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Agrigento

Running through Agrigento's medieval core is Via Atenea, an attractive strip lined with smart shops, trattorias and bars. Narrow alleyways wind upwards off the main street, past tightly packed palazzi (mansions) interspersed with historic churches. A good range of restaurants, cafes and accommodation make the town an excellent base to explore the nearby Valley of the Temples and good beaches further west along the coast.

Beyond the elegant old town, however, greater Agrigento is not an immediately appealing prospect. Huge elevated motorways converge on a ragged hilltop centre scarred by brutish tower blocks and riddled with choking traffic. Focus on the city's attractive old town and the proximity to the Valley of the Temples to maximise your enjoyment of an Agrigento sojourn.

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