Etna and Taormina from Messina: Neptune's Fountain, Gate 5 Cruise Pick-Up

Etna is 90 km from Messina, and this day covers that distance twice, with three of Messina's own landmarks fitted in before leaving. The stele of the Madonnina del Porto was raised at the wish of Archbishop Angelo Paino. The Fountain of Neptune is the second that Giovanni Angelo Montorsoli made for this city. The church of San Francesco all'Immacolata is the second largest in Messina. On Etna the stop is at the tourist station, with a walk on the lava, a store selling souvenirs cut from lava rock, and local products to taste, honey and liqueurs among them. The guide covers the old eruptions and how people have worked out how to live this close to a volcano that has never stopped. Taormina begins at Porta Catania. From there Corso Umberto runs the length of the town, past monuments, shops, cafés and restaurants. Lunch with a view is one option; walking the side streets until you find your own angle on the Ionian Sea is the other. For cruise passengers the meeting is inside the port at Gate 5, and the representative holds a sign with your name and a flag with a lion's head on it. Everyone else meets at the Discover Messina Sicily office in Via I Settembre, 45 minutes before the tour.