Taormina | Casa Awaya Taormina

The position

Inside the centre, not above it or below it.

Taormina sits on a rock terrace 200 metres above the sea. Almost every rental here is either up the hill behind the town or down towards the main road: which means shuttles, hairpin bends and a car to park twice a day.

Casa Awaya is inside the old town. You step out of the door and you are already there. That changes the rhythm of the whole trip: you come home in the afternoon and go back out in the evening without thinking about it.

Panorama dalla terrazza alta di Casa Awaya, con i tetti di Taormina e il mare Ionio

On foot

Everything you reach without touching your keys.

Taormina DuomoPiazza Duomo and its baroque fountain 200 m

Corso UmbertoThe spine of the old town 300 m

Piazza IX AprileThe town’s balcony over the sea 500 m

Villa ComunalePublic gardens straight above the bay 700 m

Greek TheatreThe Greco-Roman theatre, concerts in summer 900 m

Cable car to MazzaròDown to the coves in minutes 1.2 km

Piazza IX Aprile a Taormina, al tramonto, con la torre dell’orologio

Il Duomo di Taormina e la fontana barocca in Piazza Duomo

Corso Umberto, la via principale del centro storico di Taormina

Il Teatro Antico di Taormina al tramonto, con la costa sullo sfondo

Terrazza sul mare a Taormina, con vasi in terracotta

Worth doing

The things actually worth your morning.

The Greek Theatre, at opening

Go as it opens, before the groups: a stage framed by Etna is the reason this town has been on the map for two centuries. In summer it becomes an open-air concert hall.

The Corso, but in the evening

By day Corso Umberto is packed; from seven onwards it changes character and becomes the locals' walk. Porta Messina to Porta Catania is twenty slow minutes, with two beautiful squares in between.

Castelmola, for sunset

The village above Taormina is reached by five kilometres of hairpin bends or by bus. You go for the view from higher up and the almond wine, then come back down in the dark.

Villa Comunale, mid-afternoon

Gardens laid out by an English noblewoman in the late 1800s, with her brick-and-timber follies hanging over the bay. The coolest and emptiest place in the centre.

The sea

There’s a bay below the house.

The cable car drops from Taormina to Mazzarò in a few minutes and puts two different waters in front of you: Isola Bella, with its pebbles and the sandbar that appears and disappears, and Mazzarò, easier for a full day with loungers and restaurants. Boats leave from both bays for the caves and the coast towards Capo Sant’Andrea. It is the first trip we recommend.

La terrazza alta di Casa Awaya con vista sulla baia dello Ionio

Beyond Taormina

Within an hour.

Etna

About 1 hour by car

The Silvestri craters and the lava flows, with or without a guide. Best done early.

Alcantara gorges

About 30 min

Black basalt and freezing water inside a canyon. Cool even in August.

Savoca & Forza d’Agrò

About 40 min

The two Godfather villages. Bar Vitelli is still there.

Catania

About 50 min

The fish market in the morning and baroque built in black lava.

Naxos

About 15 min

Sicily’s first Greek colony, on the sea, with its archaeological park.

Catania airport

About 50 min

We’ll arrange the transfer if you ask us in advance.

The days

The rhythm you fall into by day two.

Breakfast happens on the lower terrace, table laid, bell tower in front of you: whoever wakes first eats alone, the rest arrive in ones and twos. Then the town is already out there, and by midday you’re taking the cable car down to the sea.

In the afternoon, when the town is hot and full, you come home: someone reads in the living room, someone sleeps and someone goes up to the high terrace. Someone rolls out a mat and does yoga looking at Etna. In the evening you head out again or eat on the terrace, which happens more often than you might expect.

Tavola della colazione con ceramiche siciliane, frutta fresca e caffettiera

Una persona pratica yoga sulla terrazza di Casa Awaya, con il mare sullo sfondo

When to come

The season changes the town.

April to June

The best window. Sea swimmable from late May, the centre alive but not saturated, terraces perfect at any hour.

July to August

Full high season means concerts at the Greek Theatre, warm sea and a crowded town. The house becomes the advantage because you walk home while everyone else hunts for parking.

September to October

Our favourite season. Sea still warm, low golden light on the terraces, restaurants without a wait.

At the table

Where we send our guests.

These are not the top results of a search: they are the places we go to ourselves, and go back to. If you prefer, we book the table for you.

Osteria Rosso Divino
La Tavernetta
Malvasia
Osteria Santa Domenica
Don Ciccio

The rest we’ll tell you when you arrive.

Boats, day trips and the right hours are our job once you are here.

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