Rent a Car in Noto

Noto's historic centre, rebuilt in a unified late-baroque style after the 1693 earthquake, is a walking city through and through — its cathedral, Palazzo Nicolaci and honey-coloured stone streets are best seen on foot, ideally in the late afternoon light that gives the town its glow. But Noto sits at the heart of the Val di Noto, a cluster of baroque towns spread across the province, and a hire car is what turns a single stop into a proper tour. Syracuse, with its ancient Greek theatre and the island quarter of Ortigia, is about 30 km north-east; Modica and Ragusa, with their own baroque centres and dramatically stacked hillside streets, are both under an hour south-west.

Noto is also the natural base for the coast. The beaches of the Vendicari Nature Reserve, one of Sicily's best stretches of protected coastline, are about 10 km south-east, while the town of Marzamemi, a former tuna-fishing village turned relaxed seaside spot, is roughly 30 minutes further along the coast road. None of these connect well by public transport, so most visitors who want to combine baroque architecture with beach time rent a car for the whole stay rather than trying to base themselves without one.