Messina, Sicily

Sicily's most spectacular day trip — an ancient Greek theatre carved into a clifftop above Taormina with Mount Etna framed perfectly in the stage opening and the Ionian Sea glittering below. One of the Mediterranean's most iconic views.

A magnificent 12th-century Norman cathedral rebuilt after the 1908 earthquake, with an extraordinary astronomical clock tower that puts on an automated 12-minute show of moving golden figures at noon daily.

The medieval hilltop village where Francis Ford Coppola filmed The Godfather's Sicilian sequences — including the famous Bar Vitelli where Michael Corleone asks to marry Apollonia.

A scenic coastal lake north of Messina where mussels have been farmed since ancient times — surrounding restaurants serve them in every style, from steamed with lemon to pasta alla marinara made with the same-day catch.

Sicily's beloved breakfast tradition — a thick icy granita (lemon, almond, or coffee) paired with a soft, pillowy brioche bun. Messina's portside bars do this better than anywhere.

Messina's pesce spada (swordfish) is among Italy's finest — the Strait of Messina is the main fishing ground. This portside restaurant grills, carpaccios, and rolls it into involtini with pine nuts and sultanas.

A no-frills local trattoria near the port serving honest Sicilian cooking — pasta alla Norma, grilled fish, and arancini fried to order. Packed with dock workers and port staff at lunchtime.

A superb regional museum housing works by Caravaggio — including two masterpieces painted for Messina in 1609 — alongside sculptures by Antonello Gagini and relics from the city's Norman and Byzantine past.

A 20-minute ferry across the Strait of Messina to mainland Italy — the Museo Nazionale della Magna Grecia in Reggio holds the Riace Bronzes, two magnificent 5th-century BC Greek warrior statues.

The northeastern tip of Sicily — a lighthouse at the narrowest point of the Strait of Messina where the Tyrrhenian and Ionian Seas meet, flanked by two coastal lagoons teeming with birdlife.

The patron shrine of Messina — a dramatic baroque chapel and massive bronze Madonna statue overlooking the harbour at the end of a long jetty. Messina's most distinctive landmark from the sea.

A long, sandy beach below Taormina at the site of Sicily's first Greek colony — calm, warm water, good beach bars, and views up to Taormina's clifftop perched dramatically above.

Messina's most celebrated pastry shop, in business since 1910 — fresh cannoli filled to order, pignolata (honey-glazed fried dough), and cassata siciliana alongside excellent espresso.

The main pedestrian square near Messina's port is ringed with street food vendors selling arancini, sfincione (Sicilian pizza), fried calamari, and paper cones of fresh-cut vegetables with salt and lemon.

Europe's largest active volcano — accessible by cable car from the south side and Jeep 4x4 tours from the north side, with lunar landscapes, smoking craters, and views across the entire eastern Mediterranean.

Messina's closest proper beach — a narrow sandy strip north of the city on the Tyrrhenian coast, popular with local families and backed by a string of simple beach bars and pizzerias.

A classic Italian port-side bar serving Campari spritz, Aperol, and iced coffee to dockworkers and local professionals in a no-frills setting that feels genuinely Sicilian.

A lively Sicilian craft beer bar near Piazza Cairoli with local and regional beers on tap alongside generous platters of Sicilian cheese, salumi, and warm bread.

Taormina's main pedestrian street — a beautifully preserved medieval corso of boutiques, ceramics shops, gelaterie, and churches connecting Porta Messina to Porta Catania with sea views at every turn.

A warm, family-run osteria in Messina's old centre serving traditional Sicilian pasta — penne alla norma, pasta con le sarde, and rigatoni al ragù di maiale — in a relaxed vaulted room.