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Automobiles

A car is a must if you want to escape into the mountains or the wild, rugged interior. Sicilian roads are pretty well maintained - though some bridges and elevated sections can feel a bit jointed-together and bumpy. Driving in the cities can be a hair-raising experience.

Planes

There are two main airports: Palermo and Catania. For Western Sicily your best bet is to fly to Palermo daily (Ryanair goes from Stansted or easyJet from Gatwick).

Trains

Though the system is quintessentially Southern Italian - ie, unreliable and a bit haphazard - Sicily's trains are an affordable and easy way to get between the island's major towns and cities. For more information, visit www.trenitalia.com.

Dialing

Country code for Italy: 39. Palermo: 091; Catania: 095; Siracusa: 0931.

Reads

Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa's classic novel The Leopard is the definitive Sicilian novel, chronicling the slow decline of a noble family over half a century - it's also a great Visconti movie with Burt Lancaster and Sophia Loren. Want to know more about that secretive world of the Sicilian mafia? Midnight in Sicily by Peter Robb and Boss of Bosses by Clare Longrigg are essential reads. If it's guiltier pleasures you seek, then Mario Puzo's The Godfather and The Sicilian both overflow with descriptions of the island's landscape and culture.

Do go / Don't Go

It's textbook lovely throughout the year, although the beginning and the end of the summer months are ideal as the sun isn't too scalding and the beaches less crowded. August is best avoided, as this is when the mainland Italians descend in their droves.

Cuisine

Feast on pasta and risotto, freshly baked focaccia and tasty seafood, such as grilled swordfish or stuffed squid - all in one sitting. The Italians are suckers for four courses when they're dining out, so don stretchy waistbands if you plan to keep up. As for the wealth of drinkables, red-wine lovers will revel in the abundance of this inexpensive ruby-coloured tipple. This is also the land of the sweet fortified wine, Marsala, named after the city on the west coast from where it originates.

Taxis

Cabs are cheap and easy to find in Palermo and the island's major resorts, but you're better off hiring a car if you plan to do any longer journeys around the island.

Tipping

A service charge is often added to restaurant bills, but an additional tip of 10 per cent is usual for good service.

Currency

Euro (€).

Packing

Bring an extra bag to fill with all the jars of spices, and packets of dried tomatoes and chillis you'll pick up at Palermo's street markets. And bring some anti-nausea tablets - those inland mountain roads can induce car-sickness in the most iron-stomached of travellers.

Arts

Seek out the baroque chapels and the impressive Teatro Massimo in Palermo.

And...

Shopping

Browse the colourful Ballerò market in Palermo, or pick up cheap-chic Italian labels along the city's Via Sant' Agostino.

Viewpoint

Erice, a fairytale village perched on a cliff above Trapani, is one of the island's most beautiful vantage points. It's a magnet for tourists, but still a lovely spot for lunch with a view.

Something

Visit the mafia stronghold of Corleone in the island's mountainous interior, and take a walk along the twisting roads above the town. Bernardo Provenzano, the recently captured boss of bosses, hid out around here for more than 40 years, as did several other high-ranking mafiosi. You'll certainly feel a long way from Palermo…

February Sicily goes carnival crazy in February, and most towns and cities host some form of riotous celebration. The ones in Sciacca and Acireale are particularly colourful. April Il Ballo dei Diavoli (the dance of the devils) takes place in the mediaeval town of Prizzi, a couple of hours' south of Palermo. The townsfolk dress either as red-clad demons, scouring the streets for souls to devour, or as angels. No prizes for guessing who eventually vanquishes who. June The Taormina Film Festival (www.taorminafilmfest.it) sees screenings in the atmospheric surroundings of the town's famous Greek amphitheatre. The Verdura Festival, a full-scale celebration of classical and contemporary music, also takes place this month at Palermo's Teatro Massimo (www.teatromassimo.it). September The procession of the Madonna di Lampedusa takes place on an island off Sicily's south coast on 22 September, and is accompanied by fireworks and concerts. December The Christmas Eve Agira nativity play, held in the historic town near Enna, involves more than 100 actors. Festivities continue through the night.