The capital of Sicily, Palermo is an historic city in southern Italy and is situated on the NW of the island right by the Gulf of Palermo in the Tyrrhenian Sea. The 2700 year-old city is noted for its rich history, culture and architecture. With Sicily's greatest concentration of sights, and the second biggest historic centre in Italy, Palermo is a complex, multilayered city that can be overwhelming if you try to see too much. Read more about Palermo, Italy

Reggio, or Reggio Calabria (pop. 560,000), is the largest city of Calabria, Southern Italy. It is located on the ‘toe’ of Italy, facing west to the Strait of Messina and the island of Sicily. Read more about Reggio, Italy

Taormina is a small town on the island of Sicily in Italy, in the Province of Messina. Settled on a hill, the town - accessible via an aerial tramway - dominates two sweeping bays, and on the southern side the top of Mount Etna can be seen. While it is unashamedly touristy and has a main street lined with high-end designer shops, the town remains a striking location with gorgeous medieval churches, a stunning Greek theatre, and sweeping views. Read more about Taormina, Italy

The village of Fiskardo is the northernmost port of the Ionian island of Kefalonia, a short distance from Ithaca, in Greece. Part of its intrigue is the fact that it was the only town on the island not to have been devastated by the earthquake in 1953. Hence all the traditional and Venetian buildings have been preserved, and this results in its unique beauty and atmosphere. Read more about Fiskardo, Greece

Pylos is the name of a large bay and a town on the west coast of the Peloponnese Peninsula in southern Greece. It consists of two distinct settlements several kilometres apart. Old Pylos is situated on the NW of the bay, and New Pylos on the SE. Read more about Pylos, Greece

Spetses is a port and small Grecian island lying about 90 km SW of Athens (and named by the Venetians for its position on a major trade route.) It lies just a few kilometres off the Corinth Peninsula facing the southern Aegean Sea. The town itself has a permanent population of just 4000, stretching from the Old Port to Dapia with its ferry terminal. The town is notable for its lack of cars – six taxis excluded. Read more about Spetses, Greece

Lavrion - aka Lavrio,Laurium, Laurion, Laureion, Thoricum, Ergastiri - is a town in south-east Attica, Greece and is famous in Classical antiquity for the silver mines, the silver used for coinage, and the mines were notorious for the treatment of the slaves who worked them. It has small port situated on a bay overlooking the island of Makronisos (ancient times - Helena) to the east. The ancient workings, consisting of shafts and galleries for excavating the ore or extracting the metal, may still be seen. Read more about Lavrion, Greece