Visit the Surrounding Areas
A holiday at Hotel Villa Gaia in Taormina is the ideal place to get to know the entire eastern coast of Sicily. In fact, the town is situated in a central position on the Ionian coast between Messina and Catania. After having visited all the characteristic areas of the town, the owners of the Villa can give you good advice for your excursions and itineraries in the surrounding areas.
In less than an hour from Albergo Villa Gaia, you can visit the Cyclops Riviera, the ‘Faraglioni’ island rock formation at Acitrezza, Acicastello and all the coast covered by lava up to Catania. In a few minutes you can reach the renowned beach in the Bay of Giardini Naxos and also visit the Museum and Archaeological area.
Etna can be reached from the hotel in less than an hour – both the south and north sides – at the same time, going from sea level to a height of 2,000 metres in little time. There are many different tourist places to visit on the slopes of the Volcano, among which are Nicolosi - where a visit to the Volcanological Museum is worth a visit, Zafferana Etnea, Linguaglossa, Randazzo, Bronte. A short distance from Taormina and a few kilometers inland, you can reach the spectacle of the Alcantara River Gorge - inside the Fluvial (River) Park of the same name – where the fresh and clear water from the Nebrodi mountains, flows through a long chasm in the basalt rocks.
On the coast going towards the north in the direction of Messina, you come across the Agrò Valley – a vast area which comprises 8 towns full of history and culture. Cape Sant’Alessio with its great beach dominated by a promontory with a Castle on top; 4kms inland there is Forza d’Agrò with an evocative panorama over all of the Ionian coast to Calabria. And also worth visiting is the village of Savoca, just 18kms from Taormina and about 20 minutes by car along the seafront to Santa Teresa Riva and 5 minutes from the junction to Savoca.
A town full of history and traditions with fascinating 14th century churches, museum areas, a medieval town centre with glimpses of wonderful views, all conducted by a tourist guide with no cost to the visitor. The visit can be concluded with a lemon ‘granita’ at “Bar Vitelli”, the film setting of “The Godfather” and actors such as Francis Ford Coppola, Marlon Brando and Al Pacino.
