Secrets of Syracuse Ortigia Self Guided Walking Tour

Syracuse keeps losing its greatest treasures. The largest ship of the ancient world, given away. Its patron saint, carried off to Venice. Temple doors of ivory and gold, bronze rams, magnificent statues, all gone. The one thing no one could steal was the stories, and this self-guided audio tour hands them to you, one stop at a time. Walk Ortigia, the island where the city began, from a harbour that swallowed an Athenian fleet to a cathedral built inside a Greek temple older than the Parthenon. Meet Archimedes, a killer painter named Caravaggio, a Jewish community who sealed their ritual bath in the rock, hoping to return one day, and a saint whose eyes made her the patron of light. The app guides you on this self-guided walking tour of Syracuse, so there is no fixed start time and no group to follow. Pause whenever you like, resume when you are ready. Over 25,000 travelers have used our tours, backed by a full refund guarantee.

1. 1

   Stop 1

   12 min

   Stand above the bay that swallowed the largest fleet Athens ever sent to war.

2. 2

   Stop 2

   12 min

   Meet the man who sank Roman warships with nothing but his mind.

3. 3

   Stop 3

   10 min

   Trace a market ritual that has sounded the same since the first Greek ships tied up here.

4. 4

   Stop 4

   8 min

   Peer beneath a plain Baroque church whose floor hides quarries, catacombs, and a wartime shelter.

5. 5

   Stop 5

   Pass by

   Search for what a vanished Jewish community sealed in the rock, hoping someone would return.

6. 6

   Palazzo Vermexio

   Pass by

   Hunt for the tiny lizard an architect carved into the town hall to answer an insult.

7. 7

   Syracuse Cathedral

   Pass by

   Look up at Doric columns older than the Parthenon, hidden inside the cathedral walls like fossils.

8. 8

   Stop 8

   Pass by

   Follow a tunnel where families hid from bombs, guarding the silver saint the city kept losing.

9. 9

   Chiesa di Santa Lucia alla Badia

   10 min

   See the altarpiece a fugitive painter made while wanted for murder, its darkness swallowing the canvas

10. 10

    Fonte Aretusa

    8 min

    Find the freshwater spring where a hunted nymph surfaced, still growing Europe's rare wild papyrus.

• Service animals allowed
• Public transportation options are available nearby
• Suitable for all physical fitness levels
• Please carry a charged smartphone and headphones with you for the best experience
• This tour does not follow the wheelchair accessible route to all points and hence we are not recommending it for those travelers who require wheelchair access.

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.