Things to Do in Taormina with Kids

Visiting Taormina with kids? There are so many things to do in Taormina with the family. It is a car-free town so it is a perfect opportunity to practice free-range parenting there, letting your children move without constant supervision.

Taormina, a small town on the north-eastern Ionian coast of Sicily, is a great masterpiece of art and nature. Goethe and Guy de Maupassant said and we totally agree, that Taormina is a landscape that seems to exist on Earth to “seduce the eyes, mind, and imagination.” Taormina is a small, compact version of Sicily. Its architecture is a unique mixture of all cultures: Greek, Roman, Byzantine, Arabic, and Norman. It is one of those places you imagine to live when getting old. I pointed to a charming house with a balcony full of flowers and told the kids that I wanted it as a gift for my 60th birthday. “Ok, Mum. Only if you buy us gelato first.” “Good deal”.

Corso Umberto

My future dream house is on the main street in Taormina, Corso Umberto, which is full of souvenir shops, galleries, antique shops, gelaterias, bakeries, cafes, bars, and restaurants. If I was asked, I would remove all the shops with plastic stuff and toys from the historical area because they don’t fit in with that traditional environment at all. There would only be local, authentic and handmade products available. Taormina is a small town, but it seemed like we could walk around there all day long. It has endless and curvy medieval streets and narrow passages, and each had some magnetic draw that attracted us to them.

Leave them to play at main square

Piazza IX Aprile

Piazza IX Aprile is one of the most relaxing and romantic piazzas in the whole of Sicily. I call it a child-friendly square because there is no traffic at all — unlike at many other squares — so we could forget that we had children for a while and let them play freely. Aura and Pia were safely jumping around entertained by various street artists. We wanted to have a coffee there, but suddenly we changed our mind because of the high prices and decided to enjoy free stuff instead, such as the spectacular sea view with Mt. Etna in the background.

Ancient Theatre

The most beautiful monument in Taormina is the Greek theatre, built 3 years B.C. It still hosts theatre performances, fashion shows, and summer film festivals. This October was reserved for Aura and Pia’s performance! The kids were inspired by the magical environment so improvised their own performance for us and a few strangers. When there are no performances on, visitors can always enjoy amazing, world-famous views of the sea and Mt. Etna. Entry is 10 euros per adult.

Ancient theater in Taormina

Villa Communale

Taormina is full of natural treasures. This lush public garden near the center of Taormina with beautiful flowers, plants, and historical and artistic buildings is an ideal resting point. It is quiet and relaxing, but the children’s restless spirit couldn’t just sit on the benches and meditate. They found rocks of different shapes and sizes to climb. It turned out to be more exciting than a toboggan or other playground stuff. They could climb for hours but a parking spot in Taormina is quite expensive, so we couldn’t afford to stay too long.

Climbing the rocks in Garden

Parking in Taormina

Taormina is no-car town and has perfectly organized parking spots. Close to the center is a large parking garage over several floors, so there is no problem finding parking spots at all.

Isola Bella

It was cloudy so unfortunately, we missed visiting the beaches near Taormina. Locals told us that the most popular and the most attractive beach is Isola Bella, which is actually an island and nature reserve. We noticed it from the main road and it looked very natural and pure. We are still sorry that we didn’t go down. Just one more reason to come back to Taormina.