Taormina, Sicily

[pestaloon]

Just booked a hotel for seven nights in Taormina in August and wondered if anyone had any recommendations for things to do, restaurants etc? Going to be very hot I imagine so expecting we will be having siestas over the hottest part of the day. Just me and DH, no kids!

great choice. Have been there loads with the kids. It’s small & very family friendly all restaurants & café accommodate the little ones
there is one Main Street with everything else off it
Boat trips
cable car to beach
get sun cream it’s fierce hot
amphitheatre ruins
gelato cafes
its v compact and v safe
we stayed here

The most interesting attraction we visited was Casa Cuseni which is an interesting house where many artists and writers have stayed. There's an original Picasso there. Greta Garbo is supposed to have uttered her famous words, "I want to be alone," in the house.
It's not open all the time and you need to book.
The amphitheatre is spectacular too.

Oh I misread, no kids!
in that case still plenty little restaurants and cafe
boat trips
beach
amphitheatre
There’s a little mini mart at end of Corso Umberto just up the hill for snacks,wine etc.

There are loads of restaurants in Taormina. You have to pay a visit to Tiramisu (if it still exists). It is renowned for well you can probably guess.

Day trip to the Aeolian Islands, Vulcano had lovely mud baths (v strong sulphuric smell though). Climb Mount Etna, walk around Syracuse and see the ancient temples. Absolutely adored our time there.

Thank you!! Googling lots of these. Any other tips please share - not for months yet but it's been raining all day and planning it all makes me happy!

Taormina is beautiful but not that big and is really a tourist town. My advice would be to hire a car for a few days. There are car hire places in Taormina.

Take a day to go to Mt Etna. Another to visit Syracuse and the catacombs. Maybe another to drive inland and see the real rural Sicily. Enna is spectacular as is Villa Romana del Casale. You will pass numerous small towns along the way. Stop somewhere, get a coffee and people watch for a bit.

Have a drink on the terrace of the Grand Hotel Timeo. It's close to the ampitheatre and the terraces go down to the sea & the view of Etna is superb.
It will cost you a bomb - 10 years ago a glass of wine was 15 euros(!!) but I have never had a drink in such an amazing place!

If there is a concert at the amphitheatre you must go! Such an amazing setting.

Etna! Just take closed in shoes you can clean and don't mind volcanic dust in. You'll need a light jacket with you too, pretty cold at the top. I didn't and the dust is sharp if you get it in sandals

Syracuse is brilliant too, you might be best to hire a car to get there, but public transport does exist. Best of all in Taormina is the people watching, sit in a cafe with a view and watch the world go by. It's pretty stylish btw, we encountered the Italian film awards by chance and there were very beautiful people everywhere, apparently a famous footballer brushed past me but I was oblivious (two young ladies near by were jealous he touched me!)

I've not been for many years but Taormina is beautiful. We went up Etna, that was really good but as another poster said, don't take light coloured shoes, they get covered in the dust.
The amphitheater is also interesting to see and I'd have loved to have seen a concert there. Simply red were actually playing while we were there and my mum is a big fan but we couldn't get tickets.
Have a great time!

Take the cable-car down to the beach at Mazzaro, it is absolutely stunning! You do have to pay for sunloungers (I think it was €20 each per day 5 years ago) but well worth it with great service, drinks & food brought to you, ashtrays emptied etc. Isola Bella beach just around the corner is also beautiful.

Take the bus up to Castelmola, the views of Etna there are even better than in Taormina.

Agree with pp to definitely explore the Aeolian Islands. The fast ferry goes from Milazzo which is an hour away from Taormina. If time allows do stay on Stromboli for a night or two and take a sunset boat trip out to the Sciara del Fuoco for the most unreal views of the eruptions!

Review the restaurants carefully in Taormina, we had a couple of awful meals at places which looked amazing but were just out to catch the uninformed tourist unawares!

Sicily is my most favourite place on Earth, I rarely go to the same place twice but have been 4 times now. It's gorgeous, I'm so jealous!

Watch The Godfather before you go, then do the Godfather tour when you get there!

I think the second series of White Lotus is set here. Worth a watch. It looks stunning!

OP - is this your first trip to Sicily?
I was looking at Taormina yesterday, to book for September. Never been to Sicily though so wondered should we go to Palermo first. Hard to choose as all looks amazing!

Sorry not the OP, but answering Cloud. If you're interested in Palermo, stay along the coast in beautiful Cefalu and train into Palermo to visit.

Thanks very much for that. I’ll look that up. I had just wondered if going for a first trip to Sicily then it was a given that you would visit Palermo first.

Take a taxi up to Castelmola which is a quaint little village on the cliffs above Taormina. There are some good restaurants there which are cheaper than the ones in Taormina. You can walk back down again instead of getting a taxi. It’s an interesting walk but very steep and takes about half an hour .

Yes! Excellent suggestion we did that and it was all very charming, and not as touristy, Taormina is considered expensive for Sicily so going a bit off track is cheaper

Thank you all so much!! Amazing tips here - spent most of my day googling everything.

Worried I won't be glamorous enough but I should at least have appropriate clothes for mount etna!

To the poster above - yes first time there. Love Italy and someone said Sicily is gorgeous so went for it

Just remember it’s as big as Wales, so getting to see everything would be quite an undertaking. We plan to go back to a different area next time.

@PinkPondQueen do you have any restaurant, bar or excursion recommendations without a car and 7 days in Taormina? Thanks