First impressions of Taormina – Exploring Eastern Sicily, Part 1

Italy has been a favourite destination of ours ever since we started exploring Europe a decade ago. We have visited Italy thrice since then as the long list of blog posts on the Italy section of my page will show and we are always up for exploring more of this beautiful and varied country whenever given a chance. So when it came to selecting a destination for our Indian Summer / European Spring trip in 2025, Italy was always on the back of our mind.

Sicily has always interested me since a young age having read stories about the mafia that ruled the island for a long time & the looming presence of one of the most active volcanoes on the planet, Mt Etna being on the Italian island. While Mt Etna is still there spewing smoke and lava ever so often the influence of the mafia has gone from overt to covert. As an added bonus public transportation in Sicily has improved a lot in the past decade making the island a safe place for tourism and easy to get around using only public transport.( As safe as an island with an active volcano can be!)

Spring in Sicily is the ideal time to visit as the temperatures are mild and the tourist numbers lesser. Overall Sicily gets only a fraction of the tourists that the mainland gets anyway, making it a perfect destination for us. As we researched for places we would like to visit in Sicily we realised that there were far too many for us to cover on a single trip ( We have given up zooming through places and like to linger at a place longer nowadays). So we decided to concentrate only on the Eastern part of the island this time and leave the rest for another trip for a later date (hopefully!).

Once we had decided on the Eastern part of Sicily as our next destination the itinerary fell into place quickly. Catania provided the perfect airport to fly into with good connecting flights from and to Mumbai. After researching the travel modalities by public transport we chose the resort town of Taormina, the historic island of Ortigia in the city of Syracuse, the Renaissance town of Noto and the  pretty hill town of Ragusa (in that order) as the places we would be based in on our trip. The connections between the towns were workable and didn’t require any doubling back. We also added a night in the city of Catania on our way out since our flight was an early morning one and there was no reliable way to reach the airport in time from anywhere else.

Having a long term valid Schengen visa made the planning easier as we didn’t have to check when the next visa appointment dates were available. We booked our flights, internal train and bus tickets & rooms in small B & Bs in the historic parts of the town well in advance once our dates and itinerary was set. Soon it was time for us to take a break from our professional schedules and set off for our vacation to Sicily and we were excited to be headed back to Italy again.

I have to mention the surprisingly pleasant experience at Mumbai airport this time as we zoomed through the baggage drop, security check and immigration formalities in less than an hour! Mumbai airport has long frustrated me for the ultra long queues everywhere and finishing all formalities in minimum time with no fuss was a welcome change – hope it continues to be like this!

Happy us after finishing all formalities at the airport in record time!

The T2 terminal at Mumbai airport

The better half uses all the time we saved to take a quick nap before boarding !

Our Lufthansa flight to Munich was on time and uneventful. Our experience at Munich airport was also a great one as there was no line or waiting at the passport check. In no time we were at the gate for our flight to Catania which was in 3 hours. We freshened up and ate the egg rolls we had made and brought from Mumbai as an early lunch before we boarded our flight to Catania.

At Munich Airport waiting for our flight to Catania

Our flight to Catania was uneventful except for an aborted landing attempt due to unfavourable wind conditions. Thankfully those didn’t persist for long and soon we were safely on the ground in Catania. Our luggage arrived and we then proceeded to the bus station outside the airport where we went and bought tickets for the next bus to Taormina which runs hourly from the airport during the day.

I was worried having read some bad reviews about the buses in Sicily. Thankfully those reviews were not accurate for our visit as we smoothly got into our bus to Taormina & I never had a problem or encountered a rude bus driver on the entirety of the trip. We reached Taormina bus terminal and started towards the Porta Messina Gate of the old town.

Walking from the bus terminal to Porta Messina

Our B&B Evelyne had very thoughtfully sent us directions of how to reach the B&B situated in the labyrinthine lanes of Taormina. However I misinterpreted a turn and promptly got lost! Thankfully the offline maps I had downloaded came to the rescue and soon we were at our B& B

Getting lost in the pretty lanes of Taormina

Our host showed us to our room which would be our home for the next 3 days and explained to us the house rules. She also gave us some great recommendations about when to visit the popular places to avoid the crowd & for places to eat, which would all turn out to be excellent. We then took a long hot shower to drain away the tiredness of our long journey and rested for an hour before setting off to explore Taormina.

The pretty but quiet lane in Taormina where B&B Evelyne was located

Taormina is known to be uncomfortably crowded during the mid day hours so we decided to head to the Public Gardens which were very close to the B & B as I was sure there would be lesser people there and I was correct. The gardens which have some of the best panoramic views over Mt Etna and the Sicilian coastline below were not crowded at all.

The panoramic views over Mt Etna on the right and the coast below

Our first (of many) selfie with Mt Etna at the public gardens in Taormina

We walked around this green lung of Taormina which were originally the private property of a Scottish noblewoman who moved here in the late 1800s and commissioned these gardens and Villas inside which are still standing today (though under restoration). The gardens are under the care of the city Municipality since 1922 and are filled with as many locals as tourists, all enjoying the view and peace. We walked around and took lots of photos in the beautifully maintained gardens before selecting a bench with a view and enjoying the beauty on display.

Various parts of the Villa Communale inside the Public Gardens of Taormina

An interesting bronze statue in the garden is of a couple of Angels dressed in modern clothing sitting on a bench relaxing. This statue called “Angels of our Time” by Peter Guidi seemed to blend perfectly in these gardens – a mix of the new and the old, like the modern town of Taormina itself.

Angels of our Time – by Peter Guidi in the Public Gardens of Taormina

After enjoying the gardens for a while we stepped out and decided to visit some of the main squares and churches in town. We knew it would be full of people and not ideal for photography – but it would give us the lay of the land so that we didn’t waste time when we went on our customary early morning walk around town the next morning.

A view of the public gardens in Taormina from the other entrance

We then made our way to the most picturesque square of town – the Piazza IX Aprile which has a chessboard like floor tiles throughout and surrounded by beautiful buildings all around. It also has great views over the coastline. As expected there were a lot of people on the square enjoying the atmosphere so we just took a cursory photo of the square and the castle and Church above which we planned to hike to on the coming days.

Piazza IX Aprile on a sunny spring afternoon in Taormina

Cacti and trees on the cliffs below Taormina from Piazza IX Aprile

We took the opportunity to visit the Church of St Joseph also called the Purgatory Church on the square. As usual while the square was filled with people there was no one in this beautifully decorated Church right on that very square, something I have never really understood. I wasn’t complaining. European churches, small and large are a photographers delight and I enjoyed myself before we did our church routine of sitting in the pews for a few minutes.

The interiors of the Church of St Joseph / Purgatory Church in Taormina

We then stepped back outside and took a photo of the people filled Piazza from the steps of the Church before moving on.

Piazza IX Aprile and the Ionian Sea beyond from the steps of the Purgatory Church

We then went to the next square which is the Piazza Duomo or the Cathedral Square. In most towns the Cathedral is the centre point of old town but in Taormina the Cathedral is at one end of town and very subdued in appearance as compared to other grand cathedrals in Italy. You can mistake it for a Norman fort with ramparts till you notice the Cross on top. The other dominating structure in that square is a fountain built when the city was under Spanish rule in the 1600s.

The Piazza Duomo in Taormina with the fortress like Cathedral & the fountain

The Piazza Duomo from the Cathedral end – very subdued as compared to Piazza IX Aprile

We went inside the Cathedral which is as austere inside as it is outside. The most impressive structures are the monolithic marble pillars mostly assumed to have been taken from the Greco Roman Theatre ( We would be visiting it the next day). It also has a wooden roof which is plain but impressive in its own way.

The interiors of the Duomo in Taormina with the monolithic marble pillars

The wooden roof & simple altar of the Duomo in Taormina

We finished our church routine in the Duomo and continued on out of the second gate on the other end of Taormina the Porta Catania. There was a small park here which had still more views of what else- Mount Etna! It was a perfect place to end our walk and sit for sometime and enjoy the views with a cool breeze blowing.

The view from the small park outside Porta Catania at Taormina

The better half poses with the volcano spewing smoke in the background

Happy us after our initial walk exploring the old town of Taormina

We then headed to a small place called Antica Rosticceria Da Cristina which the B&B owner had recommended for their Arancini – Typical Sicilian Fried Rice balls which has variety of fillings. We bought one filled with Ragu ( Italian meat sauce) for myself and one Norma ( Sicilian Speciality with Eggplant and Ricotta) for the better half. The arancini were piping hot, huge and delicious, couldn’t ask for anything more after our walk.

Arancini from Da Cristina in Taormina – Delicious!

With our tummies full we returned to our B & B as the long travel was catching up with us. We promptly got on the bed & fell asleep for a couple of hours to recharge our batteries.

Outside the main door of our B&B Evelyne in Taormina

We went out in the evening just to eat again at Da Cristina where we bought a couple of their great tavern styled square pizzas – one topped with potatoes, onions and cheese , the other with ham and I had my first local beer to wash it down. We returned to the B & B without lingering anywhere because we wanted to get a good nights sleep so that we can explore Taormina at its best.

The better half takes photos of the souvenirs on display on the Main Street –  Corso Umberto

Having an early dinner again at Da Cristina – our favourite place in Taormina

Any popular tourist destination is best explored at dawn when the streets are empty and there is almost no tourist in sight. We hoped that the skies would stay clear like they were that day and the prediction was for a nice sunny day too.

It had been a great first day in Sicily and we hoped that it would continue to be like that for the duration of the trip. Whether the weather predictions would be correct for the next day and how our morning walk around Taormina would go is topic for another post some other time, some other day.

Till then,

Ciao!