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Taormina

Overview: Sicily's most famous holiday resort town, Taormina, was the 19th-century haunt of British aristocracy and the place chosen by D H Lawrence to write his erotic novel, Lady Chatterley's Lover. The town boasts what is surely the most photographed view in Sicily, across the beautiful ancient Greek amphitheatre to the sea with Mount Etna in the background. Taormina today remains Sicily's favourite holiday destination with its winding medieval streets and tiny passages hiding some great restaurants, cafes and ice-cream parlours, some hidden in secluded gardens and others in pleasant squares or terraces with sea views. It is a great place to shop, too, with thousands of boutiques selling crafts, fashion, jewellery, ceramics, mosaics and porcelain dolls. A popular beach is at Giardini-Naxos, a few miles away, and a funicular connects the old town to the coastal area of Mazzaro below. The stone walls of the old city, sited on a plateau, enclose some fascinating archaeological monuments and medieval palaces including the Palazzo Santo Stefano.

Nearby Attractions

Catania The second-largest city in Sicily, Catania sits in the shadow of Europe's highest volcano, Mount Etna, on the east of Sicily between Syracuse and Taormina. Ugly, decayed and crime-ridden today, it was once called the 'city of black and white' because of the...  see full details
Mount Etna Sicily's greatest natural attraction is the very active volcano, Mount Etna, which has been spewing lava and shaking the earth for centuries, most recently in 2002. About 20 miles (32km) from Catania the craters below the summit can be reached from the town of...  see full details
Ortygia The Ponte Nuova ('New Bridge') connects the mainland city of Syracuse to the island of Ortygia, where most of the worthy sights are located. The remains of the Temple of Apollo are sited in the Piazza Pancali; this is the oldest Greek temple...  see full details
Parco Archeologico della Neapolis The archaeological park on the western edge of the city of Syracuse contains the celebrated rock-hewn Greek amphitheatre, capable of holding about 15,000 people, where Euripides and Aeschylus' works were performed in antiquity. Today Greek dramas are still played here on occasion. Inside a...  see full details