Erice

Medieval Erice watches over the port of Trapani from its giddy mountain perch atop the legendary peak of Eryx, spectacularly set 750m above sea level. It's a mesmerising, walled 12th-century village whose peculiar history, mountain charm and sensational sea-and-valley views are only enhanced by frequent unpredictable changes in weather that take you from brilliant sunshine to thick fog in the space of minutes.

Allow ample time for losing yourself in the atmospheric maze of stone-paved streets – all the more cinematic when the piercing sun plays peekaboo with swirling mist – and savouring a sweet old-world moment at Sicily's most famous pastry shop.