Visiting Taormina Sicily, Taormina, Italy

After a fabulous three days exploring Catania, it was time to move on to our next spot on our Sicilian adventure - Taormina. We had heard mixed reports about the place: tourists loved it, while locals and ex-pats hated it, complaining it was too busy, too touristy and very expensive. We decided to see for ourselves.

We woke up that morning in Catania to stormy grey skies. We made it as far as one of the cafes on Piazza del Duomo before the heavens opened. So we decided to drink coffee and wait for the storm to pass. According to weather reports, the weather would improve as we went further up the coast - phew!

As soon as there was a break in the rain, we made a dash to the train station for the 45-minute journey to Taormina, followed by a 10-minute taxi-ride up the hill to our home for the next three nights.

From our terrace at the guesthouse Villa Sara, we had lovely views overlooking the town of Taormina and the bay. We were looking forward to exploring our new base.

We headed first to the Corso Umberto, just to get our bearings. The Corso Umberto is the main street that runs from Porta Catania to Porta Messina and is packed with elegant boutiques, churches and cafes. It was also quite packed with tourists, and this was in the middle of Covid times and no cruise ships. What must this be like in peak season? ...... (follow the instructions below for accessing the rest of this article).