Valley of the Temples — Attraction in Agrigento

This is an absolute must see when in Sicily.

We parked at the south side of the park (it’s the side that Google maps took us to when we entered ‘Valley of the Temples’ and then we just followed the signs to the parking). We took the taxi up to the north side of the park for 3 euros per person. It is a bit expensive for such a short ride but it was honestly worth it as we just had to walk the park once (which is 2 km and took us 3 hours as we could slowly stroll through the park) and you walk slightly downhill. Just note that there needs to be a minimum of 4 people before the taxi leaves but we only had to wait 5 minutes. You can’t miss the taxis as there is a big sign ‘taxis.’ If you start the walk from the bottom/ south side you need to walk it twice (there and back) to get back to your parking (so that’s 4 kms) and it’s slightly uphill (which although is definitely do-able, we saw quite a few people huffing and puffing on their way up) and all the most well-preserved attractions are at the north side so you might be tired by the time you get there. We also noticed that although you can take a taxi from the north side to the south side, the taxis then cost 4 euros per person. So I would definitely suggest parking at the south and taking a taxi to the north side.

At both parking areas (south and north) there are stalls with souvenirs (I found the souvenirs to be particularly cheap here) and books that you can buy as well as food/drink stalls, bathrooms and the ticket office where you must scan your ticket (if booked online) or buy your ticket. You can also buy the audio guide here (they take your ID card as insurance that you’ll bring it back. You must also bring the audio guide back to the office where you got it. So you can’t get it at the south side and then give it back at the north side). We got the audio guide for 5 euros but honestly we found the app that you can download for free (the Valle dei Templi app- it’s got a red scorpion on a black background logo) much more useful and it also has an audio guide which you can buy for 3 euros. So I would rather recommend the app. The audio guide has very little information about the history of the Valley and a lot of information on the actual architecture which we are personally found a bit boring. And remember that you need to pay for the parking.

Prepare for a long walk- wear practical shoes, bring a hat and lots of sunscreen and water. If you can, try to come early or a bit later in the afternoon to avoid the heat of the day. If you want to buy water, the cheapest is to use the vending machines in the park (1 euro). There are cafes in the park where you can take a break and grab something to eat as well as bathrooms.

We also got tickets for the museum which is a 15 minute walk from the south parking lot or you can drive there but once again you would need to pay for the parking. We absolutely loved the museum. There were not a lot of people and so many beautiful artefacts to see. We spent an hour in the museum but you could easily stay longer. The museum has little plaques with information on it so we didn’t buy the...

Impressive Ancient Ruins, but Plan Ahead – Honest Review of the Valley of the Temples

We spent about 2,5 hours walking through the Valley of the Temples, one of the key historical sites in the region. The highlight is definitely the well-preserved ancient temple, which still stands more or less complete. The rest of the site features ruins of various other temples — mostly scattered stones, partial structures, and columns. It’s impressive from a historical perspective, but not every part of it is equally engaging.

There is a small museum located roughly in the middle of the walking path. It’s just one room, mainly displaying old and restored Christian paintings. Before entering, you’ll need to store your bags in a locker, but it’s safe and you’re given a key.

If you’re already in the region, the Valley of the Temples is worth visiting, but I wouldn’t recommend traveling a long distance only for this. The nearby city of Agrigento itself doesn’t offer much else — mostly just one main street, and we found it quite difficult to find good restaurants or strong local recommendations.

Parking for the temple is available near the entrance — it’s more of a wild, open area, but there was plenty of space. Entry to the site was €16 per person, and you can optionally rent an audio guide to get explanations at different stops along the path.

Since the area is completely open-air, I strongly recommend visiting early in the morning if you’re coming during the hot summer months (like July). There is very little shade along the walk, and although there are occasional gardens or trees, it still gets extremely hot. I visited just before lunch, and it was already quite intense. Be sure to bring water with you — you can buy some at the entrance, but there’s no infrastructure or kiosks inside the park. There was a drinking water fountain near the end of one path, marked as safe, but I didn’t try it since we had our own bottles.

At the far end of the walking route, there’s an optional visit to a citrus garden for an extra fee. It’s a large area filled with citrus trees, and you descend down into the valley to explore it. We chose not to visit...

The site is amazing. In this review I'll just mention some logistical points that may be helpful, and that we learned the hard way; you don't need me to describe the site itself. Bring your own food and plenty of drinking water if you can. There is a cafe within the park which is busy and very overpriced, but you will find food there. There are also food stalls at the entrances to the park, which we didn't visit. We didn't see any free water points anywhere. It's a very large site and there's not much shade. You could easily spend two, three or more hours here, so sun hats and sun screen should be taken. If you're coming to Agrigento by train go to Centrale station. There are many stairs up to the exit, so consider taking the lift (elevator). You'll then probably need to take the bus to the Temple site. The infrequent bus does not stop outside the station as you might expect. The bus stop is not signposted and there was nobody to ask for directions. The stop is in fact about one minute's walk from the station entrance: walk straight out of the station entrance towards the main road and the tiny stop is on your right before you cross the main road. Yes, they sell tickets on the bus, slightly more expensive than if you buy them ahead of time. We bought ours together with the rail tickets. We had to queue for about 15-20 minutes to buy tickets and pass the strict security. The delay seemed to be mainly for the security, so I can't tell if buying advance tickets helps. Unwisely, we did not accept the free maps of the archaeological park available at the ticket office, preferring to use the maps in our guide books. But the site is poorly-signposted and I think that the free maps would have helped. For all that, this is definitely a five-star site. The temples are as good as all the guide books claim. If you can, you should visit the Valley of the...