We arrived at Taormina via a 8 hour journey on a sleeper train. It wasn’t the most comfortable night that i have ever had but it was certainly functional. Fall asleep in Naples and wake up in Sicily!
Taormina is a beautiful town on the eastern edge of the island of Sicily. It is full of charming narrow streets and displays real Italian character. One of the main attractions of Taormina is a ancient Greek ampitheatre. On a clear day Mount Etna is clearly visable, an impressive back drop.
Beautiful beaches and the crystal clear sea are accessible via an aerial tramway. The Ionian sea is remarkably warm and has a high salt content. The beaches are geared towards tourists, full of deck chairs in every cove. Yet, they don’t spoil the natural beauty of the area.
I would recommend taking a short trip to visit Gole dell’Alcantara. Alcantara River Park, an extremely attractive place about 25 km Taormina, is famous for its gorges, fashioned into the rock by geological phenomena whose origins are lost in the mists of time. All this took place when, long ago, a small volcano erupted and spurted out a mass of lava that formed a huge crack. In the part of its path where there was most clay, the lava sunk to a depth that formed two large black columns of basalt that were 50 meters high.
Visiting the Alcantara Gorge, walking along a small stretch of the river bed, is a truly unique experience, but it can only be done from May to September, when the water level lowers. If you want to try out this adventure, we advise you to wear fishing boots as a safety measure and to stop you from getting cold: the river water is freezing even in summer! At other times of the year, trips there only go as far as the entrance to the gorges. The sight before you is amazing: the gorges, so black and prismatic, create wonderful reflections of light and shadows as soon as the sun hits their surface.
