Hotel Gran Bretagne

Frescoed ceilings and a family atmosphere at this Ortigia hotel in Siracusa

There's one overarching reason to book well ahead at this old-school Siracusa hotel run by Maria Bicca and daughter Anna Laura: Room 107, its vaulted ceiling frescoed in a deep blue field of stars and angels.

Rooms 101 and 102 also have a bit of fresco business in the centers of their ceilings around the smoke detectors (chandeliers having been long ago replaced by wall sconces), but otherwise the rooms are simple—checkerboard floor tiles, modular furnishings, floor-to-ceiling windows with balconies.

The guest rooms are also spacious; half feature a twin bed in addition to the queen, and a few are large enough for a fourth bed.

During the 2002 renovations to turn it from a cheap backpacker joint into a three-star hotel, the Biccas discovered a section of the city's 16th-century fortifications under the communal living room. They've since installed glass floor panels so guests can glimpse the wall as they walk to the sky lit breakfast courtyard.

The Gran Bretagne's location is hard to beat. It stretches between two restaurant-lined side streets at the north end of Ortigia—the island that makes up Siracusa's historic center—making it easy to explore the old city on foot.

Yet it's also just a few blocks from the bridge over to mainland Siracusa and the piazza where all the buses stop, allowing easy access to the museums and ancient ruins that lie scattered throughout the modern town.

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