Agrigento

The archaeological park at Agrigento has to be one of the most spectacular places that I have ever visited in all of my travels. Being a student of archaeology and ancient history, I had studied for many years the area, and it had always been a dream of mine to see the ruins up close and personal. It's also a UNESCO World Heritage site, and it's not difficult to see why it is.

Agrigento isn't far from Palermo, in my opinion, although, I guess it would depend on what your idea of far is. I took the coach bus from Palermo to Agrigento in the morning and arrived in Agrigento just before lunch time. It's about 2 to 2.5 hours, but the ride is comfortable and the scenery is worth it. The bus makes a few stops between Palermo and Agrigento and picks up the occasional passenger.

The bus drops you off a short walk from the center of town. I walked from the bus station to the train station which is only a short walk and then caught the bus to the archaeological park which is about 10 minutes each way. Make sure when you buy your bus ticket -- which you can purchase from a tobacco shop -- that you buy two: one to get you to the park and the other to bring you back. I think you can probably buy tickets at the park, but when I purchase my tickets from the tobacconist inside the train station, he suggested that I purchase two.

Inside the train station is a help tourist information point, and the people who worked there spoke English. So if you get lost or are unsure of which bus to get on, just ask, and people are willing to help. Most of the people in town are used to day tourists coming through to see the park.

I'd like to return to Agrigento and maybe spend a day visiting the park and another exploring the town proper. So when to go? I went in mid-June, and let me say that it was hot. I wish that I had a place to crash in Agrigento because after walking around the park all day, I just wanted a hot shower, a cold bottle of water and a comfortable bed to crawl into. Also, the ride back from Agrigent at 4:30 took a bit longer because of the traffic that we hit as we neared Palermo so it would have been nice to shower, stay in the town for the night and take the morning bus back.

For more information about the park, visit the park's web site:

http://www.parcovalledeitempli.it/valledeitempli/home.php

Read more about the park on Wikipedia:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valle_dei_Templi