![\"\"](\"\/\/globetrotters.co.uk\/newsletter\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/pictures\/200312-syracuse-greek-theatre.jpg\")
Two areas demand to be visited. These are the old\npart of the city at Ortygia, where the bus terminus was,
\nand the Parco Archeológico. I went down to Ortygia that
\nsame evening, just too late for the tourist office opening
\ntimes, and enjoyed a brief stroll round and a good pizza.
\nIt was quite good enough to call me back the next morning
\nbut, other than getting the map and literature I wanted
\nfrom the tourist office, I was just a shade disappointed.
\nOrtygia is near enough an island and not a very big one; I
\nhad not realised that the point, which should have given a
\ngood sea view, was out of bounds to visitors because of the
\nrequirements of the army. In general the area should
\nprobably be regarded as a must see by anyone who has not
\nbeen to any of the beautiful old towns on the Italian
\nmainland but, unusually, I was as much struck by the
\ndisplayed poverty of some areas as anything. The cathedral
\nis very interesting, though scarcely beautiful, from the
\noutside with bits being part of an earlier Greek temple.
\nHowever, contrary to my usual view in southern Europe, the
\ninterior, which contains some strikingly beautiful columns,
\nprovides a better spectacle. Taken as a whole I preferred
\nOrtygia at night and the jury was still out on Siracusa as
\nI took a bus and then a walk to the entrance to the Parco
\nArcheológico.<\/p>\n