Excursions in Sicily
The White Lotus Locations in Taormina
Luc Besson, Woody Allen and Francis Ford Coppola chose Taormina
for their films. Now it’s time for HBO.
Have you seen already “The White Lotus 2” filmed by Mike White last winter in Taormina? Would you like to reveal the filming locations?
Let’s have some coffee like Valentina and see Taormina as the heroes of the White Lotus 2.
We will do the same excursion to the Greek theatre as the Di Grasso family, do the shopping like Mia and Lucia and have an Aperol Spritz in the San Domenico hotel like Harper Spiller and Daphne Sullivan. Let’s make the photos of the places where Tanya had drama of her life.
Price 165 Euro
Ticket to the Greek theater 10 Euro per adult
Duration three hours.
The First Date with Taormina - Sightseeing Walking Tour
Great love starts with a first date that remains in the memory forever. If you have never been to Taormina it is important to organize the first date properly, to enjoy the time and to create good long-lasting relations with the town.
During the walking tour in the historical centre of Taormina you will see the main places of interest, Greek-Roman and Medieval parts of the town, palaces and churches. You will get the recommendations what and where to taste, what souvenirs to buy. And of course you will make photos in the most amazing photo-spots.
Price 165 Euro
Ticket to the Greek theater 10 Euro per adult
Duration three hours.
Savoca: The Godfather, Cannoli and Two Coppolas
We may continue our excursion in Forza D’Agro, a small town nearby, which also participated as a shooting-set in a famous criminal epic film.
Price - 165 Euro for the guide for 3 hours.
A car with a driver with a special NCC license is provided by a transport company.
Final price depends on the number of people and is available on request.
Duration is from three hours to five hours.
Departure from Taormina.
Etna - Heaven and Hell
For the ancient Greeks mount Etna was inhabited by giants and monsters. Odysseus managed to escape from the Etna cave of a round-eyed cyclop Polyphemus. The Romans considered Etna to be the forge of the god Vulcanus, for the Arabs Mount Mongibello became a source of snow for ice cream. People come from all over the world to look at alien black landscapes, smoking craters, red-hot lava flows. The Roman emperor Hadrian once rose to the volcano to meet the dawn. Since then, new craters have appeared, Etna is constantly changing. We can climb to the level of 1900 meters and admire the dead Silvestri craters, or we can climb to the smoking craters to a height of 3000 meters with the cable-way and off-road cars (ticket 65 euros) and take a walk accompanied by a volcanic guide.
Departure from Taormina.
Duration 5 hours.
A car with a driver with a special NCC license is provided by a transport company.
Price depends on the number of people and is available on request.
Ticket for the cable car and jeep buses to 3000 meters costs 68 Euro per person and 75 Euro in winter.
All Days are Sunny in Syracuse
There is everything in Syracuse, even Greece. Very ancient, with a
theatre, quarries, and temples. There is even Ancient Rome here which
tells about gladiators and Naumachia, gloomy catacombs
and the first holy martyrs. Here still
exist underground ritual baths - the mikveh
that remained after the expulsion of Jews
in the 15th century.
The whole city is filled with secrets
and romance. Decorated with flowers, labyrinths of small streets,
where sunny baroque
interchanges with the shadow of Gothics or
even the ghost of antiquity, pass into the space of squares with
friendly street bars.
The bright image of the city is completed
with the blue sky, the shine of the waves
near the island of Ortigia, the summer sun and the light sandstone of
the city buildings. Syracuse is simply meant
for walks!
Here
we can run
through the streets screaming "Eureka," sing in the ear of
the tyrant Dionysus,
see exactly where the comedy was born, find out why Caravaggio came
here, what helped
the English admiral Nelson to win the battle, engage
in a measuring
contest with the head of the column in
Artemision, and
touch the papyrus. The most inquisitive will
learn the recipe for making Sicilian
mummies.
Do not miss the chance to add your name to
"Archimedes, Plato and … were here"
and to learn what your school history book
kept silence
about.
Archaeological park "Neapolis" entrance fee 10 Euro.
Cathedral entrance fee is 2 Euro.
The duration of excursion is about 7 hours with departure from Taormina.
Price for the guide service is 240 Euro.
A car with a driver with a special NCC license is provided by a transport company.
Price depends on the number of people and is available on request.
Unusual Excursions in Taormina
Taormina of Ancient Greeks and Romans
Naumachia, Odeon, Acropolis, Agora, Aqueduct ... If these words sound to you like music, if you want to touch ancient Roman bricks with your own hands, drink water from the ancient Roman aqueduct, admire the landscape that inspired the ancient Greeks, decipher the symbols of mosaic ornaments, make a wish, touching the Greek temple, then this excursion is for you.
You will immerse in the world of Greeks and Romans, find out how they lived and what they believed, you will walk along the street made as far back as the 4th century BC, see the ancient Roman baths, the remains of temples and villas, and visit the Greek-Roman theater.
Notice: Entrance to the Greek theater is 10 Euro per person.
Price: 165 Euro.
Duration about 3 hours.
Medieval Taormina
The ages were rather dark, but in the middle of these ages things in Taormina were humming. The medieval part is not very big as contrasted with the the connected history. The Byzantines were replaced by the Saracens, those in their turn by Normans, followed by the Swabians and the Aragons. “Fight. Pray. Work” sounds like the slogan of Middle Ages, when town fortifications, Romanesque and Gothic churches, aristocratic palaces were built in Taormina.
Age of the Saracenes, knights and pilgrims, the plague and leprosy, the two Inquisitions and Jewish ghetto, age when Taormina changed it name.
During the excursion “Medieval Taormina” you will learn how to conquer the town, how to choose the right place for the castle, how to save your animals from diseases and yourself from the plague. The most inquisitive will get an alchemical recipe how to identify leprosy.
Price: 140 Euro.
Duration about two hours.
12 Churches of Taormina
Walking from one church to another we will make our way from the beginning of Christianity to Baroque period. We will learn what saint the travelers should pray to, what saints help to cure eyes or throat, what is the meaning of the rose on the facade of the church, what is under the church, who and how made mummies in Taormina, when the most picturesque religious holidays are held, why people of Taormina put the most elegant embroidered tablecloths on the balconies, what famous Bavarian beer and the first cathedral of Taormina have in common and even how the parrot became a religious symbol.
We will see an icon-not-made-by-hand that saved the town, Renaissance sculptures, works of famous artists and carvers in stone and wood.
Price: 140 Euro.
Duration: about two hours.
Style of the Rich and Famous. From Gothic to Liberty.
The itinerary from
the Middle Ages to the present day includes the houses owned by the
most influential people of Taormina from different historical
periods. Amazing tour from the palace of the dukes of Santo Stefano
to the luxurious English villa with the garden Casa Cuseni. This tour
is for subtle connoisseurs of style, architecture and art.
The tour starts from the medieval gate Porta Catania.
Duration: about 2 hours.
Price 140 Euro for the group.
Entrance to Casa Cuseni from 15 Euro per person.
Cooking-classes in Taormina
Food – is the best and well-liked way to get to know the local culture. Sicily is one of the “tastiest” regions of Italy. Here, trying different dishes, you can learn the history of the island, explore the heritage of the Greeks, Romans, Normans, Spaniards and English.
Here you can learn how to cook as a Sicilian Mamma or a Сhef with a Michelin star and have a great time in a good company with a glass of wine or tangerine liqueur. The wine will be from the volcano "Etna", the tangerines from local garden, and all the products will be "kilometer Zero". Here you will understand why the "Mediterranean diet" has been included in the World Heritage List.
Pizza, pasta, seafood, cannoli will cease to be a culinary mystery to you. In just one lesson you will be taught how to prepare a whole dinner.
If you want, we can also arrange a vegetarian master class.
Please contact me and do not forget to mention your eating preferances, whether there is any food intolerance. It is advisable to order in advance, so as not to miss the most suitable place and Chef.
The prices for excursions are based on the document Decreto tariffe della Regione Siciliana published in 2012 and the Document approved by the Tour Guides Associations of Sicily for 2023-2024