LGBTQ+ Tour of Sicily, from ancient Greek athletes to the White Lotus

Our tour starts in the afternoon, as we tour Catania–set dramatically between a live volcano and the sea–and learn about its fascinating history, especially its LGBT+ history, which is truly unusual. Evening free.

Hotel for 2 nights: NH Catania Centro, a hotel right in the middle of Catania, with elegant shopping on one side, and alleyways full of pizzerias on the other. The perfect location for exploring the city.

This morning we drive up to Taormina and visit its famous Greek (really Roman) theater. We also learn about the years when the world’s most artistic soft core gay images came from the Taormina studio of Baron Wilhelm von Gloeden—visited by everyone who was anyone, including Oscar Wilde. And finally we start our White Lotus theme here, because the hotel in Season 2 was here in Taormina (though the beach out the door was all the way across the island in Cefalù!) After a lovely lunch in Taormina, we go to a really special place. We drive up Mt Etna to the otherworldly basalt landscape of the Feudo di Mezzo winery—a rare winery that has pre-Phylloxera vines from around 1900–and also the setting for an excursion in The White Lotus.

Free evening in Catania.

Today we drive down the coast to visit one of the most beautiful historical cities in the world, Siracusa. First we visit the Greek (really Greek this time) theater, built in the 5th century BC, and today the home of the Festival of Ancient Theater. From there we go to the historic center of Siracusa, set on the island of Ortigia. We have a sit-down version of a street food tour and then take a walking tour of this enchanting city. Our hotel is in the historic center and a perfect location for an evening of exploration. Professor Lear will take a moment to tell you some of this area’s LGBT+ history: from ancient Greek odes to Sicilian athletes and their beauty to the terrible murder of a young gay couple in a nearby village that sparked the birth of the LGBT+ rights movement in Sicily (and inspired the excellent 2023 film Stranizza d’Amuri [Fireworks]). Then let him tell you where to get the best granita–shaved ice–a great Sicilian specialty–on the whole island–with a view of the Cathedral. Or take a dip in the sea from one of Ortigia’s little beaches….

hotel for 2 nights: Palazzo Cavalieri. A charming hotel right across the pedestrian bridge from the old city (and with some nice restaurants even closer).

Today we tour two stunning stunning hillside Baroque cities or the Sicilian interior and taste their culinary specialties, including Modica’s special chocolate: this is where chocolate was first made after it came here from the Americas, and it is made by the original cold-pressed Aztec method and combined with essences of lemon, pepper etc.

A second free evening in Siracusa awaits us at end of day.

If you think this tour has already wowed you, get ready for today! In the morning, we visit the largest and most varied group of Roman mosaics in the world, the remains of a great ancient villa. Then after lunch we go to Agrigento to visit on the outstanding remains of ancient Greek culture, the so-called Valley of the Temples (actually a ridge!) with remains of seven Greek temples, including the temple of Concordia, pictured above.

Hotel: Hotel de la Valle. A pleasant hotel set in beautiful gardens and close to the Temples (over which some rooms have views).

This morning we visit the remains of the ancient Greek city of Selinunte, one of the most extensive ancient Greek archeological sites. After lunch, we take off for Palermo, the city that brings all of Sicily’s rich cultural mix (and flavors!) together. On arrival, a walking tour, to orient you (as our actual tour will be Sunday morning). Then a free evening.

Hotel for 4 nights: Hotel Politeama. A comfortable, modern hotel right on one of Palermo’s main squares, surrounded by elegant shops and cafés. Check out the roof-top bar!

This morning we visit one of the great monuments to Sicily’s cultural blend–from the time in the 12th century when Palermo was one of the world’s great centers of wealth and culture–the Cathedral of Monreale, an elegant Norman church with spectacular Byzantine mosaics. After visiting the church, we take off for Marsala, a charming city on the West coast of Sicily, where we visit a famous winery that makes Marsala’s eponymous wine, for a light lunch and a tasting. We return to Palermo in the late afternoon. Evening free. Be sure to get advice about places to eat–and ask Professor Lear about gelati!

This morning we go to the lovely seaside resort of Cefalù, to see two things: the other great Byzantine mosaics of the area, and the beach—the beach of The White Lotus Season 2, where Jennifer Coolidge’s corpse floats up! We have some free time for lunch and/or meandering in Cefalù and then return to Palermo for a free afternoon, but feel free to join Professor Lear for a visit to the Archaeological Museum, to see the spectacular reliefs from Selinunte!

This morning we take a walking tour in Palermo and visit two of its greatest monuments, the Cathedral, with the magnificent tombs of the Holy Roman Emperors who ruled from Palermo, and the amazing Palatine chapel in the royal palace–the high point of the Sicilian middle ages. After our history tour, a street food tour. Then some free time, but In the late afternoon, we take off for a last aperitivo (wine tasting with ample snacks) at the Villa Tasca, a stunning 18th century villa–and one last film location for the White Lotus Season 2.

Our tour ends with breakfast today. Let us know if we can help you with further travel arrangements. Perhaps you want to join us for our tour of England?

Professor Andrew Lear accompanies all of our tours. He is our founder; a famous scholar of same-sex love in the ancient world; and a master guide. Early in his career, Professor Lear won the Harvard Certificate of Excellence in Teaching five times, and on our tours you will see why! He really has the knack of making complex issues comprehensible—and entertaining. In most places, we are also required to have a local guide, and Professor Lear has developed a cadre of specially trained guides to work alongside him.

Professor Lear doesn’t have the time to do 10 tours a year, so our tours are not offered on an annual basis. Our general advice is: if you are interested, come on the tour!  You never know when our tours will be offered again.

Absolutely. Our tour groups consist of a mix of singles and couples, usually about 50/50. One thing we can guarantee is that no-one will be left out of any conversation or plan because they are single. On the very first tour we did, we came downstairs in the hotel and found the entire group hanging out in the hotel bar. And that is the way our groups are. They make lots of plans in the evening, and everyone is always welcome.

Absolutely. The average age of our guests is in the 60s, and we often have guests in their 80s.

If you are worried about this, please contact us to discuss. This tour involves a fair amount of walking, in museums, city centers (which in Italy are pedestrian zones), and archaeological sites (which may of course have uneven ground). However, we have had many guests with difficulty walking or climbing stairs, and we generally manage to accommodate them, with a little flexibility on all sides.

Absolutely. Just let us know in advance, and we will handle it.

Our tours cover all kinds of LGBTQ+ history and art.  The cultural material on some of our tours (especially in Italy and Greece) is more about gay male issues—but this is not true on other tours, for example, in England or Germany, where we cover a wide spectrum of LGBTQ+ material.  Our groups are also very welcoming. We have had a great variety of guests in our groups (incuding even a few allies!) and they have been very much part “one of the family.”

We don’t believe so. Of course we don’t know everything that goes on, but our impression is that our tours are GREAT for making friends instead. Note:  we include tours of gay nightlife in a few cities (Berlin and Tokyo so far), but in any case, we provide information about gay bars, saunas, etc.  And we know what many of our guests go, often with others from the tour group.

Our hotels are gay friendly, absolutely.  In Europe and Japan, our hotels are generally carefully chosen 4 star hotels. As a rule, we choose hotels for modern comfort, historic charm, and central location. In India and Nepal, we use almost exclusively 5 star hotels (except for one restored palace).

We are big foodies, and the meals on our tours are generally very good. In fact, we have often been told we could sell our tours as gourmet experiences. We are particularly concerned to include local specialties and regional cuisines.

We include breakfast every day and on European tours generally one other substantial meal (though occasionally none or two).  Since our tours often include activities both morning and afternoon, we tend to include lunch.  And we tend to leave you free in the evening, except for the first and last evenings on the tour, when we have welcome and farewell dinners—though of course sometimes we include an extra dinner.  This tour includes breakfast every day, 7 lunches, and 2 dinners–all gourmet.

Our tours are not 100% all-inclusive, although pretty close.  We include all hotel accommodation during the tour, transportation as per the itinerary, all admissions, and guiding. We include breakfast every day and on European tours generally one other substantial meal (though occasionally none or two).  Note:  we are NOT in the business of “upselling” our guests. There are very few optionals on our tours—and they are only things we really believe that some guests may not want to do (e.g. helicopter trips).

 We generally leave the group free in the evenings, and when we are in a major city, we include a free afternoon, for shopping, more museums etc.

Our tours are based on a very high level of knowledge about LGBTQ+ history and art, and indeed about history and art in general.  As a result, we include many places that are interesting and/or important but not well-known.  Some of these, like the bar where Oliver plays cards with the locals while Elio watches him in Call Me By Your Name, may be closed to the public or difficult to access; others, like the penis temple of Nagoya, are simply not on the beaten tourist path.

 Italy is actually very gay-friendly.  It has got a bad reputation in recent years, because it does not have gay marriage.  But Italy was not homophobic in the way the US and UK were in previous eras, so while it has not caught up with the rest of Europe on gay rights, it was and is a safe and friendly country for LGBTQ+ travelers.

YES.  A tour is a big investment, so you need insurance in case you are forced to cancel too late for a refund.  This doesn’t happen often, but it has happened a few times in the 13 year life of this company, and the travel insurance companies have been very helpful.  But note:  you also need travel insurance in case of medical emergency.  Your US insurance probably does not cover you abroad, and as we all know, you never know when something will come up.  A friend of mine fell on a trip a few years ago and ended up being medivaced from Tunisia to Germany and ultimately back to the US.  This would have cost hundreds of thousands of dollars, but luckily, he had good travel insurance, and it was covered 100%.  Note:  You can buy travel insurance from our ticketing platform, WeTravel, but that that is not obligatory.  You should get an insurance policy, but it does not need to be from WeTravel.

Our cancellation policy is flexible.  Before the full-payment deadline, we will return any of your deposit that hasn’t been put down in deposits—which generally means we can return 100%.  After the full-payment deadline, it is critical (again) that you have travel insurance, as travel insurance will refund your trip in an emergency more completely than we can.  We can assure you that it works, because we have seen it work several times:  a few guests have had to cancel at the last minute, have been completely reimbursed by their insurance, and in most cases have taken the same tour with us the next time it was offered.

Yes, we can make a payment plan according to your needs.