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Arrival, information and accommodation
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Trains
pull up at Taormina-Giardini station (left-luggage office 6am-10pm) on the water's edge, way below town. It's a very steep thirty-minute walk up to Taormina (turn right out of the station and then, after 200m, left through a gap in the buildings, marked "Centro"). Much better (certainly if you have luggage) is to arrive by bus or take one of the fairly frequent local buses that pick up outside the train station. The
bus terminal
is on Via Pirandello in Taormina itself: bear left up the road from the terminal, turn through the Porta Messina, and the main street,
Corso Umberto I
, lies before you. The
tourist office
(Mon-Sat 8.30am-2pm & 4-7pm; tel 0942.23.243) is in the fourteenth-century Palazzo Corvaja, off Piazza Vittorio Emanuele, the first square you come to; pick up a free map, accommodation listings and bus timetables, and programmes for summer events in the theatre.
Finding a bed in summer is a time-consuming business; only a handful will be both available and affordable, so start looking early. The best prices are for rented rooms , for example close to the public gardens at the Leone , Via Bagnoli Croce 126 (tel 0942.23.878; L60,000-90,000/a?¬30.99-46.48); nearer the Greek theatre at Via Iallia Bassa 20 (tel 0942.24.776; L60,000-90,000/a?¬30.99-46.48), with incredible roof-terrace views, or else the tiny but cheap and central Diana at Via di Giovanni 6 (tel 0942.23.898; L60,000-90,000/a?¬30.99-46.48). A big step up in price gets you a hotel room at the pleasant Pensione Elios at Via Bagnoli Croce 98 (tel 0942.23.431; L150,000-200,000/a?¬77.47-103.29) or the Pensione Svizzera , at Via Pirandello 26 (tel 0942.23.790; L150,000-200,000/a?¬77.47-103.29), just up from the bus terminal and enjoying excellent views from its spacious rooms. A family-run place, the Pensione Villa Greta (tel 0942.28.286; L150,000-200,000/a?¬77.47-103.29) is warmly recommended: ten minutes' walk out of town on the road up to Castelmola, it has superb balcony views as well as a dining room with good home cooking.
The nearest
campsite
,
San Leo
(tel 0942.24.658), is on the cape below town (next to the
Grande Albergo Capo Taormina
): take any bus running between Taormina and the train station. Better sites are further afield, at Letojanni and Giardini-Naxos
- the latter where you might also continue your search for a room if you've had no luck in Taormina. Other useful information
for tourists (each section contains more specific sub-sections): |
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Italy,
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