We're spending two full days in Taormina this coming May. We plan to spend a full day exploring the town (and of course the Greek theater), but we're looking for something to fill our second day with. Later in the trip we'll be heading south and spending time in Siracusa and the Baroque cities around Noto then looping west and ultimately finishing up in Palermo. We've been to central and northern Italy many times before and we'll have a car. We have no desire to go up to Etna, but we love beautiful towns and vistas, historic churches, wine and food. We're not massive lay on the beach people, but we do like to hike. One idea that I'm tossing around in my head is to use the second day to head over to Cefalu (its already on the itinerary as a potential day trip from Palermo towards the end of our trip). I'd love your thoughts and suggestions!
Posted by
Chicago
1944 posts
It's been 8+ years since we spent 4 nights in Taormina, but I can't imagine that much has changed.
Yes, you can easily walk to the Teatro Greco whenever you like, it's probably 5 minutes on foot from Corso Umberto, the main drag. We took one private excursion through the tour company Sicily Life, and this was their Godfather tour, which takes you to the medieval villages of Castelmola, Forza d'Agro & Savoca, the latter the location of 'Bar Vitelli', where Michael Corleone asks Apollonia's father for her hand in marriage in the first Godfather movie from 1972.
Near there, we had found out there were some creepy catacombs, where heads of the town, when they passed on over the last 200 or so years, were mummified, painted, dressed, and propped up in alcoves for all to see. Very bizarre, and we saw it on a foggy, rainy day, which made the whole scene even creepier.
All kinds of weird things to see in Sicily.
Posted by
Washington DC Region, USA
7049 posts
Taormina is tiny so it shouldn't take you more than one full day, but it would be nice to have the second day free to see what it's like after the crowds departed (either early AM or late at night). But if you like to hike, then there's a small town above Taormina called Castelmola. That would be a good hike. Another alternative may be to go to nearby Giardini Naxos on the water. I would not use Taormina as a base for Cefalu because Palermo makes a better (closer) base, especially if going by train from Palermo.
Posted by
Portland, OR
1090 posts
Taormina is a world class destination. I would just stay there and soak in the town. We went up to Castelmola one day for lunch at the La Taverna Dell Etna. It was an incredible meal and wonderful way to spend the afternoon.
Posted by
WA State
3961 posts
Love Taormina! We were there 4 years ago. We spent two nights and wished we had more time to soak in the beauty, cuisine and history. It was the last destination of our guided tour. That said, afterwards we headed to Ortigia on our own and spent 5 nights in a charming B & B. We also visited the amazing baroque towns of Noto, Ragusa and Modica. Highly recommend spending quality time in Siracusa/Ortigia. It's magical!
Posted by
Washington DC
27104 posts
Catania has a handsome historic district and a lively market (but you may be doing at least one market in Palermo).
A Sicilian I met at Monreale recommended the coastal town of Acireale to me; he said it was not so very touristy. Acireale is on the coast between Taormina and Catania. I never managed to get there, but the photos on the internet look encouraging. You could split the day between Acireale and Catania. Do Catania first if you're interested in the market.
Personally, I was ready to leave Taormina after a very few hours because of the extreme crowds (like St-Paul-de-Vence, if you've ever been there), so I think staying out of the high-traffic areas during day-trip/port-call hours on your second day is a good plan. At least have ideas about what you can do on that day if you're ready to escape.
I agree that Cefalu is so easy to visit from Palermo (by train) that it wouldn't be among my top considerations from Taormina.
The previously-mentioned bus tour sounds like a good possibility, though I haven't been to that area. I like to get to smaller places, but it can be slow going if you're trying to use public buses.
Posted by
11156 posts
Sicily Life offers many tours out of Taormina. Cefalu is a bit too far for a day trip. Taormina gets mobbed by cruise ship tours during the day so a day trip out of town a good idea. We also took the gondola in Taormina down to the beach, no large crowds there.. We were there the end of October.