BUDGET Car Rental at Catania Airport

At Catania Airport, Budget Car Rental is located inside the terminal's arrival area along with a wide variety of other car rental providers. The service desk of Budget at Catania Airport is open from 8.00 am to midnight every day of the week, and the team can be contacted by phone on +39 095 340 500. The desk is shared with Avis car rental.

Budget/Avis car rental includes all taxes and airport fees, plus all essential insurance such as Collision Damage Waiver. Rental vehicles can be picked up from the Budget/Avis car parking area near the terminals, no more than a 350 meter walk.

Catania has many fine Baroque buildings to offer on a walking tour through the UNESCO World Heritage Site city centre, among them the palazzos and mansions that have been converted into boutique hotels, the university, the Duomo or Cathedral of Catania and the Teatro Romano, an ancient Roman amphitheater. Bellini Gardens, named after the city's famous composer, are a wonderful place to come for a walk. Landscaped around two hills, both man-made, the park can be explored via a wide avenue that circles these hills. Water features and fountains, man-made wooded areas, grottoes and many statues that line the other paths have made Bellini Gardens to one of Catania's most popular and enduring tourist attractions that are also beloved by locals.

Historic Taormina was already a tourist destination back in the 18th century, when most of Catania's present-day buildings were constructed. Popular with rich young men on an educational tour of Europe, Taormina is about a 50-minute drive from Catania, overlooked by the mighty Mount Etna.

While Catania has its Teatro Romano, Taormina has an even grander, and older, ancient Greek amphitheater that is still in use today. Overlooking the Bay of Naxos, the tiered theater's stage was once surrounded by statues that stood in niches, staring back at the audience. Used by the Romans in later centuries to stage gladiator fights, the theater is one of the oldest in the world still existing today.

Palazzo Corvaja was home to the Sicilian Government in the 1400's. It is not far from the Teatro Greco, the Greek theater, at Piazza Vittorio Emanuele II. Its splendid facade and inner courtyard decorated with Christian themes are in stark contrast to the Arab-built fortifications that can still be seen in some parts of Taormina. Arabs conquered Taormina in the 10th century, adding their style of building to the palazzo, which is named after the Corvaja family, one of the region's oldest noble families.

Taormina's cathedral, the Duomo di San Nicola, dates back to the 13th century, but saw many alterations during the following 15th, 16th and 18th centuries. Taormina lies some 51 km distance from Catania and is easily reached with Budget car rental from Catania Airport.