Trapani: A Taste of Laid-back Sicilian Life

A taste of laid-back Sicilian life in Trapani, Italy.

Trapani became quickly one of our favourites, and we ended up staying half a year. The city is nice and small with both the Mediterranean sea for lovely seaside walks and jogging and a mountain for hiking. Local lifestyle is laid-back, people friendly, vegetables good and reasonably priced, and there are lots of lovely stray dogs running around. What more could one ask for?

During the winter and spring Trapani was quiet and we seemed to be the only foreigners around. In May budget flight tourists came and the busier summer season started. The beaches were cleaned from trash and a lot of businesses were put up for tourists. It seemed like a good time for us to move on to some less touristy destinations.

View Trapani in a larger map

We recommend Trapani in the spring or in the fall to avoid the high season. The winter (January-March) is very cold as there is not necessarily heating available. This winter the temperature dropped down to 7 degrees Celsius and the wind was harsh. It is also a good idea to prepare yourself to the city’s rubbish problem. There are lots of trash in the streets excluding the tourist-polished mountain city of Erice, Trapani’s neighbour, and a huge amount of cars not really caring about pedestrians and air quality.

What to do in Trapani? We simply enjoyed walking around, especially in the waterfront, the historical centre, and hiking to Erice. Trapani is a small city where everything is within walking distance. On the left you can see a little map that can perhaps be of help when you visit Trapani. Thanks to our long walks, we got many dog friends around the city that we visited regularly to say hi. Some of the dogs are cautious about people and keep distance, others enjoy petting, but none of them are angry nor aggressive. Simple pleasures of life are the best.

Have a nice summer!