Sicily

Sicily is considered to be one of the most beautiful islands in Mediterranean sea. The island is being photo shooting scene for many fashion brands and the photos below can show you why.

Lili’s 5 good-to-know tips when travelling to Sicily:

• Sicily is actually quite big island and the climate and the landscape to the north and south are completely different
• Etna is an active volcano and sometimes it causes issues with the air traffic. Of course you cannot predict this when booking your vacation, but it is good to have it in mind
• They have a traditional pastry in this part of Italy which is a must-try. It is called cannoli and its original version is made with mascarpone
• The beaches in the western part of Sicily are mostly rocky, so you should take adequate shoes
• Trains are an easy and reliable way for getting from one place to the other in Sicily. Check trenitalia.com for their schedule.

Our programme in Sicily

Sicily is a big island and there are many things you can do. I went there with a friend of mine for my one-week beach holiday. It’s true that we didn’t travel much around, so I cannot share a lot of things for the island. However, I can share our program for having a relaxed week in Sicily.

We landed at Catania airport, which is very close to the city. There is a bus service (also running until quite late at night) which costs around €3. Its final stop is the main train station.

We had booked our hotel in a small resort close to Taormina- called Letojanni. Letojanni is about an hour away from Catania by train. As we landed late in the evening, there were no trains and instead of spending €100 for taxi to the hotel, we decided to book a night in a hotel close to the train station in Catania. I can recommend the B&B apartment we stayed at – extremely conveniently located just opposite the station. Thus, we did not lose time on the next day when transferring to Letojanni.

Letojanni

Letojanni is a small family resort located 5 km north of Taormina. You will not find bars and nightlife there, but they have a lot of good family-run restaurants with delicious food at affordable prices.
We stayed at the amazing Antares hotel, which I highly recommend.

It has a convenient location in the beginning of the resort with a bus stop in front of it and the train station at just 5 mins walk. It might be difficult to find the way to get to the hotel the first time as it is located on the top of a rock, but there is an elevator taking only 2 mins to go up.

The hotel has one of the most amazing views I have ever seen. It has its own funicular which connects to a sister hotel. There is an all- inclusive option, but we choose only the B&B one and we were really satisfied. One of the best parts for me was the swimming pool located at the highest point of the complex. The view was absolutely stunning.

What to do in Letojanni?

• Beach activities

As it is a beach resort, beach activities are the main “attraction” in Letojanni. The beach is quite rocky and that is why for me the swimming pool was a better alternative. The bigger hotels (including ours) have a reserved space on the beach and you do not need to pay for beach bed and umbrella. Otherwise, the price of an umbrella and a sunbed is around €10.

• Beach promenade

You can take a long walk on the beach promenade which is quite lively in the evening. There are a lot of restaurants at the beach and also some souvenir shops.

• Visit Taormina

If you need some excitement, you can take the bus and go for a walk in Taormina which is just 10-15 mins away by bus. There are buses almost every hour during the whole day (with 1 small exception) and it costs only around €2.

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• I want to specifically dedicate some words to a very special place – Villa Garbo – amazing restaurant located at the end of Letojanni. My friend had found it before going there and she liked the pictures, so we decided to go. We booked a table in advance and it is something we recommend. Please do not be discouraged by the surroundings when following the navigation you find on Google 🙂

You will not assume that there is something that beautiful behind the walls of the place. It has a big garden where you can have your drinks while admiring the sunset above the sea. The food is so delicious and the service is a 5-star one. I have to admit that I was a bit concerned about the prices, but actually they are not much higher than what you pay in other local restaurants. You will definitely not regret going there. By the way, the place is very suitable for marriage proposals as it is super romantic :-).

A romantic dinner in the garden of Villa Garbo

Taormina

Taormina is the pearl of Sicily. Located just one hour by train/bus North of Catania, it offers quite some things to do. I was researching a lot whether we should stay in Taormina or somewhere else. If you go for a beach holiday, I do not think it is a good option. Yes, there are some hotels which are close to the beach, but the beach itself is very crowded, small and also very rocky. If you stay in the town up the hill, you need to take the lift every day.

You can reach Taormina either by train from Catania train station (there are trains almost every 2 hours) or by bus. There are buses also directly from the airport, the ride takes around 1.5 hours. Both tickets cost around €8.

What to do in Taormina?

• The ancient theater

Located just 10 mins walk from the center- on the left if you are coming through the main wall entrance. The ticket costs €10-11. It is really amazing how they had built this huge building that high on the hill. The Theater overlooks Ethna and the sea which makes the view really amazing.

• Isola Bella

The small island is located just beneath Taormina and you can easily reach it by lift. The lift runs every half an hour and it takes only 3 mins. As far as I remember, the cost of the ticket is €6 in both directions. When you get to the lower station, just get closer to the sea and then take the street on the right. After 500m you will see the island on your left.The small rocky island in Lake Maggiore is wholly occupied by the Borromeo villa and its garden extravaganza.

In fact, we wanted to spend a day on the beach, but I will not recommend. It is too crowded, there is no sand, just stones and it is also a bit overpriced.

The island used to be (and still is) a botanical garden hosting some very rare species. It is also known as the Pearl of the Ionian Sea. As I read in one of the websites, “It took four hundred years and the work of a hundred men (qualified architects, engineers, stucco workers, painters and cabinet-makers) to transform Isola Bella from a barren rock in the middle of the lake to a place of delight”.

• Walk in the old town

Actually, I’m not even sure whether there is “new” part of Taormina. Everything within the ancient walls is the old part. No need to say it is full of cute places, nice, small and romantic restaurants. On almost every corner there is a street singer who make the spirit looking as coming out of an Italian movie.

• Very typical for the tiny streets of Taormina are the local crafts. What stands out, is the so-called Maiolica pottery. It was brought to Sicily by the Arabics who taught Sicilian how to create these wonderful objects, which are nowadays real pieces of art. The name comes from the Spaniards who called the colored Sicilian ceramic objects as “maiolica”, because the firing and glazing techniques used to create these pieces were similar to those used in the Balearic Islands of Majorca.

  

You can see many different figures and different shape and color patterns. However, the most popular and fascinating ceramic objects are the Moorish Heads or how they are called in Italy- Teste di Moro. At the end of the post I have an interesting legend to share with you.

• The church

The Chiesa di San Giuseppe Catholic church is located on the main street. It is not a big one, but very often you can spot weddings full of Italian charm and romance. The location appears very often in influencers’ pics when doing cooperation with big Italian brands like Gucci, Prada, Armani.

• The viewpoint

Luckily, when I visited the place, I was all alone. It offers an amazing view- actually, one of the best ones I have ever seen. It is located just down the road from the main bus station, around 5 mins walk. From the small viewpoint terrace you can have an amazing view towards island Isola and the one next to it.

• Eat Canoli

Canoli is a pastry which is traditional for Sicily. Later on I was looking for it in the other parts of Italy, but with limited success 🙂 There are many different tastes and ways to prepare it. However, the most traditional one is with mascarpone cream. The best pastries prepare the dough on the spot just before serving the canoli in order to make the outer cover stay thick. Although I’m not a big fan of sweets, I have to admit that this one is a must-try.

There is something which stayed a “mystery” during this first visit. I could see some houses located even higher than the main part of Taormina. Most probably there is a road to them, but no bus gets there, as it is quite steep. Because the views from different parts of Taormina were really great, I presume that the view from above is even better. But this I would do next time :).

And before finishing my long description, I want to recommend one restaurant. Unfortunately, its name stays unknown as I cannot find it- neither on Tripadvisor, nor on Google Maps. It is located on stairs at the right hand side when you enter Taormina from Porta Messina.

Many people just go to the stairs in order to take photos- very picturesque. It has colorful lamps which make the area very romantic. By chance, we found out that a close friend of mine got a marriage proposal there :-). It would be great if someone can help me with the name.

Hopefully, this would be the end of the post only for now. I intend to go back to Sicily again and explore more parts of the island which I can share with you. For more Italian destinations, you can look in the section dedicated to Italy. If you are looking for inspirations for other weekend escapes in Europe, we also have some tips.

The legend about the Moorish head:

The legend dates back some when during the Moors domination in Sicily. According to the most legends, is once again Cupid’s fault (or credit).
A beautiful and honorable young girl was living in Kalsa, the arabic district of Palermo. Like every other day, she was taking care of plants and flowers on the balcony of her house. One day, a Moor merchant who was passing by, fell in love with the beautiful girl who immediately returned his love.

They started a love affair until when she discovered he already had a wife and children waiting for him in his native land. She went suddenly crazy of jealousy and one night, while he was sleeping she thought of a way to make him stay with her forever!

She therefore cut off his head and cleverly decided to use it as a vase to grow her beautiful basil plant. People walking down her balcony started looking at her flourishing plant of basil and became jealous of how bloomed her plants were, so they began to forge colorful clay heads pots wishing to have the same magic green thumb.

Today there are several varieties of ceramic heads, but the traditional ones show a black man and a beautiful girl.Whether this story has happened or not, we cannot be sure. But it is in line with the romantic atmosphere of this amazing island!