Start from 30 curated places around Taormina, IT, then choose the recommendations that fit your guests.
Restaurants & cafés
Bam Bar
A compact café on a side street just off Corso Umberto that locals treat as the reference point for granita in Taormina. The granitas are made with fresh fruit rather than syrups — the almond, mulberry, and pistachio versions are the ones regulars order. Breakfast here follows the Sicilian convention: granita con brioche, the soft slightly sweet bread used to scoop and eat the semifrozen granita.
Tischi Toschi
A small family-run trattoria tucked into a side alley off the main corso, carrying Gambero Rosso and Slow Food recognition for its unfussy interpretation of Sicilian cuisine. The menu changes with what's available — look for the caponata made with almonds and cocoa powder, or the whole-artichoke preparations that appear in spring. Tables are limited indoors and out, so booking ahead is not optional.
Trails & outdoors
Sentiero dei Saraceni: Taormina to Castelmola
A 4.2-kilometer out-and-back trail climbing roughly 280 meters from Piazza Duomo in Taormina up a mix of stone steps, dirt paths, and old mule tracks to the village of Castelmola above. The trail passes the ruins of the 10th-century Chiesa di San Biagio midway and opens onto views of Etna and the full sweep of the Naxos bay as it gains elevation. Castelmola sits at 529 meters and has a small piazza, Bar Turrisi, and a ruined Arab castle at the summit.
Taormina–Castelmola via Casteltauro
An alternative route from Taormina up to Castelmola that passes through the Casteltauro area rather than the more direct Sentiero dei Saraceni, covering a 7.1-kilometer loop with broader views along its traversing path. The trail climbs steadily through terraced gardens, old stone walls, and open hillside with Etna visible for most of the route. It's notably less crowded than the Saraceni path and offers more varied terrain.
Things to do
Teatro Antico di Taormina – Summer Performances
The ancient theatre becomes a live performance venue each summer from June through September, hosting concerts, opera, theatre, and film screenings against the backdrop of the lit columns and the darkened outline of Etna. The venue is managed by the Taormina Arte festival organization and draws an international program. Seeing a live performance here — with the night sky, the volcano, and the Ionian visible beyond the stage — is categorically different from a daytime visit to an empty ruin.
Isola Bella Snorkeling
The marine protected area around Isola Bella supports one of the more accessible snorkeling spots on Sicily's Ionian coast, with sea-grass meadows, rocky ledges, and clear water hosting starfish, sea bass, octopus, and schools of bream. Equipment can be rented at the beach or brought independently; organized guided snorkeling tours also depart from the beach and from Giardini-Naxos harbor. Access is directly from the beach or via boat for the deeper eastern face of the island.
Landmarks & sights
Teatro Antico di Taormina
A Hellenistic theatre later expanded by the Romans, perched on the hillside with an unbroken view of Mount Etna through the columns of its ruined stage wall. Built in the 3rd century BC, it remains one of the best-preserved ancient theatres in Sicily and the only one where the volcano and sea form the natural backdrop. The theatre still hosts concerts and performances on summer evenings.
Isola Bella
A tiny rocky island and marine reserve connected to the mainland by a narrow pebble isthmus that vanishes at high tide. The shallow bay around it forms a marine protected area with transparent water, sea-grass beds, and rocky coves teeming with fish. A cable car descends from Taormina's hilltop to the beach below, making it reachable without hiking down the cliff road.