What's on in Taormina (Sicily), Italy through the year

Quiet — travelers describe it as quiet, Christmas holidays in Italy

Nothing new starts in January.

Still on: Snow on Etna (15 Dec – 31 Mar (usually))

Quiet — school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it, one of its worst months for weather

Nothing new starts in February.

Still on: Snow on Etna (15 Dec – 31 Mar (usually))

Busy — Easter and the season opening, school holidays in 4 of the markets that fill it

• Holiday

  Easter and the season opening

  29 Mar – 6 AprEaster & Holy WeekCrowdedBook early

  Processions up Corso Umberto and the point at which the hotels, the Isola Bella lidos and the cable car timetable all come back for the season. Source ↗

Still on: Snow on Etna (15 Dec – 31 Mar (usually))

Peak crowds — Easter and the season opening, Easter holidays in Italy

Nothing new starts in April.

Still on: Easter and the season opening (29 Mar – 6 Apr)

Busy — Ships in at Giardini Naxos, school holidays in 4 of the markets that fill it

• Season

  Ships in at Giardini Naxos

  1 May – 15 Oct · usuallyCruise seasonCrowded

  Tenders land at Giardini Naxos and Messina and the coaches come up the hairpins together, so the Corso and the cable car are worst between eleven and four and quiet by six.

Peak crowds — Ships in at Giardini Naxos, Taormina Film Festival

• Opening

  Concerts in the ancient theatre

  1 Jun – 30 Sep · usuallySummer season opensBook early

  Opera, orchestras and touring acts play the Greco-Roman theatre through the summer, with the coast and the volcano behind the stage. Worth planning a date around rather than turning up for. Source ↗

• Festival

  Taormina Film Festival

  10–25 Jun · usuallyCrowded

  A week of screenings in the ancient theatre with Etna behind the screen, plus enough red carpet to fill the small hotel stock in town. One of the oldest festivals in Italy. Source ↗

• Season

  Sea warm enough to swim

  10 Jun – 20 Oct · usually

  The Ionian off Isola Bella and Mazzaro is warm from June to late October, and October days here still swim. Everything is pebble and it shelves away fast.

Still on: Ships in at Giardini Naxos (1 May – 15 Oct (usually))

Peak crowds — Ships in at Giardini Naxos, Summer holidays in Italy

Nothing new starts in July.

Still on: Ships in at Giardini Naxos (1 May – 15 Oct (usually)), Concerts in the ancient theatre (1 Jun – 30 Sep (usually)), Sea warm enough to swim (10 Jun – 20 Oct (usually))

Peak crowds — Ships in at Giardini Naxos, Ferragosto

• Holiday

  Ferragosto

  8–22 AugSchool holidaysCrowdedBook early

  The dearest fortnight of the Sicilian year, with Italians filling the town on top of the day-trippers. Parking above the old town runs out early and the shuttle queue is long. Source ↗

Still on: Ships in at Giardini Naxos (1 May – 15 Oct (usually)), Concerts in the ancient theatre (1 Jun – 30 Sep (usually)), Sea warm enough to swim (10 Jun – 20 Oct (usually))

Peak crowds — Ships in at Giardini Naxos, Summer holidays in Italy

Nothing new starts in September.

Still on: Ships in at Giardini Naxos (1 May – 15 Oct (usually)), Concerts in the ancient theatre (1 Jun – 30 Sep (usually)), Sea warm enough to swim (10 Jun – 20 Oct (usually))

Busy — Ships in at Giardini Naxos, school holidays in 4 of the markets that fill it

Nothing new starts in October.

Still on: Ships in at Giardini Naxos (1 May – 15 Oct (usually)), Sea warm enough to swim (10 Jun – 20 Oct (usually))

Shoulder season — school holidays in 2 of the markets that fill it, an ordinary month

Nothing new starts in November.

Busy — Christmas holidays in Italy, school holidays in 6 of the markets that fill it

• Season

  Snow on Etna

  15 Dec – 31 Mar · usuallySki season

  The volcano usually holds snow from midwinter, which is the view Taormina is built around, and the two small lift areas at Nicolosi and Linguaglossa run when it does.