachio nuts. The latter is made by the nuns in the old convent, Santo Spirito, using a secret recipe.

Pizza on the Pedestrian Street

With our four nights in Agrigento, we were busy, and on the first evening, we dined at the delightful pizzeria Le Boccerie, located on the pedestrian street in the old town. We had a pizza with buffalo mozzarella and anchovies and another with burrata and bresaola. Along with two glasses of wine and a bottle of water, our total came to €42.

A Wonderful Theater Restaurant

The next evening, we visited Ruga Reali, one of the more upscale restaurants in town. It is located next to the city’s famous theater, Theatro Luigi Pirandello, and the entire restaurant is covered with theater posters signed by Italian actors. The food was wonderful and the service was truly friendly. We started with grilled cheese and tuna tartare, and for the primi, we had pasta with tomato sauce and eggplant, as well as a tuna carbonara. The portions are large, so we just shared a pistachio parfait for dessert – it could have easily been a main course!

Michelin Restaurant in Agrigento

On the third evening, we had reserved a table at the popular Michelin-starred restaurant Ex Panificio. The reservation turned out to be a great idea, as it was packed with people on Friday night. The food was absolutely fantastic, and we were served many local specialties. As antipasti, we had Tortino di Melanzane (eggplant tart) and Spiedino di Sarde a Beccafico (stuffed sardine rolls). For primi, we had risotto with cactus fruit and ravioli with goat cheese. For secondi, we shared a veal roulade stuffed with eggs, and for dessert, we had the famous sweet couscous from the convent and a Sicilian tiramisù.

Local Pizza at the Top of Agrigento

On the fourth evening, we ended up getting a little lost all the way at the top of Agrigento. In the evening darkness, we were searching for the old castle that was supposed to be located at the highest point of Agrigento. We climbed higher and higher through the narrow streets but never found the castle. Instead, the view was beautiful, and we continued down to the large Cattedrale di San Gerlando, which is also worth a visit.

Here, we found the coziest family-run pizzeria, I Sapori del Duomo. While we waited for our take-away pizzas, we had a lively conversation about what each of us could speak in Italian, German, and English. Both the pizza and the friendly Sicilians were one of the highlights of the trip.

Breakfast and Lunch Snack

For breakfast and lunch, we recommend the two bakeries/sandwich shops located at each end of the pedestrian street. Bar Milano is located right by the bus station, while Panificio dalli Cardillo is situated at the viewpoint. They are filled with locals all day long, and once you have tasted their bread, cakes, and sandwiches, it’s easy to understand why.

Shopping and Supermarkets

Much of the city life takes place in the old town, where the charming pedestrian street Via Atenea is located a five-minute walk from the bus station. Here, there is a smaller selection of shops and souvenir stores.

Just outside the city, southeast of the Valley of the Temples, is a larger shopping area with clothing and furniture stores, garden centers, and large supermarkets. Search for “McDonald’s” on Google Maps, and you’ll find it.

Piano di Gamez Apartment in Agrigento - SittingUnderAPalmTree

The view from our apartment, Piano di Gamez Apartment. Click on the image to read more.

In the city, there are two larger supermarkets from the chain MAX, one by the stairs down to the archaeological museum and the other on the hill above the bus station. There are also a couple of smaller mini-markets in the pedestrian street.

Find a Great Hotel in Agrigento

The old town is filled with cozy B&Bs. Our apartment, Piano di Gamez Apartment, is ideally located on Via Gamez, just above the pedestrian street. In the small apartment, there is both a kitchen, a combined living/sleeping area with an extra bed, and a lovely bathroom. Most importantly for this part of the trip, there is also a washing machine and a small balcony for drying clothes.

The apartment is a 5-10 minute walk from the bus station. There are plenty of restaurants in the area, and if you want to visit the nuns at Monastero di Santo Spirito, it is located just up the hill.

Read more about the apartment here: Piano di Gamez Apartment

See all the other lovely hotels in Agrigento by clicking here or make your own search for beautiful hotels in Sicily:



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How to Get to Agrigento

If you have rented a car, it’s easy to get to Agrigento. However, be aware that you’ll need to drive through a lot of mountainous terrain in the city’s narrow streets. It is just as easy to take the bus. We boarded in Castelvetrano, but the bus runs all the way from Trapani to Agrigento.

The bus company Lumia operates the line, and you can find the timetable here: Trapani – Agrigento. If you’re coming from another station, you can change your destination on the right side. If you’re coming from Palermo or Catania, buses run all day. Make your own search on Omio’s website here: Omio. Note that Sunday is a bad travel day when you’re getting around Sicily. There are almost no trains or buses.

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