3 Best Sights in Sicily, Italy

Stroll down Via Bagnoli Croce from the main Corso Umberto to the Villa Comunale to enjoy the stunning views from the seaside city's best terrace walkways. Also known as the Parco Duca di Cesarò, the lovely public gardens were designed by Florence Trevelyan Cacciola, a Scottish lady "invited" to leave England following a romantic liaison with the future Edward VII (1841–1910). Arriving in Taormina in 1889, she married a local professor and devoted herself to the gardens, filling them with native Mediterranean and exotic plants, ornamental pavilions, and fountains.

Easy to miss behind the Temple dei Dioscuri, the sunken garden was created within what was once a vast "tank" excavated in the stone on the orders of the Tyrant Theron in 480 BC. In time, it was transformed into a lush garden, irrigated by a series of little channels, a technique brought to Sicily by the Arabs, who had learned this craft in the deserts of North Africa. Now planted with citrus, olive, almond, pistachio, pomegranate, and even banana trees, it forms a true oasis, where often the only sound is that of running water. Check their website for seasonal events such as guided tours of the garden and citrus tastings.  In order to visit the garden, you must first purchase an access ticket to the Valley of the Temples.

On the edge of the old town, this tranquil public garden is lined with palm trees and dotted with fountains and churches along stone paths with numerous benches for contemplation and picnicking. The ambling walkways skirt the cliffside and offer dramatic views of the valley below. Among the three churches here, the Chiesa dei Cappuccini is notable for the beautiful wooden altar featuring a triptych by Pietro Novelli (1635) depicting the Assumption, flanked by Saints Agata and Catherina.