Syracuse, Sicily or Taormina?

Syracuse has more sand and more choice. On Ortigia you can swim off rocks and wooden platforms right in town, Arenella and Fontane Bianche are proper sandy bays, and the undeveloped beaches of Vendicari are some of the finest on this coast, though you need a car for most of them.

Taormina's bays are better to look at than to spread out on. The water at Mazzarò and Isola Bella is glassy and good for snorkelling, but the beaches are narrow pebble strips crowded with loungers in summer. For longer stretches of sand you take the bus to Giardini Naxos or Letojanni.

Syracuse eats better day to day. The Ortigia market supplies swordfish, sea urchins and capers to the trattorias, dishes such as spaghetti alla siracusana are easy to find, and the wine comes from nearby: Nero d'Avola and the sweet Moscato di Siracusa.

Taormina has a refined top tier with sea views, and Etna wines appear on almost every list. Its main street leans on tourist menus, though, and the good everyday cooking is in the side streets or down in Giardini Naxos.

This is where the two differ most. Syracuse was a great Greek city and it shows everywhere: a temple to Athena built into the cathedral, the baroque lanes of Ortigia, the rock-cut theatre and the Ear of Dionysius at Neapolis, the Paolo Orsi museum and Caravaggio's Burial of Saint Lucy.

Taormina has one magnificent sight, the Greek theatre with Etna framed through its broken stage, and a handsome medieval Corso with Palazzo Corvaja and the Duomo. It is lovely, but a slow day covers it, and there is no major museum.

Neither is a party town, but Syracuse stays up later. On summer weekends Ortigia's lanes stay busy past midnight, with people moving between small wine and cocktail bars, and in July and August the beach clubs to the south add some dancing.

Taormina's evenings are quieter: an aperitivo in Piazza IX Aprile, piano bars above the sea and a crowd of mostly couples and older visitors. Anyone looking for real clubs, from either town, ends up in Catania.

Taormina has the more dramatic outdoors. Etna is close enough for crater walks, guided trips towards the summit and winter skiing, the basalt Alcantara gorges are nearby, and hill paths climb to Castelmola and Monte Tauro.

Syracuse's countryside is gentler but more varied than visitors expect: the green pools of Cavagrande, the trails of the Anapo valley, flamingos at Vendicari and papyrus along the Ciane. From Syracuse, Etna is a long day trip rather than the view from your window. Each town has a marine reserve for snorkelling.

Syracuse sits in the middle of the baroque south-east. Noto is about forty minutes away, and Modica, Ragusa Ibla and Scicli each make an easy day. Catania, and Taormina itself, are within reach to the north.

Taormina's options are good but further apart. Catania and the wine villages on Etna's slopes are close, and Savoca and Forza d'Agrò are charming. But Syracuse is about two hours away, and the Val di Noto needs a very early start.

Syracuse is easier with children. Its sandy beaches shelve gently, Ortigia is flat and largely car-free, and the echoing Ear of Dionysius, the papyrus boat trips and the puppet shows give some variety.

Taormina suits school-age children who will enjoy Etna and snorkelling. With toddlers, the steps, pebbly beaches and hotels aimed at couples make it hard work, which is why many families stay down in Giardini Naxos.

Both have small centres you can cover on foot. Ortigia is flat, while in Taormina stairways are part of every outing. The bigger difference is getting further out. Taormina has a cable car down to the beaches, buses to Castelmola, and the coastal railway and regional coaches to Catania, its airport, Messina and Syracuse.

In Syracuse the city buses are infrequent and confusing for visitors, and the regional trains are slow. Vendicari, the gorges and most of the baroque towns really need a hire car.

Neither is worth a trip for shopping, and the difference is mostly in style. In Syracuse the finds are scattered through Ortigia's lanes and the morning market, including papyrus paintings made from the plant that grows on the Ciane. Taormina puts its jewellers, cameo dealers, lace shops and resort-wear boutiques along Corso Umberto, which is more polished but aimed squarely at visitors.

Syracuse is much the cheaper base. Food is excellent value and mainland rooms are reasonably priced. Ortigia gets expensive mainly in high summer, especially August, and car hire adds to the total.

Taormina is the most expensive place to stay in eastern Sicily. Grand hotels set the tone, mid-range rooms are scarce in summer, and the bars and restaurants on the Corso charge resort prices. Sleeping in Giardini Naxos or Letojanni brings the bill down.

Both owe their best evenings to an ancient theatre, but they use it differently. Syracuse stages classical Greek drama at Neapolis in late spring and early summer, a tradition since 1914, and Ortigia keeps Sicilian puppet theatre alive all year.

Taormina's theatre hosts summer concerts, opera, ballet and international pop acts with Etna behind the stage, and the town has a long-running film festival. Out of season, both send you to Catania for a fuller programme.

Neither town has thermal baths or a bathing tradition, and in August heat and crowds unsettle both, so the real choice comes in the other months. Syracuse rests you through its rhythm rather than its facilities. Ortigia is small enough that a day of swimming off the rocks, a slow lunch and a walk round the island's edge needs no planning at all, while spa treatments are a sideline in a few hotels.

Taormina suits a stay built around a spa. Its grand hotels treat wellness as part of the offer, with sea-view pools and treatments that use mud from the volcano, so pampering is easy to book without leaving the hotel. The town itself is at its gentlest in late spring and late September, when the gardens and terraces are quiet enough to enjoy.