Rail Journeys in the province of Catania

Giarre to Taormina

Rather than take the bus, we'd usually walk from Torre Archirafi to Giarre railway station. Check the map first, though. Giarre station is on the outskirts of Giarre, and if you walk there via Riposto you'll end up doubling back on yourself and adding 20 minutes to the walk. The trip to Taormina-Giardini is one we've made often. Taormina has been a famously popular resort since Lord Byron stayed there and has many attractions indeed, but Giardini has a wonderful sandy beach and it's well worth spending a day there.



During our visit in June 2005 we visited Taormina twice by train from Giarre as the film festival was on. They had the world premiere of Batman Begins and the town was really buzzing. We met Malcolm McDowell, one of my favourite actors (mainly through the films he made with Lindsay Anderson), who was there to collect an award. I made a short film at the time which you can see below.

Around Mount Etna

On the outskirts of Riposto (on the Torre Archirafi side) you can catch the Ferrovia Circumetnea train around mount Etna. There are many stops on the way to Catania, and we usually get off at historic Randazzo, on the northern foot of Etna, to have lunch and explore. We'd then take a late afternoon train back to Riposto and walk back to our apartment in Torre Archirafi, maybe having dinner in a fish restaurant or collecting a pizza en route.