Taormina Mare Holidays

Taormina Mare, on Sicily’s east coast, is the name given to the bays below Taormina’s clifftop town centre – a two-minute cable car ride away. Down by the sea you’ll find sand and pebble beaches, backed by promenades that are dotted with bars and restaurants. Then, up above, you’ve got a Roman-Greek amphitheatre in the same breath as high-end shopping streets, like Corso Umberto I. Mount Etna bubbles away in the background all the while.

Isola Bella Bay is Taormina Mare’s main beach – it’s a pebbly patch made up of a pair of teardrop coves with glass-clear waters. The two are split by Isola Bella Island, a narrow spit where you’ll find exotic plants and seabirds like kingfishers and herons. A 10-minute walk away is Mazzaro Beach, a pebble-and-sand stretch with sunloungers and umbrellas for hire, plus beachside lidos for children.

The Roman-Greek amphitheatre in Taormina was built in the 3rd century BC, with the sea and Mount Etna stepping in to provide the natural backdrop. A short stroll away, the Porta di Mezzo clocktower signals the start of the Medieval Quarter, a maze of narrow streets filled with souvenir and craft shops. Then there’s Corso Umberto I, where the locals come to shop, socialise and drink cappuccinos.

A half-hour drive north gets you to the pretty town of Messina, home to a Norman cathedral that contains the remains of Conrad IV – ruler of Sicily in the 13th century. Catania, 40 minutes to the south, is famed for its theatrical Baroque architecture, and double the distance away is the ancient Greek city of Syracuse, where the Teatro Greco amphitheatre’s a must-see.