4-Day Syracuse Itinerary (2024)

This has a lot of potential but is let down by some poor organisation and a lack of appreciation of what it is. The Main sites are worth seeing but so many routes and places are still blocked but the maps are not updated.As others have noted the Roman Amphitheater is being covered by boards and converted to a concert venue which really should not be allowed and would not almost anywhere else.It will impact long term on tourism which is short sighted to exploit it for a few Euros now.We found the staff friendly and helpful and it is worth a visit but could be so much better.

It's pretty visiting, but it's not worth paying so much just to entry and take a look around. The theater was completely renewed, you couldn't really see the old stairs. The amphitheatre was just ruins and the best thing were the caves. Its not easy navigating the ways since there are too many and the signs are rather confusing.

It's ok, and its reasonably priced. The best bit is the old saltpeter quarry you can walk into, sounds underwhelming but it's honestly interesting and looks awesome. Then theres the old Greek theatre, which is still used and unfortunately modern wooden seats have been fitted over the original stonework so you cant see it. However the Roman theatre down the hill a bit is much better to look at.Main issue was the long queue at the ticket office in the car park was not moving, so we bought tickets online which we then told were invalid unless we went to the ticket office anyway, so that was a waste of time, luckily there was another ticket office inside the entrance gate which had a much shorter queue, even so, it was not clear where to get a ticket and it was a slow frustrating process just trying to get into the site.

One of the worst spending of time and money I had. First, it has almost none benches and shadows. It's impossible to find a place to rest at least a bit, and visit in sunny day becomes a hell. Second, very few toilets with long ques. Third, routes organisation is horrible. You should walk in circles to visit different places, while the straight way will be closed and a special security will be standing to make sure that you go the long way. And finally, I think it is overpriced. You see to little for too much money. Especially during my visit, the Greek theatre was blocked by some festival, but they didn't even bother to make price cheaper. In short, I don't recommend to visit the place.

The site is truly breathtaking, featuring two of the most exquisite amphitheaters from Greek and Roman times. The addition installation of the modern sculptures tastefully done, enhancing the historical ambiance. However, the signage could be improved as it is not very clear. More directional signs for visitors would be highly beneficial.

Beautiful park, great for a morning/afternoon walk to soak up a little bit of culture while in Ortigia. I think April is the perfect time to visit: the entire park is green, and filled with flowers and the amazing smell of orange blossom. You can easily spend a few hours in the park, exploring the different sites. The Roman theatre and the Ear of Dyonisis were my favorites. Unfortunately the Greek theatre was being worked on (looked like preparations for a concert), which was a bit of a bummer.

Beautiful place, with plenty of things to see!It took us around 4 good hours to explore the whole area! Bring suitable shoes and water! Worth a visit for 15€. Bear in mind that you will need a map because the park is huge!

This extremely important archaeological site could be amazing, but unfortunately many areas are in rough shape, roped off, overgrown with weeds, and otherwise unable to be seen by the public. The 2,500 year old Greek Theater that serves as the MAIN draw for this park was very disappointing, as it was almost completely covered by modern seating structures that killed the entire beauty of this sacred ancient theater. It would have been better to stage current theatrical events at the less important Roman Theater, which was also overgrown with vegetation and to leave the Greek Theater alone and in a more pure state. Or they could at least reduce the admission price when the theater is covered. The caves were probably the most interesting aspects of this park. Don’t skip those!! Very fascinating. Overall it’s still worth visiting, but in its current state I can only give it 3 stars. I truly hope they improve this important Archaeological site, clean up the overgrown vegetation, improve and replace the damaged and faded signs, and bring it to its fullest potential!

Masterful and impressive works but rather pitiful presentation.The paths were not marked consistently, so that one gets lost almost by default. For the Roman amphitheatre there are two entrances, but you are not allowed to visit everything when using the one at the café.The Greek theatre is covered almost completely by modern technical equipment and in general there are little to no information panels.When I visited a third of the park was not accessible at all, but I was not notified of it until I paid entrance and the path was blocked.

Really cool to visit, wish there were more explanations in terms of text, it feels like they are trying to get you to get a tour guide. The paths are limited and you can see the older paths were amazing. Overall if you love Greek and Roman history there is a lot to explore.

Great site to get the old Greek and Roman vibe. Theatre is incredible, but also the caves give an additional to the already wondefull preserved site. You will need at least a few hours to really experience its splendid. Parking can be a hassle, so advisable to be early.

Visited in late February, winter schedule. Very few tour groups, mostly teen-aged school groups, so park was pretty empty. Nice place for a walk, part can be accomplished for free before entering the two separate sides of the park. Each side can only be entered once, the machine will reject a second attempt. Needs a little more infrastructure maintenance and new and improved signs and maps. Staff is exceptional. Not all parts/walkways are open at this time. Street parking, €1.50 per hour, only one pay box by entry. Trick is to park illegally at pay box for a few minutes, get parking receipt then go park. App for parking would not accept me/my USA phone number.

I expected ancient ruins but find very modern wooden structure covering whole theatre. Many of the paths are closed, it's a real festival of barriers. Most of the green parts are seriously overgrown and very untidy. Ear of Dionysius and amphitheatre are the only structures worth the visit.

Park: 5/5A really beautiful park - definitely worth a visit, when you are around Syracuse. I also loved the mixture of old stone buildings overgrown by plants. There is no litter and the landscape is just astonishing.Management: 3/5Huge areas of the he park where not accessible when we were there (which is apparently often reported in the reviews) - but you still have to pay the full price - and there is no information about that.Also, there are mostly no signs or whatsoever about the structures and buildings, so if you don't like guided tours so much, you have to look everything up for yourself online.Also, there could be more shadow places to rest.

Would I recommend to a friend? No. Would I go again knowing what I know? No.As ruins go, I was very underwhelmed. The best thing about the caves was the cool temperatures and respite the provided from the heat.The old theater had bees completely redone in preparation for a concert so the main ruin was covered with new wooden seats.If you found my review helpful please let me know by giving me a thumbs up. Thanks.

Nice to see all those ancient remains. What I missed was some readable text at every point. They explain in 2 sentences a Roman arena of 2000 years old. That’s really too little. You can follow an audio tour, but I prefer readable tekst.Currently the so called burial place of archimedes is closed.

Again .. very disappointed with the administration of the place again employees they only speak Italian. They don’t speak any other language. They are disrespectful and they talk to you shouting not only that the place is their team the seen us. They are not well connected between each other so you have one entrance here and at the same time you have some exit the place was kind of dirty. They only have one toilet. They have this electric berry brand new stuff to get in, but they didn’t pay attention to take care of how clean is the place really didn’t feel comfortable in the place outside of the place it’s also very dirty. The place is actually not worth it. I think you can from better places inside of the city so there’s no point to go so far I think the price is too high. I don’t think administration is doing a proper job on the M Pl. is too little to charge that amount of money again increase you found better places more cheap it more carefully taking care of more clean and more big so again it’s not worth it definitely is. They are not doing a good job they supposed to promote history and they’re supposed to hire people who at least can’t take care of the tourist speaking other language which is important now and there’s something if you don’t know it’s Khaled Google translate that they can use but they just decided not to talk to you just turn the face on. This is what they are doing.z definitely I recommend go to Greece 🙌🏻

It was a great afternoon out but they should provide more signposts, found ourselves looping back a few times. It was extremely busy and we were sometimes completely blocked by what I assume to be 3 coaches full of people on a single tour..If you are coming in summer, bring plenty of water. there isn't much shade.

Organized and preserved park. Theater is mostly in tact, the grottos are nice, and the Roman arena is interesting. I liked the cave and the history of where the slaves lived and worked. Interesting how they carved the blocks. Enjoyed the park. Clean restrooms.

Expensive at €16, many tour/school groups (Monday in April), many areas closed, no explanations unless you can download brochure with mobile phone, 3/4 toilet blocks not working. I love archaeological sites but wish I had spent my entry fee on a nice lunch instead.

I think these super negative reviews are ridiculous. 🤦🏽‍♀️ I have been to a LOT of archeological parks around the world and yes, many are much better in terms of signage and placard explanations but it’s not as if this park has NOTHING in that regard! There ARE Italian/English placards with albeit minimal info at each site entry. And some extra placards around the Roman theatre. The downloadable pamphlet gives a few more info tidbits for each site.Yes, there are sites closed off, which in that regard a ticket should absolutely NOT cost as much as it does at €12.50. But you DO see the most important sites of the Ear of Dionysus (of which the landscape is a pleasure to stroll around), which is fantastic and the adjacent Salt Caves. The Roman Theatre is not spectacular but definitely worth a view. The Greek Theatre is 💯 disappointing as it’s full of workers and construction preparing for the summer season.I also dinked a star bc of the audacity to charge for loos when tickets are already too much!A combo ticket with the museum is an eye-watering €22. I decided to bite the bullet and do so and I’m glad I did bc I enjoyed my time in the museum.Also, I loved the modern art sculptures at the sites and especially the blue heads in the Salt Caves. Great punch of colour.

The place is great but not good maintained. You could actually see amazing things. Entry is 13 euro but you still need to pay 1 euro for the WC although the doors do not close and there is not a single mirror on a wall. Not clean either. The parc itself is very large but you need to find out on your own where to start, where to go next and where to exit. Tall grass is hiding the view, signs are not readable anymore. You have staff standing on every corner, so you can just give them a tool in the hand to take care of the place. Practically the entry is to pay the security people, would be nice if they used it to maintain the place better. And to open a second front desk, so you don‘t keep the people waiting.

Beautiful park with great views and scenic paths. Only complaint is that a large section was closed, and it was not made clear online or at the entrance when we got tickets. (We don't speak/read Italian so possibly it was posted somewhere that was not obvious to tourists). The maps of the park are also very confusing - we ended up just walking and exploring without using it which was better for us.

Was not expecting that you could visit these extraordinary gorgeous caves at the quarry there. They were breathtaking and a welcome cool down from the heat of the sun. The scultural artworks were beautiful. The Greek theater was...devasting. They have decided to build over it with a wooden structure, I suppose to use it? What a misuse of an ancient site. Tragic. The Roman amphitheater is still presevred and fantastic to see. You can see the underground tunnel entrances etc. Parking was a bit stressful. Oh! And there were about 400 high school students visiting who were extremely loud and disrespectful but if we ran ahead of the group it was mostly enjoyable. Also was 33 euros for 2??? Why so expensive. Half of it was closed off.