Taormina, Sicily is built on a terrace roughly 200 metres above the Ionian Sea, and its beaches are at sea level. Those are two different places to stay, joined by a cable car.
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Quick answer: where to stay in Taormina. For a first visit of two or three nights, the town centre: the town is what people come for, and the beach is three minutes away by cable car. Giardini Naxos, ten minutes south, is much cheaper.
That vertical gap is the whole question. Everything else about where to stay in Taormina — luxury or budget, hotel or villa, view or no view — comes after you have decided which level you want to wake up on.
Cable car operation, parking arrangements and transport connections checked 7 September 2026. Rates change constantly, so check current prices yourself.
The best area to stay in Taormina, Sicily
| Area | Level | Price | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Town centre, around Corso Umberto | Up | High | First visits, no car, evenings out |
| Mazzarò and Isola Bella | Sea level | High | Beach days, swimming, quiet nights |
| Above the centre, toward Castelmola | Higher up | Moderate | Views, value, drivers |
| Giardini Naxos | Sea level, 10 minutes south | Much cheaper | Budget, families, longer stays |
For a first visit to Taormina of two or three nights, the perfect place to stay is the town centre. The town itself is what people come for, and the beach is three minutes away by cable car.
The town centre: the ancient Greek theatre and Corso Umberto
Corso Umberto is the main pedestrian street, running about a kilometre between two medieval gates, and almost everything in the centre of town sits within a few minutes of it.
- The ancient theatre at the eastern end is the reason Taormina exists as a destination. Greek in origin, rebuilt by the Romans, and framed on Mount Etna. Go at opening or at sunset.
- The public gardens, Villa Comunale, are terraced along the cliffside below the main street, with unforgettable views down to the bay and no entry charge.
- Piazza IX Aprile, the terrace halfway along the Corso, is where the panorama photographs are taken from. This part of town is the busiest at midday and the best at dusk.
- Restaurants and bars run late along and just off the main street. A room directly on the Corso is convenient and noisy; a room one lane back is neither.
The catch is the cars. The historic centre is a pedestrian zone, so you arrive at a multistorey car park at the edge and walk or take a shuttle in. Ask your hotel about luggage before you book, because some streets are stairs.
Mazzarò, Isola Bella and staying at the beach
Down at sea level, Mazzarò is the bay directly below the town and Isola Bella is the small island beside it, joined to a pebble beach by a strip of sand.
- The cable car connects the two levels in about three minutes and runs from morning until late evening, with a break in the low season. Check the last one before dinner.
- Beachfront accommodation here is expensive, because there is very little of it and it is squeezed onto a narrow shelf between the cliff and the water.
- Beaches are pebble, not sand, and mostly run by beach clubs with paid loungers. There are free sections at either end.
- Evenings are quiet. A handful of restaurants, and the town is a cable car ride away.
Stay down here if swimming is the point of the trip, or you are travelling with small children and the thought of stairs and a pedestrian zone is unappealing.
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Above the centre: unforgettable views up to Castelmola
The slope above Taormina holds hotels and villa rentals that are cheaper for the same standard, because they are ten to twenty minutes of walking above the Corso — and that walk is uphill on the way home.
- Views are wider from up here, taking in the town, the bay and Mt Etna in a single frame.
- Most properties run a shuttle into the center of town. Confirm the hours; several stop well before the restaurants close.
- Castelmola, the small medieval village on the peak above Taormina, is a twenty minute drive or a steep hour on foot. Staying there is a real option for drivers and a poor one for everyone else.
- Parking is easier and often free, which matters if you have a car rental.
Giardini Naxos: the budget option
Giardini Naxos is a seaside resort town ten minutes south along the coast, and it is much cheaper than anything in Taormina itself.
- A long sand and shingle beach, unlike Taormina’s pebble coves.
- Ordinary town prices for food and rooms, and a wide choice of both.
- Buses run to Taormina regularly through the day, and a taxi takes about fifteen minutes. Getting around town at either end is on foot.
- It is not pretty. A working resort strip rather than a hill town, and that is the trade you are making.
For a family week in Sicily on a budget, this is the sensible base. For two nights built around the ancient theatre and dinner with a view, it is not.
Luxury hotels in Taormina: the White Lotus landmarks
Listings here are hard to place on a map, because a Taormina address does not tell you which level it is on. These are the properties used as reference points, described by position and type only. Rates, availability and current condition change constantly, so check those yourself rather than trusting any travel guide, including this one.
Grand Hotel Timeo
The oldest hotel in Taormina, opened in 1873, sitting directly beside the entrance to the ancient theatre at the top of the town with a long terrace facing Etna. The Timeo is the property most people mean when they talk about luxury hotels in Taormina, and it is where The White Lotus filmed its second season.
Villa Sant’Andrea
Down at Mazzarò bay, on the beach rather than above it, in a nineteenth-century house with a garden running to the water. It is the sea-level counterpart to the Timeo, and the two are linked by their own shuttle.
Hotel Villa Schuler and its terraced garden
A family-run hotel in the town centre, in a nineteenth-century villa a minute from Corso Umberto, with a terraced garden and a breakfast terrace overlooking the bay. It is one of the oldest independently run hotels in Taormina and the usual answer when someone wants the centre without the Timeo’s prices.
Baia Azzurra and the Mazzarò cluster
Hotel Baia Azzurra and several smaller properties sit around the Mazzarò and Isola Bella coves, on the narrow shelf between the cliff and the sea. What they have in common is easy access to the water, a cable car ride to the town, and very little around them after dark.
Accommodation in Taormina beyond the landmarks
Beyond the landmarks, most accommodation in Taormina is small — family-run hotels of a dozen rooms, bed and breakfast places behind stone walls off the Corso, and villa rentals on the slope above. Furnishings run from eclectic to plain, the on-site amenity list is usually a terrace and a small swimming pool rather than a full resort, and the number of steps between the front door and the main street is the single most useful thing to ask before booking.
Travel tips for booking a hotel or villa rental in Taormina
- Confirm the specific room has a sea view. A hotel can be famous for its outlook and still have half its rooms facing the hillside. A balcony matters more here than floor space.
- Ask how far it is from the car park if you are driving, and whether there is a porter service. This is the most common complaint about Taormina hotels.
- Ask about steps. Five minutes from the Corso can mean five minutes of stairs.
- Check whether breakfast is on the terrace, since that is a large part of what you are paying for.
- Book months ahead for May, June and September, and expect the town to be full in July and August.
- 3 nights is the right length. One day for the town and the theatre, one for the beach, one for a day trip.
- Verify current rates yourself. Prices in Taormina swing enormously by month, and no guide can be current on that.
Day trips: the best places around town and across Sicily
Taormina works as a base for the whole eastern side of the island, and several of the best places in Sicily are within reach without moving hotel.
- Mount Etna — an hour to the Rifugio Sapienza, then the cable car and a guided 4×4 higher. The upper craters are not open to unaccompanied walkers.
- Catania — forty minutes by train, and the nearest airport. A working city with the best fish market in Sicily.
- Syracuse and Ortigia — around ninety minutes, and the most rewarding full day out.
- The Alcantara gorge — a basalt canyon you can walk into, half an hour inland.
- The baroque towns — Noto, Modica, Ragusa and Scicli, all Greek-founded or earthquake-rebuilt, and a long day by car.
- Castelmola — a short trip up to the ruin of the castle above town, best at sunset.
Taormina or Catania: which Sicilian base?
People planning a trip to Sicily often weigh the two, and they are not the same kind of place.
- Taormina is a cliffside resort town with Greek ruins, spectacular views and resort prices. It is small, beautiful and busy.
- Catania is a real Sicilian city built from black lava stone, with the airport, the best food and a fraction of the prices. It is not pretty in the same way.
- The usual answer is a night or two in Catania around the flights and the rest of the time in Taormina, since the train between them takes forty minutes.
Taormina in a wider trip around Italy
Comparisons with the Amalfi Coast come up too. Taormina is the closer Sicilian equivalent — a scenic cliff town at high prices — but it has ancient Greek ruins and a volcano behind it, which the Amalfi Coast does not.
Checking current rates in Taormina
Everything above is about position — which area suits which kind of trip. What it deliberately does not do is quote prices, because rates in Taormina move a long way by season, by day of the week and by how far ahead you book, and any figure printed in a guide is out of date the week after it is written.
These searches show live availability and current prices, so you can check them against the areas described above:
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Building the rest of the trip? Our Sicily itinerary covers the east and west halves of the island, and the Amalfi Coast itinerary is the natural mainland pairing.
Building the rest of the trip? Our Sicily itinerary covers the east and west halves of the island, and the Amalfi Coast itinerary is the natural mainland pairing.
Frequently asked questions
What part of Taormina is best to stay in?
The town centre, within a few minutes of Corso Umberto, for a first visit. It puts the ancient theatre, the public gardens and the restaurants on your doorstep, and the beach is three minutes away by cable car. Stay at Mazzarò instead if swimming is the main point of the trip.
Is it better to stay in town or at the beach in Taormina?
In town for most people. Taormina’s appeal is the town itself, the theatre and the evening on the Corso, and the cable car makes the beach a three minute journey. Staying at the beach at Mazzarò or Isola Bella is quieter and better for swimming, but the evenings are very limited and prices are no lower.
Where is better to stay, Taormina or Catania?
Taormina for the setting, Catania for value and transport. Catania has the airport, direct trains around the island, far cheaper rooms and better everyday food. Taormina has the views, the ruins and the atmosphere. Many people split the two, since the train ride between them takes about forty minutes.
How much does it cost to stay in a hotel in Taormina?
Taormina is among the most expensive places in Sicily, and rates move a long way between seasons. The reliable pattern is that town-centre and beachfront rooms cost the most, the slope above the town costs less for the same standard, and Giardini Naxos ten minutes south is much cheaper again. Check current prices directly rather than trusting any published figure.
Do you need a car in Taormina?
Not for Taormina itself, and a car is a nuisance in it. The historic centre is a pedestrian zone, so you park in a multistorey car park at the edge and walk or take the shuttle in. A rental is useful only for day trips to Etna, the Alcantara gorge and the baroque towns, and the train covers Catania and Syracuse without one.
How many days do you need in Taormina?
Three nights. That gives you a day for the town, the Greek theatre and the public gardens, a day at Isola Bella or on the beach, and a day trip to Mount Etna or Catania. Two nights covers the town but not much beyond it, and one night is a stop rather than a stay.
Is Taormina worth visiting?
Yes, and it is worth planning around the crowds. The ancient theatre framed on Mount Etna is the single best view in Sicily, and the town below it is genuinely beautiful. It has been the busiest place on the island since The White Lotus filmed there, so stay overnight and see it early and late, when the day trippers have gone.