Selinunte and Segesta Archaeological Parks: Are They Worth It?

Selinunte and Segesta are two archaeological parks in Sicily, Italy. Both were ancient Greek cities, founded well over 2,000 years ago, and what remains are the temples, acropoli, and excavations of these cities.

The Greek civilization flourished and around 750 BC, it began expanding beyond the Greek mainland, establishing other colonies throughout the Mediterranean (called Magna Graecia). Sicily is one of the best places to see what still remains from these ancient Greek cities.

Sicily’s most famous Greek archaeological site is the Valley of the Temples. With its well-preserved temples, it is not to be missed on a trip to Sicily.

Selinunte and Segesta are two more archaeological parks where you can see Greek temples. These parks are considerably smaller than the Valley of the Temples, but each offers a slightly different experience.

As you plan your trip to Sicily, you may be wondering if visiting Selinunte and Segesta are worth it. Visiting three archaeological parks can feel overwhelming and for some, it might not sound like the most enjoyable way to spend their time in Sicily. We get it.

We visited all three archaeological parks. In this guide, we’ll take you through what there is to do in Selinunte and Segesta, and if they are worth adding into your itinerary.

Let’s get started.

Selinunte Archaeological Park

Selinunte was one of the most important Greek cities of Magna Graecia. The first temples date back to 550 BC and over 30,000 people inhabited this city at one point. In 250 BC, the city was destroyed in the First Punic War and never rebuilt.

At 270 hectares, it is much smaller than the Valley of the Temples, but even so it takes several hours to see the highlights.

Location

Selinunte Archaeological Park is located on the southwestern coast of Sicily. It’s a bit out of the way from the more popular places to visit on the island, but that helps keep crowds low.

The best way to get here is by rental car. Selinunte is challenging to get to using public transportation and requires several buses, depending on your starting point. If you don’t have a rental car, consider joining a tour that includes your transportation, like this tour from Trapani.

Things to Do at Selinunte

There are three sections of the park: Collina Orientale, the Acropolis, and Gaggera Hill. Tickets are sold such that you can visit just one or two sections or the entire archaeological park. There is an additional fee to add on the shuttle, which is absolutely worth it, because it will save you a lot of time and energy.

Collina Orientale

This is the section of the park that is closest to the entrance. With several well-preserved temples, this is not to be missed.

Tempios E, F, and G sit side-by-side, making them quick to visit. The museum is a short walk from the temples.

Tempio E – Heraion

This amazing temple is your introduction to Selinunte Archaeological Park. It’s the best-preserved temple you will see here and during our visit, visitors were allowed to walk inside of the temple. This temple was completely rebuilt in the 19^th century.

Temple E

Inside Temple E with a view of Temple F in the background

Tempio F

Much of the remains of this temple lie scattered on the ground. This temple was dedicated to Athena, Dionysis, or Hercules.

Temple F

Tempio G – Olympieion

This temple was dedicated to the Olympian deities and was once one of the largest temples in the Mediterranean, according to the sign at the archaeological site. Like Tempio F, it is no longer intact and its columns lie in pieces on the ground. It’s still very interesting to see and you can get up close to the massive sections of the columns.

Temple G

The Museum

A short walk from the temples is the museum, which has on display artifacts from the archaeological site. There are toilets and a small snack bar here. This is also where you will catch the shuttle bus, which is really just a golf cart, to the Acropolis.

Pro Travel Tip: The shuttle saves you about a 2.5 km (1.5 mile) walk to the acropolis.

The Acropolis

The acropolis is what remains from the city. Here you will see the remains of houses, important buildings, and a few more temples.

The acropolis has a beautiful hilltop setting with views of the coastline and the temples of Collina Orientale off in the distance.

It takes about 30 to 60 minutes to walk through this section of the park. Seeing the wall of columns of Temple B (the Temple of Apollo) is one of the highlights, but there are also viewpoints of the coastline, walking paths through the remains of settlements to explore, and you can walk along the original road that ran through the city.

The view from the Acropolis of the coastline and the Collina Orientale section of the park

From the Acropolis, ride the shuttle back to the entrance to conclude your visit or you have the option to visit the third section of the park.

Gaggera Hill

Gaggera Hill contains a much smaller collection of sites, mainly just foundational stones. Not many people venture out that far, since the sites are less interesting than those at the acropolis and Collina Orientale, plus it adds on a lot more time and a bit more money to ride the shuttle here. If you walk from the acropolis, it is approximately a 2.5 km (1.5 mile) walk one way.

Gaggera Hill

How Much Time Do You Need at Selinunte?

If you only visit Collina Orientale, you need 30 to 60 minutes in Selinunte Archaeological Park. To add on the Acropolis, add on another hour to an hour and a half. This brings your total time to 1.5 to 3 hours for a visit to Selinunte. Most people spend about 2 hours in Selinunte Archaeological Park.

Tickets

Tickets can be purchased online in advance or at the entrance. There are several ticket options to choose from. We recommend visiting Collina Orientale and the Acropolis plus adding on the shuttle bus. I don’t think it is worth the extra time and money for Gaggera Hill unless you have a big interest in archaeological sites.

Get prices, hours, and see the ticket options on the Coop Culture website.

Selinunte Itinerary

Visit Collina Orientale first. Ride the shuttle to the Acropolis and visit this part of the park. Ride the shuttle back to the park entrance.

What Makes Selinunte Special?

We really enjoyed visiting Selinunte Archaeological Park. The day before we visited the Valley of the Temples, so I have to admit that I wasn’t thrilled about visiting another archaeological park so soon, but Selinunte is worth it.

For one thing, this park gets far fewer visitors than the Valley of the Temples and Segesta, due to its location. It is less crowded and feels more off the beaten path.

At Selinunte, we could walk inside of the temples, something that is not permitted at the Valley of the Temples. This really allows you to appreciate the awesome size of the temples and their columns.

The seaside setting of Selinunte is also very nice.

Segesta Archaeological Park

This archaeological park is much smaller than Selinunte. It is located in northwestern Sicily, near Trapani and Castellammare del Golfo.

There are two main things to see here, the very well-preserved Doric Temple and the theater and sites on the north acropolis.

Location

Segesta Archaeological Park is located in the hilly interior of northwest Sicily.

Since Segesta is located closer to Palermo, it is easier to get here than Selinunte using public transportation. It can be reached by bus from Palermo and Trapani.

If you have a rental car, there is a large parking lot outside of the archaeological park.

Things to Do at Segesta

The Temple of Segesta

This Doric Temple sits atop a small hill, just a short walk from the park entrance. It dates back to about 420 BC and was never finished. It lacks a roof, but it still remains in amazing condition, as it was never destroyed, as were some of the temples in Selinunte.

The Greek Theater and North Acropolis

The remains of the ancient city of Segesta sit atop Mount Barbaro. The highlight for us was seeing the Greek Theater, but visitors can also see the remains of a church, a bouleuterion (assembly house), a castle, and a mosque. The views from up here are spectacular.

How Much Time Do You Need at Segesta?

It takes 1 to 2 hours to visit Segesta Archaeological Park.

Segesta Itinerary

Once you enter the park, if the shuttle is parked next to the entrance, board the shuttle. This will take you up to the acropolis and Greek Theater. Once done here, you can wait for the next shuttle bus or walk down the hill (we did this and it turned out to be faster, plus the views are very nice). Then conclude your visit at the Temple of Segesta.

The view of the Temple of Segesta and the parking lot from Mount Barbaro

Tickets

Tickets can be purchased online in advance or at the park entrance. You have the option to add on the shuttle bus, which is well worth it, as it saves you a big hill climb to get to the Greek Theater.

Get hours, pricing, and learn more about the ticket options on the Coop Culture website.

What Makes Segesta Special?

The Temple of Segesta is one of the best-preserved Greek temples in Sicily so it’s well worth a visit. The hilltop setting of the acropolis and Greek Theater is also very nice, with panoramic views of the coast.

It’s close proximity to Palermo, Castellammare del Golfo, and Trapani make it easier to add on to a Sicily itinerary than Selinunte.

Plus, this is the smallest of the three main archaeological parks in Sicily, which makes it the quickest to visit.

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Selinunte and Segesta: Are They Worth It?

In Sicily, there are three major archaeological parks to visit: Selinunte, Segesta, and the Valley of the Temples. In addition to this, there are also major Greek sites at Taormina and Syracuse. For some people, seeing all of these sites may not be worth the time and effort.

The Valley of the Temples is a must see on a visit to Sicily. This UNESCO World Heritage Site is the largest archaeological park in Europe and it contains the remains of seven temples, several of which are in amazing condition.

Valley of the Temples

If you only have the time and desire to visit one archaeological site in Sicily, the Valley of the Temples gets our vote.

But that’s not to say that Selinunte and Segesta aren’t worth the visit. They are both spectacular places to visit and we think they are very worthwhile.

Selinunte, with its multiple sections, seaside setting, mix of well-preserved temples and those lying in ruins, is a beautiful and very interesting park to visit. We loved being able to walk into the temples and the low number of crowds at this site. A visit here was much more enjoyable than I originally thought it would be.

Segesta, with its small size and close proximity to Palermo and Castellammare del Golfe makes it quick and easy to visit. You get to see the amazing Temple of Segesta and the views from the hilltop setting of the Greek Theater.

If you have time in your itinerary to see all three, we think they are all worth it. If you can only visit one or two, don’t miss the Valley of the Temples. When deciding between Selinunte and Segesta, I liked Selinunte a little bit more, but Segesta might work better in an itinerary, with its location closer to major Sicily cities and towns.

In our Two Week Sicily Road Trip Itinerary, we lay out how to visit the Valley of the Temples, Selinunte, and Segesta archaeological parks (plus many more of Sicily’s must-see sights).

Sicily Itinerary

The Ultimate Two Week Sicily Road Trip Itinerary

See the highlights of Sicily on this two week road trip.

If you have any questions about how to plan a trip to Selinunte and Segesta Archaeological Parks, let us know in the comment section below.

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