The Culture of the Ospitality
From Goethe to Guy de Maupassant, D.H. Lawrence and Tennessee Williams, the greatest, most romantic writers have experienced and described Taormina as one of the most enchanting and delightful places on earth. It is here, in a small, historic palazzo in a scenic location, that you will find the Hotel La Pensione Svizzera, one of the most popular and appreciated 3-star hotels in Taormina for its splendid view and charming atmosphere and a delightful garden of palm trees and flowers.
The location of the Hotel La Pensione Svizzera is also exceptional for its convenient access to the beaches of Taormina, Mazzarò, which is more chic, and the delightful ones at Isola Bella (a nature preserve), Spisone and Mazzeo where you will find the wide, pleasantly sandy Lido with which the hotel has special arrangements, thanks to the cable car that descends to the sea from a station that is just 200 meters from the hotel and where visitors can take the Funibus to the beach resorts.
The old town center of Taormina begins just a few steps from the Hotel La Pensione Svizzera: Corso Umberto, Taormina's “living room,” with its elegant stores, artisans' workshops and characteristic restaurants, is a pleasant stroll through the city where, in small lanes and piazzas, you can see picturesque vestiges of ancient Taormina: Piazza Vittorio Emanuele with the lovely Palazzo Corvaja, the Chiesa di Santa Caterina and the Roman Odeon; in a small lane to the left of Corso Umberto, you will find the Naumachie, majestic examples of Roman architecture. A little farther ahead, there is Piazza IX Aprile, with its splendid view of the sea and the Churches of Sant'Agostino and San Giuseppe. Medieval Taormina begins at Porta di Mezzo (Torre dell'Orologio): this maze of little streets contains some of the most fascinating evidence of the Arabic and Norman occupations.
By plane
Catania's Fontanarossa Airport is the closest to the Hotel La Pensione Svizzera (64 km). From the terminal, take the Compagnia S.A.I.S. or Etna Servizi bus (about € 8.00) to Taormina and get off at the end of the line (Via Pirandello terminal). You've arrived. Follow the signs to the town center (centro) and the Hotel La Pensione Svizzera is 5 minutes on foot (100 meters), at Via Pirandello, 26.
You can also book the hotel's limousine for transfers from/to the airport (€ 68.00 during the day and € 74.00 at night, from 22:00 to 07:00).
By train
From any direction to the Taormina - Giardini Naxos station (on the Catania-Messina line). From here, take the S.A.I.S. or A.S.M. bus and get off at the end of the line (Via Pirandello terminal). You've arrived. Follow the signs to the town center (centro) and the Hotel La Pensione Svizzera is 5 minutes on foot (100 meters), at Via Pirandello, 26.
You can also book the hotel's limousine for transfers from/to the station (€ 15.00 during the day and € 18.00 at night, from 22:00 to 07:00).
By car
From the A18 Messina-Catania tollway, exit at Taormina and follow the signs to Taormina centro. After about 3 km, you will come to Via San Pancrazio, at the entrance to Porta Messina (entrance to the old town center), turn left into Via Pirandello for 300 meters. You've arrived. The Hotel La Pensione Svizzera is on the left at number 26 (LAT.: 37° 51' - LONG.: 15° 17').
A 10-minute walk from the Hotel La Pensione Svizzera takes you to the place that symbolizes Taormina, the Greco-Roman Theater. The Greeks built it in the town's most scenic location, the top of Mount Tauro, for which the city is named, and it's the most spectacular theater that Greek art was able to produce. The cavea, which still accommodates spectators for performances and shows, today, faces the sea and the view framed by columns and ruins spans from Etna to the Calabrian coast and from the Bay of Naxos to Castelmola, an unforgettable site.
Another not to be missed sight, when staying at a hotel in Taormina, such as La Pensione Svizzera, is Parco Colonna, the luxuriant garden of the Villa Comunale, built by an English noblewoman, Florence Trevelyan at the end of the 19th century. Among native and exotic species, statues and enormous original jars from the period, sculptures and contemporary monuments, you will also see the delightful beehives, highly original constructions similar to a gazebo or oriental pagoda designed by Lady Trevelyan and typical of the romantic taste of the times. The walk is enchanting here as well!