The church, located in the historical center of the city of Messina, was built in byzantine times, probably on the remains of a pre-existing pagan temple.
The Duomo is the mother church of Messina, located in one of the most suggestive and important squares of the city. An example of architectural resilience as during the centuries passed many important destructive events such as earthquakes or wars.
Built between 1930-1933, the Bell tower's mechanism is the major attraction of the historical center of the city: each day at noon offers a unique show to all those that are stopping to admire it.
The palace is a town hall building and its construction dates back to 1924. The internal yard of the structure preserves different archeological remains of the ancient city.
Best way to see highlights of Messina while making new friends over new and fun foods! Yummy new and fun foods! Try the chocolate almond granita with cream…heaven!🥰 Roberto was our guide and is the best of the best! Truly had us all feeling like we were personal friends visiting, with him sharing some of his favorite spots around Messina. NOT a typical cruise excursion, such fun!!
This was an awesome tour, convenient meeting place and a great mixture of history and food! We were so full by the end of the tour. We had time to buy souvenirs and wander a bit. Overall wonderful experience and Roberto was the perfect tour guide!!!
Roberto was a fabulous tour guide. Friendly, professional and very knowledgeable. He made the tour interesting and fun. You get plenty of food - sampling all the things that Sicily is known for, good quality and up to you to decide your favorites. For me the cannolo, hands down my favorite, my husbads was the granita. We also saw the highlights of Messina from the most friendly of all guides, Roberto. We didnt want to be rushed when we only had a day in Messina and this was a great relaxed way to get a small taste of Sicily.
Had a great tour with Roberto. The tour was exactly as described as a food tour rather than hitting all of the tourist points in Messina. Commentary, food and pace were excellent.
Roberto was so nice and knowledgeable. The food was so good and it was a great experience in Sicily!
Run do not walk to this tour! The food the jokes the history were all excellent. And Roberto was an excellent tour guide.
I know the guide was really trying, but i had a very hard time understanding her.
Our guide Martina was wonderful and even though the weather didn’t cooperate, through a thunderstorm she found us some shelter and then kept us going making sure we got the full tour experience. Loved the food/wine tastings and the history of Messina. Due to weather we couldn’t see the astronomical clock at noon, but she provided a video and story telling and gave us the whole experience.
Even though it rained and thundered quite a bit, the food tour was excellent. Martina did what she could considering we had to walk and visit many sites and stop at many restaurants for good tasting. I would definitely recommend this excursion
This tour was great! Met a group from our cruise ship and a couple from the UK. Roberto our guide was friendly and very knowledgeable about the history and sites in Messina. We tried a variety of yummy food and drink along the way! Would definitely recommend!
Roberto was great. He took us to some great local restaurants and explained the history of the food and the best ones! lol. Also got to learn about the history of the city and see the clock show at noon!
Roberto was an amazing guide and very knowledgeable about the local area. The food and wine tasted great and we would definitely recommend to anyone looking to learn about Messina while eating authentic local cuisine.
Led by Roberto this was a most informative and enjoyable tour. We would highly recommend it to others. All the stops for food and drink gave a flavour of Sicilian food and drink.
I loved that the host met at the cruise port and the walking was bearable. The food choices were delicious and unique. Roberto was great!
Roberto was a great guide. He gave us great historical and cultural information while taking us to good places to eat. We really enjoyed this tour.
Perfect to be short. In long form, Roberto is an amazing tour guide! He is so friendly and knowledgeable! Although it is called a street food tour, half the stops are restaurants. The others are bakeries or specialty food and wine stores. In between restaurants there are tours of local sites including churches. The tour is timed to witness the clock tower show at noon. After the tour I climbed the clock tower. I realized I did not have to read any of the informational signs within because Roberto so perfectly informed us of the building's history!
Roberto was an excellent guide. Very knowledgable and we clearly heard and understood every word. Stops for food and wine tasting were great. It was hot but short walks between stops were comfortable.
Roberto and the tour were amazing!! Food was in abundance and outstanding!! Highly recommend this tour!!
Roberto was so fun, knowledgeable, and gave us a great day filled with history and food. He took us to the church to see the ringing of the bells and made sure we had a full day of food.
Come, hungry!. This was a great tour. It was a perfect amount of walking to historic sites, food, and wine tasting. Roberto was very informative and set just the right pace. Don’t miss it!
Brilliant! Roberto took us on a fantatsic food tour around Messina . We learnt so much about the history of the area as well as the local food and drink. The tour consisted of a breakfast, lunch, wine tasting and sampling other local dishes. Roberto was knowledgeable and obviously passionate about the local history. Could not fault this tour at all. Thank you.
Was our guide and he was EXCELLENT. The food stops were great and the historical background on sightseeing was perfect. Roberto was our tour guide and he did an OUTSTANDING job!
My husband, son and I took this tour with Antonella on Friday 7th August and it was one of the highlights of our cruise. Antonella greeted us at the port and was easily identifiable. She was bright and engaging , very welcoming and informative about her city. She introduced us to Granita and Arancini and other delicacies but most importantly we were given Cannolli which was fabulous. Messina looks like a beautiful city and I wish we were able to stay longer. It was very hot that day and I had to keep asking for breaks and she was very kind and understanding. Hopefully, we will be back in Messina and I will definitely engage Discover Messina again.
I had a fantastic experience today, led by Roberto. He was friendly, knowledgeable and engaging, and made the whole tour thoroughly enjoyable from start to finish. As a partially sighted traveller, I can sometimes find tours challenging, particularly when navigating unfamiliar places. Roberto was incredibly considerate and attentive throughout. I felt very well looked after, without ever feeling that my visual impairment was a problem or limited my enjoyment of the experience. It was wonderful to be able to relax, enjoy the surroundings and get so much from the tour. Roberto’s knowledge and enthusiasm really added to the experience. A genuinely excellent tour and a particularly positive experience for me as a partially sighted traveller. Thank you, Roberto – highly recommended!
“Discover Messina” Street Food Tour with Roberto was fantastic! Messina history, visiting the city center, and AMAZING food!!! Traditional Sicilian breakfast with Granita (delicious drink) and brioche col tuppo (round sweet bun) at Ritrovo Tosca! Lunch at Comparello Bello Restaurant with excellent Arancini, Pitone (fried calzone) and pizza! Wine tasting and to finish with the BEST CANNOLI ON THE PLANET at Ragusa!!!! Highly recommend for any real foodie!!! Roberto was the BEST!
We had a great day touring with Roberto during our trip to Messina, Sicily. Roberto walked us around the city area explaining the cultural history and the people of Messina. We got to experience many great local foods and drinks. All of which were excellent and local to the island. Our group was smaller in size which made it easier to get around and to grab seats at each venue and it was easy to hear Roberto explain the locations and tastes. This was a great way to see and experience Sicily for our first visit. We definitely plan to visit again in the future.
We had a great time getting to enjoy all the varieties of local cuisine!!
Roberto was a spectacular guide for our food tour in Messina! We happened to have a small group and Roberto went above and beyond to show us around the city, and we ate our way through it! Not only did we have the most delicious food and drink, but we also got to see the city highlights and learn some history. This tour is a must for your time in Messina. It’s true that you should come hungry!!
Fabulous food tour in Messina. Maria Grace, the tour guide was the absolute best with sharing the best the city restaurants had to offer. It was a 5-Star experience!
Roberto was so very nice and our group was great too. The food was delicious and the mechanical clock is not to be missed. Roberto was informative and so pleasant. We very much enjoyed this excursion and we would definitely recommend it.
This was an excellent excursion and I highly recommend doing it. Our tour guide Roberto was amazing, he started off by telling us some of the history behind some of the monuments in Sicily then he took us for a traditional summer Sicilian breakfast which was granita with cream and lemon flavored brioche. This was so amazing, then we did a little shopping in the town square, looked at the cathedral and then saw the bell tower at noon which was a 12 min show in the square. Then we did some more shopping, then headed for some amazing lunch at this awesome wholesome restaurant. Lastly we headed to a winery where we sampled delicious wines then we ate the best cannolis I have ever had. This is definitely worth the price for everything we got.
Emi was a fantastic tour guide and the overall experience was phenomenal. I highly recommend this tour! Come hungry as you eat quite a bit a local specialties. It was a perfect blend of history with a little walking and tasting local food and wine.
Great Tour of Messina's local food. The tour was in a small area, timed well and was enjoyed by all.
Great experience with Roberto! We walked around as he pointed out some important key factors in the town. Got to try several different foods, including the freshest cannolis ever! Great tour if you’re looking to experience Sicilian food!
Delicious way to discover Messina! Make sure you are hungry as you eat a full breakfast and lunch, followed by dessert! Our guide, Emi, was wonderful. She gave us such a detailed history of Messina while also filling our bellies with wonderful food. Highly recommend!
Had a great time with a lovely group of girls there for the weekend Very informative and food was great I recommend this tour
This was a great way to see the highlights of the city and also taste some of the local food. Come hungry because you get a ton of food. It was a great value! Our tour guide MariaGracia was awesome! Highly recommend this tour.
Roberto is the best! He was so funny and very knowledgable. The food was amazing and it was an unforgettable experience.
Mariagrazia was fun & energetic, and knows her city. I liked the use of headphones, made it easy to follow along with the commentary. Lots of surprises, like the lemon based fancy slushy (can’t remember the name) with bread (used to soak up the lemon juice) for breakfast, along with expected favorites like fresh cannolis. Seeing the famous mechanical clock at noon was fun as well.
Roberto was the BEST!! He was so knowledgeable and helpful. All of the food stops were amazing!!!!!
My wife and I had a wonderful day with Roberto in Messina! He was incredibly knowledgeable, personable, and genuine. We had the unique privilege to be a solo couple with him on our tour for the day! He met us at our ferry dock in Messina personally and then spent the day with us touring many amazing sites as well as culinary delights in Messina! This tour was definitely one of the most special highlights of our visit to southern Italy and we would recommend this tour to everyone that has the opportunity to spend the day in Sicily!
Overall, a very good food tour, and the guide, Roberto, was knowledgeable and social. Lots of good food to eat. Fortunately, our group was limited to 8 - apparently a small group could be twice that size, and I think it would be too cumbersome, both walking and eating at the restaurants. The tour description did mention some cultural and historical aspects, but I think the overall pacing was a little too slow, largely to meet the timing at the cathedral. Perhaps start a little bit later. Overall, subject to the actual group size, I would very recommend the tour.
Excellent tour and Roberto was fabulous! Food was delicious! Excellent history and architecture tour
We had a wonderful stroll around Messina with the talented Roberto. He was super informative as he guided us through the streets of Messina. Providing insight into the history and significant cultural and historical aspects of life in Messina. Every stop was perfect, including arriving at the clock tower just in time to witness the fascinating noon show of this amazing mechanical creation. Breakfast, lunch, wine and dessert did not disappoint and in fact were perfection. A perfectly curated experience.
Roberto was a great guide and gave us an informative (and often humorous!) walking tour combined with 4 stops for food and drink along the way. We enjoyed brioche, granita and cappuccino at the first stop, arancino (rice balls) and focaccia bread pizza at #2, wine tasting at #3 and Sicilian cannolo at #4. This tour was a great way to see Messina and sample some of the local foods.
I did the walking food tour with my friend, and we absolutely LOVED it!! We had Roberto and he is just simply the best! Great English and so knowledgeable about everything.
Roberto was our guide for the day. He met us at the port, as promised and worked to insure he took great care of us. Great food and insight into local culture. He was informative and attentive. Thx Roberto for a fun and educational day!
Excellent tour guide. Unusual good foods, that I didn’t know existed. Tour guide was very knowledgeable and provided a lot of history
We had excellent experience in Messina
Fantastic experience! Highly recommend. The surfaces are easy to walk, our guide Roberto stopped frequently enough to give us the history of the area so we were never tired or bored. Our guides were passionate about this beauty city. The food is amazing and large full sized portions- so come hungry!
Monday through Friday 9 am to 7 pm EST
Reach us by phone
Reach us by email