Question 1

Giardini Naxos on Your Own

Accepted Answer

Giardini's seafront is flat and small enough to explore on foot, and the ancient site at its southern tip is the main sight in town. If you want Taormina as well, go up by bus and come back the same way. Along the water: The seafront promenade follows the bay past its beaches, and Corso Umberto, the old main street, runs through the town from Piazza San Giovanni to Via Roma. Ancient Naxos: The archaeological park and museum are on Lungomare Schisò, where the remains of the Greek city's walls and the finds from its excavations are on show. A short ride: Buses run up the hill to Taormina from the Recanati bus station, and the Taormina town buses also come down as far as the Taormina-Giardini railway station. Not on foot: Via Pirandello, the main road up to Taormina, is too narrow and busy with traffic to walk, so go up by bus or taxi. Getting back on time: All-aboard is usually about 30 minutes before sailing, and your ship posts the exact time. A ship will not wait for passengers touring on their own, so allow for the tender ride back.

Question 2

Getting Around Giardini Naxos and Taormina

Accepted Answer

Buses link Giardini Naxos with Taormina, Catania and the airport, and a cable car connects Taormina with the beach at Mazzarò. For Mount Etna, agencies run day trips, or you can drive to one of its base stations. Interbus coaches run along the coast between Catania airport, Giardini Naxos and Taormina, roughly hourly through the day. Taormina's town company, ASM, runs local bus lines in Taormina and down to the coast, and it also operates the cable car and the parking lots. The cable car runs every 15 minutes between the center of Taormina and Mazzarò, just north of Isola Bella, climbing about 170 meters. Taormina-Giardini railway station, at the northeast end of Giardini's seafront, has trains about every hour to Messina and Catania, each a little under an hour away. Taormina is roughly a 45-minute drive from Mount Etna.

Question 3

What to Eat in Giardini Naxos and Taormina

Accepted Answer

Much Sicilian cooking comes from the sea and uses olive oil and tomatoes where northern Italy would use butter and cream. Sicilians are also known for their sweet tooth. Arancini: These fried rice balls with a filling are a Sicilian snack that is hard to find outside the island. Cannoli: These are pastry tubes filled with sweetened ricotta. Granita: This is crushed ice made with fruit and juice. Cassata: This cake is Arabic-inspired and is widely sold beyond Sicily. Almond sweets: Pastry shops in Giardini sell pasta di mandorle, a small almond sweet, and fruits shaped from marzipan.

Question 4

Tipping in Italy

Accepted Answer

Tips are not customary in Italy and are given only for special service. Most restaurants outside Rome add a cover charge, the coperto, so waiters do not expect a tip, though they will not refuse one. If you want to tip in a restaurant, a euro or two is plenty. Leaving the change is quite common with taxi drivers. Italy uses the euro.

Question 5

The Greek Theatre, Isola Bella, and the Road to Etna

Accepted Answer

Taormina's ancient theater is still used for summer concerts and festivals, and the town has drawn foreign visitors since the 19th century. Below it, Isola Bella is a small island linked to the shore by a strip of beach. Teatro Antico: The theater dates back to the third century BC, was rebuilt under the Romans, and keeps much of its stage wall, a part that survives in few ancient theaters. Mount Etna and the sea form its backdrop. Festivals: Since 1983 the theater has hosted Taormina Arte, a summer program of music, theater and dance, and the Taormina Film Fest. Isola Bella: The island was bought in 1890 by Florence Trevelyan, who planted rare non-native species there, and it has been a nature reserve since 1998. Corso Umberto I: Taormina's pedestrian main street runs the length of the old town between its two gates, Porta Messina and Porta Catania. Feast days: Giardini Naxos marks the Nativity of Mary on 8 September and remembers the landing of Saint Pancras, Taormina's first bishop, on the second Sunday of August.

Question 6

Greeks, Romans, and the Oldest Colony in Sicily

Accepted Answer

Greek settlers founded Naxos on Cape Schisò in the eighth century BC, and ancient writers agreed it was the first Greek colony in Sicily. Taormina grew on the hill above after Naxos was destroyed. Eighth century BC: Settlers from Chalcis in Euboea and from the island of Naxos founded the colony, and an altar to Apollo Archegetes outside the town marked it as the oldest Greek settlement on the island. About 470 BC: The city was rebuilt on a new street grid, probably under Hieron of Syracuse, and excavations have found two street plans one above the other. 415 BC: Naxos sided with Athens when the great Athenian expedition reached Sicily, and the Athenian fleet first touched land there. 403 BC: Dionysius of Syracuse took the city, sold its people into slavery and destroyed its walls and buildings. Fourth century BC: Sicels settled on the hill of Mount Tauro, and in 358 BC the scattered exiles of Naxos were gathered there, in the town that became Taormina. Third century BC: A theater was built at Taormina, later rebuilt and enlarged by the Romans. 1410: The Sicilian Parliament met in Palazzo Corvaja in Taormina. 1847: Giardini became a separate municipality from Taormina, and in August 1860 Garibaldi and his troops sailed from its bay for Calabria. 1943: On July 9, Allied bombers hit Taormina, which was then the headquarters of the German army command. 1978: Giardini added Naxos to its name to recall the ancient colony. To learn more ashore: The Museo e Area Archeologica di Naxos, on Lungomare Schisò in Giardini Naxos, shows the walls and street plan of the Greek city and the finds from its excavations.

Question 7

Taormina and Giardini Naxos with Children and Families

Accepted Answer

Giardini Naxos suits a beach day with younger children. Older children can take on Taormina's theater, the Greek ruins or a trip toward Etna. Younger children: Giardini's seafront has free public beaches as well as beach clubs, and the cable car between Taormina and Mazzarò passes high above the coast. School age: The ancient walls and street grid at the Naxos archaeological park make the Greek city easy to picture, and the Teatro Antico in Taormina shows how an ancient audience sat. Teenagers: The Alcantara Gorge, a canyon cut through columns of cooled lava, has river water that stays icy even in summer. All ages: Walking to Etna's summit needs a guide, warm clothes, sturdy shoes, clear weather and a volcano that is not erupting, and agencies run day trips to the mountain.

Question 8

Accessibility in Taormina and Giardini Naxos

Accepted Answer

Giardini's seafront is flat, but getting ashore depends on the tender, and Taormina sits high on a hillside. Ask your ship how the tender boarding works before you plan the day. Passengers come ashore by tender boat, so check with your ship whether the tender can be boarded with a wheelchair or walker on the day. Giardini Naxos lies on a mostly flat coastal strip, with the town center between about 5 and 39 meters above sea level. Most of Taormina's center is pedestrianized, but the town sits high on a terrace of Monte Tauro, so plan to go up by bus, taxi or cable car. The cable car from Mazzarò uses eight-person cabins that run every 15 minutes.

Question 9

Shopping in Taormina and Giardini Naxos

Accepted Answer

Taormina has plenty of souvenir shops, while Giardini Naxos is more of a beach town. Almond sweets from a pastry shop make an easy gift. Corso Umberto I, Taormina's pedestrian main street, is the place to browse. Ceramics and wrought iron were local crafts in Giardini from the 1800s, though they have almost disappeared today. Pastry shops in Giardini sell almond sweets and marzipan fruits.

Question 10

Beaches Near Giardini Naxos

Accepted Answer

The bay at Giardini Naxos has beaches all along it, some free and some run by private beach clubs. North of the town, Mazzarò and Isola Bella sit below Taormina. Free public beaches alternate with private beach clubs along Giardini's seafront, and some clubs rent kayaks. The beach by the Naxos archaeological area lies between two walls of lava stone from Etna. Mazzarò, at the foot of the cable car, has a bay with hotels and restaurants just north of Isola Bella. Isola Bella's own beach is sharp volcanic shingle rather than sand.

Giardini Naxos (Taormina), Italy

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