Recommendation for a beautiful resort town
The town of Taormina is about a forty-five minute drive north of Catania.
You can get there by train, bus, taxi (about 80 euros) or a rented car.
The orientation is so easy, I simply wrote in Waze in Hebrew, Taormina, and entered the toll road. I didn’t notice that I had to get a ticket from the meter and the whole way I was stressed that the police would stop me and walk away…
At the end of a green road full of sabres, a view of the sea on the right, a speed bump on the left, and tunnels along the way (I swear, if this is called the failing area in Italy, then we have a lot to learn from the failed ones…) I reached the end of the toll road. I stopped at the checkpoint, pulled out 100 euros, and smiled at the cashier with a trembling heart. “One euro,” she was waiting for me. I paid her and flew away before she regretted it.
Taormina is located on a cliff, about 200 meters above sea level. The streets are very narrow, dozens if not hundreds of alleys and stairs connecting one level to another. The roads are winding and narrow, and that is its charm. A picturesque, well-kept town, with beautiful old houses. The only drawback I found was the difficulty in finding parking. If you parked, don’t move your car until the end of your vacation, it’s a shame… Taormina is a good starting point for a trip to the Etna volcano, the village of Savoca (where The Godfather was filmed), and the village of Castelloma. Details below…
I booked the apartment I was staying in from Israel through Booking.com. All the hotels I looked for right around the main street were full, or insanely expensive, or didn’t seem right to me.
In short, I had no choice but to look for something charming a little off the main street and so I arrived at the VILLA QUISISANA vacation apartment. The owner of the apartment was waiting for us there. I entered and was very impressed. A brand new place, wonderfully maintained, a well-equipped kitchenette (and we used the kitchen), a luxurious bed, a TV, air conditioning and everything that a vacation apartment should have and the view, oh the view, the Atena and the sea in front of your eyes. A pleasure!
So how do you get to the main street of Taormina? I asked the handsome, ruinous Christian, the owner of the apartment.
No problem, you go down the stairs until you reach the center. That’s it.
It is not recommended to get around the town itself with a car. There is simply no parking. There is a bus that passes all the time, or you can get around on foot or by taxi.
So we went down the stairs, it was really nice, but we had to go back up them. 217 steps. Believe me. I felt every single one of them.
The main street in Taormina is called Corso Amberto and has two gates, one at each end. The northern entrance is called Porta Messina and the southern one is Porta Catania. In between you will find a variety of beautiful buildings, such as edifices, two- and three-story houses with flowery balconies and many, many, many, shops for wealthy tourists. Taormina is relatively expensive compared to the other places we visited.
We watched the stunning view, walked back and forth, went into shops, galleries, and cafes, and climbed upstairs to catch up on sleep for the next day.
The second day in Taormina began with a drive up the winding road to the village of Castelloma.
Castellammare del Golfo is a small village with a fortress above it that protected Taormina. Stroll through the alleys, admire the intoxicating view, breathe fresh air and enjoy the tranquility. Buy souvenirs here and there and finally sit in the pizzeria across from the church for a good breakfast/lunch.
Isola Bella is a beach below Taormina where tiny islands stick out of the water.
This is a stunningly beautiful beach but the downside is that you can’t find parking in October!!! So imagine what goes on there in July and August. I drove back and forth on the coastal road without success. Finally I parked at one of the hotels, went inside the courtyard above the beach and watched these beautiful sights from there.
Know that there is a cable car from Taormina to the beach and back. This will solve your parking problem. Since we didn’t bring swimsuits from Israel anyway, we gave up swimming in the sea and were content with the magnificent view.
In the evening we went down all the stairs again to the main street of Taormina. At this point I felt that at this pace I would represent Israel in the Olympics… Next to the church, in front of the clock tower, I peeked inside one of the restaurants and was amazed by the grandeur and splendor. Usually it’s not my style, but it’s not every day you come across a restaurant like this.
We went up the stairs to the third floor and I looked at all the luxurious floors. On the roof terrace we were welcomed as if Onassis and Jackie Kennedy had arrived.
We weren’t hungry, Eric ordered whiskey and I ordered a non-alcoholic cocktail. The waiter brought Eric the entire bottle to smell and approve, and I got the most expensive cocktail ever, and next to it they brought a 3-tiered serving stand with cookies. I think that’s the only refreshment that cost them more than my cocktail.
Recommended for a romantic visit. On one side the sea, on the other the mountain, background music from the street below and an atmosphere of freedom. A pleasure.
The truth is, Taormina’s specialty shops are in the alleys and not on the main street. Look at how beautiful this shop is, Don Corleone, for example.
Sicily in general and Taormina in particular are full of ceramic shops. Giant vases shaped like heads, beautiful trees that symbolize fertility, and many more dishes. At some point, it all comes out of nowhere and you walk past these shops without batting an eyelid, but this shop is one of a kind, the designs are different, special, beautiful. I bought a small cup home as a souvenir because who can carry a giant head all the way to the country, and I bought prints of two paintings by this artist. This is definitely a shop worth visiting.
Taormina is full of restaurants, unfortunately I can’t recommend one because my husband Eric was a keen cook. We sampled all the delicatessens, butchers and supermarkets and I enjoyed all the meals he prepared for me in our lovely apartment up the 217 steps.
The next day we went on a trip to Mount Etna, the highest volcano in Europe. Up until then, I had only seen it from my room window, and that was enough for me.
A 40-minute drive (write to Boyz and you’ll arrive without a problem) All the way I prayed that the site would be closed because what am I doing climbing a mountain and a volcano… listen to Israel. Unfortunately, it didn’t happen. Just because I didn’t want to disappoint Eric, I did everything I never do: everything that moves my two feet off the solid ground. From the parking lot we took the cable car up for about 20 minutes, from there another ten minutes in SUVs to the mouth of the mountain. Imagine that it wasn’t the highest mouth and my balls froze.. In short, we got from sea level to 2950 meters in less than an hour!!!
The weather there is freezing. You have to dress really well, scarf style, coat, wool hat. Rising above the clouds, circling the crater of a volcano from which smoke comes out and the view? There is no such thing. Despite all the steam, I eventually confessed to Eric that he did not give me up the dubious pleasure of visiting an active volcano.
This entire tour cost around 60 euros per person. I think it’s a stunning attraction for kids: both a cable car and an all-terrain vehicle, both being above the clouds and seeing the crater of a volcano.
We returned in the afternoon tired but satisfied and prepared for our last night in Taormina which included, unsurprisingly, an opera performance.
We invited him from Israel, dressed nicely, and went down to the main street. We entered a very nice hall and I kind of hid in the back so I would have an escape route but… it turns out that the place was booked and after some respect the usher moved us to the second row, meaning I was lucky. Luckily the opera was light with a selection of more and less well-known songs and in the middle there was a champagne break to cool off. On several occasions the singer made me laugh and I almost got Eric. That was my fear… in the end he held out. I left and never stopped going down on the show, but he who laughs last laughs. Since I came back I haven’t stopped listening to operas on YouTube.
We ended the night at our apartment owner’s coveted nightclub, which is also, you wouldn’t believe, located on the main street of Taormina. A charming club decorated in a chic contemporary style that houses all the who’s who of Taormina, Sicily, and Italy. Again, I ordered a cocktail without a cocktail, and it was delicious and on the house, with plenty of refreshments around, which is really cool!
