Hi from Rick: Sicily Off-Season? Holy Cannoli!
When I close my eyes and think of Sicily, I think of Palermo…and the taste of spleen.
Sicily boasts one of Europe's most diverse and delicious street food scenes — and Palermo is its undisputed capital. Here, open-air markets have stood for centuries and wandering from stall to stall is a joyful assault on the senses.
Tables are stacked high with the morning's catch. Vendors warble their sales pitches — voices rising above the noisy Vespas. Deep-fried rice balls fresh out of the fryer grab your attention until…Holy cannoli! Look at those sweets!
As for that spleen: It's…memorable. Despite being spritzed with lemon and tucked into a pillowy bun, Palermo's signature street snack still tastes like what it is: organ meat. Some bites are chewy, others slippery — but each one is an experience.
Experiences are the reason we travel — vivid experiences are a Sicilian forte. And Sicily's come with a special allure in the off-season. This is when the ancient Greek ruins at Agrigento are free from tourist throngs, when temperate weather takes the sweat out of climbing Mount Etna, and when Palermo's colorful street markets are busy not with masses of tourists, but with locals, vendors…and you. Just you.
We're gearing up for our busiest tour month of the year — and one of the hottest. But for beating both crowds and heat (not to mention saving money on flights), I love off-season travel. In fact, many of my favorite travel memories take place in the winter months.
That's why, of our more than 40 Rick Steves tour itineraries, we've carefully selected the ones that work best off-season. These are either warmer-weather destinations (including our Best of Sicily, Athens & the Heart of Greece, and Barcelona & Madrid tours) or big cities that are bustling year-round (such as weeklong tours of Paris, Rome, and London). And for holiday thrills, we've thrown in a few Christmas market destinations, too.
On any of these, you'll enjoy the same great guides, centrally located hotels, and handcrafted local experiences — like slurping spleen in a Palermo market — that make our tours unforgettable in peak season. The trade-offs? A little less daylight, cooler temperatures, and a fraction of the tourist throngs.
In this month's Tour News, you'll find a colorful slideshow featuring our Best of Sicily tour, an interview with Sicilian-born tour guide Alfio di Mauro, raves about our off-season tours, more about Sicily's tastiest treats, and I'll take you on a video tour over the slopes of Mount Etna.
Imagine yourself on an off-season Europe tour: strolling down Barcelona's Ramblas with grandmas sipping horchatas while savoring family memories…popping into a Parisian wine bar, and all you hear is French…soaking up the views and some ouzo wearing a sweater on the tranquil Greek isle of Hydra…or wandering those Palermo street markets savoring the unfiltered buzz of Sicilian life.
Sign me up! And keep on travelin'.
Rick