What to see in Taormina for a day

Taormina is a small town located in Sicily perched on a cliff overlooking the Ionian Sea. Besides, it is about 7 kms from Giardini Naxos, a seaside resort where there are several beaches within walking distance.

I was assigned as Tour Escort for this shore excursion in Italy when I worked as crew member of a cruise ship. We arrived to Giardini Naxos by tender boat from our ship which was placed in the middle of the sea, then we went by bus towards a bus station and from there, we took a public bus to the downtown in Taormina. The ride took for about one hour and a half, it might be subject to delay due to traffic.

Once we arrived to the downtown, we started the guided walking tour, the streets are picturesque with buildings in Medieval style. Taormina is known because of its handicraft art which consists on a colourful male head made of ceramic, some of them are hanging at the balconies and others are represented into flowerpots.

The legend says that many centuries ago, a lady found out that her beloved husband was cheating on her. Then, she decided to take revenge by cutting his head, then, it became her “war trophy”. Also, the medusa is represented through pottery. Souvernir shops are full of medusas and colourful male heads while you walk along its ancient and narrow streets…Oops!! I forgot to mention the Limoncello, an Italian lemon liquor and some typical pastries 😉

The legendary ¨war trophy¨ represented in flowerpot.

Greek-Roman Theatre.

Around the Main Square there are historical buildings such as the Palazzo Corvaja, the Cathedral and the Corso Umberto. While exploring the town, you will see typical houses as well as some boutique hotels which used to be mansions centuries ago, one of them is the Belmond Hotel. Next to that hotel, there is the Greek-Roman Theatre (in Italian, Anfiteatro Greco Romano) which was built by the Greeks. Nowadays, both local and international artists make performances there. Besides, it offers beautiful views of Mount Etna and the coast line.

On the opposite end of Via Teatro Greco, there is the Roman Odeon, which is smaller than the Greek Theatre and has the same architecture. It was built by the Romans.

Not only Italy is known because of its glorious Roman Empire which buildings remain nowadays in cities like Rome, but Italy is also known because of its picturesque and busy seaside towns like Taormina where I would like to spend the weekend or Easter with my loved ones. Are you willing to escape from the stressful city to spend the weekend at a seaside town? 🙂