One of Sicily's best-kept secrets: the ruins of the Greek colony of Eraclea Minoa sit on a white cliff above a genuinely undiscovered beach, with almost none of the crowds that fill the Valle dei Templi. A small ancient theatre and the outline of the old street grid survive on the clifftop site.
The beach below is broad, sandy, and backed by pine trees, one of the least developed stretches of coastline in the area.
“Bring a picnic and easily spend a whole morning here without seeing more than a handful of other visitors.”