The hook
The most active volcano in Europe, and one you can actually climb toward, walking over black lava that was liquid a few years ago while the summit smokes above you.
01Why it's worth it
Etna is almost always doing something. It erupts often, usually in slow lava flows and ash rather than anything that clears the mountain, and the summit craters keep rebuilding themselves, so the shape and the height change from year to year. The upper slopes are a black, cindery moonscape of old craters and lava tubes, and lower down the volcanic soil grows some of Sicily's best wine and pistachios, so the mountain is both a threat and the reason the towns around it are rich. On a clear day the view from the high slopes runs down to Catania and the sea. It is a working volcano, so how high you can go depends entirely on what it is doing that week.
02How to experience it
Take the cable car from Rifugio Sapienza on the south side, then a 4x4 and a guided walk higher if conditions allow. Do not freelance the summit; the accessible zone shifts with activity and you want a guide who knows the day's limit. The Circumetnea narrow-gauge railway loops the base past lava fields and vineyards if you would rather see it from below.