Travel Eye on Giardini-Naxos (Sicily, Italy)

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Overview:

With the influx of tourism in the mid-1970s, Giardini fishing village and antique Naxos grew rapidly and merged. It can be considered as four distinct areas: the old residential quarter of Giardini; panoramic Naxos seafront promenade (pedestrianised 2pm-2am in high season) lined with shops, bars and restaurants; Cape Schiso harbour area, formed from a prehistoric lava flow; Recanati, 1½ mls from the rest of town, which is fairly built-up with large modern hotels and holiday apartments.

Locality:

Gardini Naxos is located on the NE coast of Sicily (34 mls N of Catania airport, 3 mls S of Taormina, 162 mls E of the capital, Palermo, 31 mls S of Messina). It is positioned by the sea, on fairly flat terrain. Slopes of Mt Etna behind. Main bay looks up towards Taormina, Castelmola hillside panorama.

Entertainment/Facilities/Attractions/Things to do:

Gardini Naxos is a fairly modern beach resort. Good for middlemarket, young people, couples of all ages, families, elderly.

Accommodation provides a varied choice, ranging from small pensions and villa-style hotels to large, modern ones and club-style bungalows.

The main bay is a long curve of coarse sand and pebbles; free public areas, several organised lidos with bar, restaurant, cabins and showers; a charge is made for sun loungers, parasols and pedalloes. A rocky lava strip lies behind the hotels past the harbour. Recanati is a narrow, man-made coarse grey sand strip behind its hotels, and a large, gravel sand open-sea beach stretching out at the far end; public and organised sections; hydro-slide, para-gliding, windsurfing, water scooters, water-skiing, scuba diving.

Shops here are mainly situated along the sea front and in the old part of town; few in the Recanati area. Mainly boutiques, shoe shops, souvenir bazaars, perfume and gift shops. Small supermarkets; a good selection of wines and spirits. Large weekly local market (Recanati) for clothes, bags, shoes, fruit, vegetables. No duty-free shop at the airport.

Popular activities outside of sunbathing include visits to archaeological excavations (Recanati), small archaeological museum (harbour); Naxos was the first Greek colony in Sicily. Children's minifunfair with trampolines and minigolf (Recanati). Lots of video-game arcades (promenade). 2 tennis clubs; courts for hire. Nightlife centres mainly on eating out and promenading along the sea front. Plenty of open-air bars and pub-style karaoke bars. Several "classy" open-air garden discos with piano bar and restaurant (Recanati).

There are a wide range of eateries here with many fast-food bars and small trattorias and pizzerias with pavement tables. Several garden restaurants with piano bar can be found.

Public transport offer inexpensive daytime and early-evening services. Fairly frequently from Naxos main road to railway station and Taormina; hourly to Messina and Catania. Infrequent, direct airport service. From Recanati hourly to Taormina. Trains: station on outskirts of town. Regular inexpensive services to Messina and Catania. Direct long-distance services to mainland. Taxi ranks in Recanati, Naxos sea front and railway station.

Local excursions can be taken to Naxos. Alcantara Valley (half day): around local countryside and slopes of Etna, to natural lava-stone gorges of Alcantara River. Mount Etna (¾ day): largest active volcano in Europe; 10,925 feet. Coach to 6,500 feet. Cable car/jeeps to 9,800 feet. Evening trip (high season) to see sunset from central crater. Syracuse (full day): historic town; largest Greek theatre and archaeological park. Ortigia cathedral, Papyrus fountain and institute. Caltagirone, Piazza Armerina and Enna (full day): Caltagirone ? ceramic production; Piazza Armerina ? Roman villa del Casale, with 4,200 square yards of well-preserved polychrome mosaic floors; Enna ? highest town 3,050 feet above sea level; magnificent views from ruins of Lombardy Castle. Palermo (full day): Sicily's capital, important monuments and Cappucini catacombs. Monreale cathedral with golden mosaics. Islands of Vulcano and Lipari (full day): coach/ferry crossing to Lipari and tour of island. Hydrofoil to Vulcano ? extinct volcano, warm, sulphurous sea with underground fumaroles, therapeutic mud pools. Agrigento (full day): "Valley of the Temples" ? archaeological museum, the best preserved Greek temples in Italy.