The town has a large square with a church, large open area, and very scenic overlook!
The way everything seems to perch to the edges of cliffs is truly magnificent with new and old buildings alike among the mix. The mountains offer a nice backdrop for the whole scene as well.
A small alley in the center of Taormina is a common and beautiful thing to enjoy in the city!
There are tons of people packed into the small areas, and it becomes even more congested when a car attempts the drive through. Black Mercedes are a regular on Saturdays shuttling wedding parties around and throughout the town.
This aging garden is quiet and hidden. Few tourists walk through and it seems mostly reserved for the locals. A large variety of plants can be found to make a nice break from the hustle and bustle elsewhere.
Restaurants and other little shops are scattered about the area. Seaters will usher you into their tables enthusiastically every time you pass whether you would like them to or not. A spot to eat is not in shortage here.
There are plenty of very scenic overlooks to be found with this one being from the town square from earlier. I think it might have been my favorite as well!
The alleys are almost always super beautiful decorated with flowers, cacti, other plants, paint, and cute little restaurants.
The churches are stunningly decorated with intricate designs all over. They look simple on the outside, but they are incredible once you step inside!
They get plenty of use as well with daily mass. There were also loads of weddings going on through the entire day on Saturday which is the main day for Italian weddings!
A couple more alleys with their little restaurants (the one of the left is where we ate dinner!) and the scooters of choice for the local Italians!
The photo on the left is the view from the gelato shop where we got an afternoon snack. It was a fancy parlor with great gelato and, to our fascination, a weird bathroom with sliding doors, an odd sink, and a chocolate fountain that they dipped gelato in. The vespa was sitting outside of the parlor when we left!
This is the famous church in the area that everyone seemed to enjoy as a wedding spot, chill location, or place to just relax around.
This guy was here all afternoon painting his Taormina scenes on an easel. He would whistle away as passer-byes would watch with varying interest.
As you can see, the residents take quite a lot of pride in their porches! Some would go above and beyond with them like this one did. Seeing them covered in flowers, lights, or other beautiful things is typical when wandering around.
These are views from and of the Greek Amphitheater in Taormina. The one of the left is looking out towards the rest of the city and the cliffs around it. The one on the right shows off the size of the ancient theater that has been renovated and used as a host to the Taormina Film Festival that took place the weekend before we were there! They showed Jurassic World in 3D here just a few nights earlier!
The marching band went through the streets 3-4 times while we were walking around. There was a couple that used a GoPro to film themselves marching out in front for a little while which was a funny thing to witness.
Our day came to a close as we became exhausted from the walking around, up, and down. It was quite hot especially for someone used to temperatures 10-20 degrees cooler. We had walked over 8 miles according to a pedometer and probably much more with the climbing! I hope you enjoyed the photos, and if you did please like the post to let me know to keep posting these on here in the future.