Taormina stands on a terrace of Monte Tauro above the Ionian coast of Sicily, between Messina and Catania, with Etna, Europe's tallest active volcano, filling the view to the southwest. The town is small enough for a day, and it makes a base for the volcano, the Alcantara valley and the coast below.
The climb to Etna's summit from the south side, with its cable car, is on Italy's list. This page covers the rest: the ancient theatre, the cable car down to Mazzarò and Isola Bella, the free sights and Florence Trevelyan's garden, the castle and Castelmola, ancient Naxos, the Alcantara gorges, Etna's quieter north side from Piano Provenzana, and the wines grown on the volcano.
Be at the gate of Taormina's ancient theatre at 9:00
Teatro Antico di Taormina
1 to 2 hoursBook ahead
Through the gaps in a Roman stage wall you see the coast and Etna, in Sicily's most visited archaeological site.
What it is
Taormina's theatre is the second largest ancient theatre in Sicily after Syracuse, its seating more than 100 metres across. A Hellenistic theatre stood here from about the 3rd century BC, but most of what you see is the Roman rebuild of the 2nd century AD, under Trajan or Hadrian, and later the orchestra was turned into an arena and the stage removed. Through the gaps in the brick stage wall you see the coast and Etna.
How to do it
Tickets cost €12, €6 reduced, and it opens daily 9:00 to 19:45, last entry 19:00.
Good to know
Come early: from January to 30 November 2025 it had 1,053,151 visitors, the most of any archaeological site in Sicily. In summer 2026 it stayed open until midnight on fixed dates, and it hosts the annual Taormina Film Fest.
Time needed
1 to 2 hours
Best time
At 9:00, when the gate opens, or on a summer evening opening
Ride the cable car down to Mazzarò and cross to Isola Bella
Mazzarò and Isola Bella
An afternoonNo booking needed
A cable car drops 170 metres to the beaches, near an island on an isthmus the tide can cover.
What it is
Taormina sits on its terrace and the beaches lie below. Just south of Mazzarò, Isola Bella is joined to the beach by a short isthmus that the tide can cover. Once called the island of Santo Stefano, it was bought in 1890 by Florence Trevelyan, who planted rare trees there; after the war the Bosurgi family of Messina built a villa with rooms hidden in the rock. Since 1998 it has been a nature reserve run by the University of Catania.
How to do it
The link is the ASM cable car, 725 metres long with a drop of 170 metres, from the town to Mazzarò. Cars run every 15 minutes from 8:00, until 01:30 in summer and 20:00 in winter, and since 1 August 2026 cost €8 one way, €15 return or €20 for a day. Entry to Isola Bella costs €5, €2.50 reduced.
Good to know
It reopened on 20 June 2026 after months closed, and no hours are published.
Do Taormina for free: the Odeon, the baths and Trevelyan's garden
Corso Umberto and the Villa Comunale
2 to 3 hoursFree
A small Roman theatre and baths that cost nothing, then a garden of follies an Englishwoman built to watch birds and take tea.
What it is
After the theatre, the rest of Taormina's sights along Corso Umberto cost nothing. The Villa Comunale, the public gardens, began as Hallington Siculo, the private garden of Florence Trevelyan, an Englishwoman who settled in Taormina in 1884. She filled the steep slope with imported plants and with follies built from stone, brick, pipes and salvage, which she called the hives and used to watch birds and take her tea. A pioneer of bird protection, she made her heirs promise not to kill wild birds on her land. After her death in 1907 the town took the garden over.
How to do it
The Odeon, a small Roman theatre, is free and open from 9:00 until an hour before sunset, and the Roman baths are free too. Then walk down to the Villa Comunale.
Good to know
Its terraces give shade at midday and views down the coast.
Time needed
2 to 3 hours
Best time
Late morning after the theatre; the gardens at midday, for the shade
Two lookouts above Taormina, from a castle on its rock at almost 400 metres to a crag village higher still.
What it is
Two lookouts rise above Taormina. The castle of Monte Tauro stands on its rock at almost 400 metres, on the lower acropolis of Greek and Roman Tauromenion; it was probably first fortified under the Byzantines against the Arabs. From the top you see the Strait of Messina to the north and the Alcantara valley and Etna to the south. Higher still is Castelmola, a village of about a thousand people on a crag that may have been the real acropolis. Its main square, Piazza Sant'Antonino, has a viewpoint over the coast and Taormina, and a path climbs to the ruins of its castle.
How to do it
Entry to the castle costs €10, €5 reduced, from 10:00 until sunset every day of the year. Go up to Castelmola on ASM's Linea Verde bus, €2 a ride or €3.50 for a day.
Walk ancient Naxos, the first Greek colony in Sicily
Parco archeologico di Naxos, Giardini Naxos
1 to 2 hoursNo booking needed
The oldest Greek city in Sicily, founded a year before Syracuse on a headland of old lava, and razed in 403 BC.
What it is
Below Taormina, on the low headland of Capo Schisò at Giardini Naxos, lies the oldest Greek city in Sicily. Ancient writers agree that Naxos was founded in 734 BC, a year before Syracuse, by settlers from Chalcis in Euboea and from the island of Naxos, and the headland itself is an old lava flow. The colonists raised an altar to Apollo Archegetes, the god under whom they had sailed, and envoys on sacred missions between Sicily and Greece sacrificed there, a custom kept long after the city fell. In 403 BC Dionysius of Syracuse took it through treachery, sold its people as slaves and razed the walls and houses. Much of the site was never built on again, and an on-site museum holds the finds.
Wade the icy river through the basalt columns of the Alcantara
Gole dell'Alcantara, Motta Camastra
Half a dayNo booking needed
Lava from Etna cooled fast in the river and cracked into five- and six-sided columns, with walls up to about 25 metres.
What it is
The Alcantara gorges were not cut by the river alone. Basalt lava from Etna, in flows of roughly the last 8,000 years, filled the riverbed and cooled fast in the water, cracking into five- and six-sided columns, and the river later wore its way through them. The walls rise up to about 25 metres, with columns of up to 30. The best known stretch, at Motta Camastra, is about 400 metres long and in places under 2 metres wide, with a small beach at its mouth.
How to do it
There are two ways down, both on the SS185: the cheap municipal staircase of about 240 steps, and the private botanical and geological park, with lifts, which costs more and opens only in season, so check its site before you go. Buses run to the gorges from Taormina and Giardini Naxos.
Good to know
The water is icy all year, so bring river shoes.
Time needed
Half a day
Best time
A hot day between April and October, early or late
Go up Etna's quieter north side from Piano Provenzana
Piano Provenzana, Linguaglossa
3 to 5 hours with a guideBook ahead
By 4x4 to 2,800 metres, then about an hour and a half on foot to summit craters at around 3,300 metres.
What it is
Etna's north side starts at Piano Provenzana, 1,800 metres up above Linguaglossa, and it is quieter and harder than the south. There is no cable car: authorised 4x4s drive the Pista Altomontana, and a Linguaglossa ordinance allows excursions only with qualified guides and stops the 4x4s whenever ash or lapilli fall.
How to do it
The Gruppo Guide Etna Nord summit trek leaves at 8:30, rides to 2,800 metres, then walks about an hour and a half to the summit craters at around 3,300 metres. It takes about five hours and costs from €120 per adult plus €60 for the 4x4, with a minimum of 8 people and nobody under 10. The easy option is a three-hour walk to the craters of the 2002 eruption, on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays, from €20.
Good to know
When the alert rises to pre-alarm, the summit zone closes to everyone.
Time needed
3 to 5 hours with a guide
Best time
An early start in settled weather, after checking the INGV alert level
Taste Nerello Mascalese and Carricante grown on the volcano
Etna DOC vineyards, north slope
Half a dayBook ahead
Sicily's first DOC, with vines between about 450 and 1,100 metres on fast-draining soil of broken-down lava and ash.
What it is
Etna became Sicily's first DOC wine area in 1968. Its vineyards climb the north, east and south slopes between about 450 and 1,100 metres, in soil made of broken down lava, ash and sand that drains fast and is rich in minerals. The height brings big swings in temperature between day and night, and the grapes ripen on a different calendar from the rest of Sicily. Etna Rosso is built on Nerello Mascalese, with Nerello Cappuccio in the blend, and Etna Bianco must be at least 60% Carricante. The top white, Etna Bianco Superiore, needs at least 80% Carricante and can only come from the commune of Milo, on the east slope at 900 to 1,100 metres.
How to do it
On the north side, Linguaglossa, Castiglione di Sicilia and Randazzo are among the communes of the DOC.
Go up Etna's south side to the summit area with a guide
Catania, Sicily
A full day from CataniaBook ahead
Ride and walk up the south side of an active volcano to around 3,000 metres, with a guide for the upper slopes.
What it is
Etna is a 3,403-metre active volcano whose height keeps changing as its summit craters erupt, so treat any figure on a sign as approximate. The usual route is the south side from Rifugio Sapienza, at about 1,920 metres. The cable car climbs to 2,500 metres; from there 4x4 buses in summer, tracked vehicles in winter, continue to about 2,800 metres, and the operator's Tour 3000 adds a short walk with a volcanological guide to around 3,000 metres.
How to do it
To hike the upper slopes you must have a guide, and the longer guided treks across the summit area take four to five hours. Without a car, AST bus 607 runs once a day from Catania's bus station to Sapienza, about two hours each way, so take the morning bus.
Good to know
Dress for cold wind and sleet even in summer, and check conditions that morning.
Most visitors arrive through Catania airport. Taormina-Giardini station, on the coast line between Messina and Catania, sits below the town, and the ASM Linea Verde bus links it with the centre and with Castelmola. Giardini Naxos, at sea level, is the easiest base if you want the beach and no parking worries.
Cars and parking
The centre is a limited traffic zone, closed to cars for most of the day. The Lumbi car park has 965 spaces and is open 24 hours, at €20 a day in low season and €30 in high season, with a shuttle from 6:30, up to every 15 minutes, to Piazza San Pancrazio, 30 metres from the Corso. The Porta Catania car park charges €25 and €34. If you are not driving to Etna or the Alcantara, leave the car behind.
When to go
November to March is the quietest time, with low season parking rates and the last cable car at 20:00; the cable car usually closes for maintenance in January, with a replacement bus. From April to October high season rates apply. In summer the cable car runs until 01:30 and the theatre opens until midnight on fixed dates. The municipal entrance to the Alcantara gorges opens roughly from April to October.
How long to stay
One day covers the town: the theatre, the Odeon, the Roman baths, Corso Umberto, the public gardens, the castle and an afternoon by the sea. Add a day for the beaches or an evening opening of the theatre. Stay three nights or more only to use Taormina as a base for Etna, the Alcantara, Catania and Syracuse.
Questions travellers ask
Can you visit Etna from Taormina?
Yes, as a day out, by car or on a tour. The south side starts at Rifugio Sapienza above Nicolosi, with the cable car and the most services. The north side starts at Piano Provenzana, 1,800 metres up above Linguaglossa, with no cable car; there, a municipal ordinance allows excursions only with qualified guides.
How do you get from Taormina down to the beach?
Take the ASM cable car from the town to Mazzarò. Cars leave every 15 minutes from 8:00, with the last one at 01:30 in summer and 20:00 in winter. Since 1 August 2026 a single costs €8, a return €15 and a day ticket €20.
Is Isola Bella open?
It reopened on 20 June 2026 after months of closure, and entry costs €5, or €2.50 reduced. The park lists it as accessible every day but publishes no hours, and the short isthmus to the island depends on the tide, so check before you plan a day around it.
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