Alhambra Guesthouse is located in the center of Giarre (CT), 34th of Luigi Orlando street (Map)

Tel. +39 3486968594 - +39 3476920280 - tel +39 095 932404 - fax +39 095 937947

The property is located in the center of the most beautiful tourist area of Sicily, few minutes by car far from Etna, Taormina, Catania, Alcantara Gorges and represent an ideal choice for visiting eastern Sicily.

DISTANCES: - 17 km from Taormina - 25 km from Etna - 25 km from Catania - 15 km from Acitrezza, Acicastello e Gole dell'Alcantara - 30 km from Catania-Fontanarossa airport - 3 km from spiaggia di Fondachello beach - 2 km from Riposto touristic harbor - 30 km from Castiglione di Sicilia - 40 km from Etnaland - 85 km from Siracusa - 110 km from Noto

About 17 km far from Taormina (15 min. by car)

Unique natural beauty location which combine tourism, sea and Sicilian traditions.

Taormina is located just about 200 meters above sea level and has a particular shape that makes it look like, in its structure, to a real terrace embellished with a beautiful panoramic view, in which stands out the nearby Mount Etna. Here tourism is active all year round and is facilitated not only by cultural and natural beauty, typical of the city, but also from a good hospitality and entertainment system and the typical Sicilian warmth. (More info)

About 25 km far from Volcano Etna (30 min. by car)

The highest active volcano in Europe which offers some of the most spectacular eruptions in the world.

Etna is the highest active volcano in Europe, is located in the north-eastern Sicily and is active since immemorial age. With its enormous size overlooking the Ionian Sea to the east, to the north is bordered by the river Alcantara, who dug his bed on lava soil and has given rise to stunning gorges, the so-called "Alcantara Gorges." To the west and southwest Etna is instead bounded by the river Simeto. Etna is currently about 3330 meters high, covering a perimeter of about 210 km and an area of 1600 square kilometers. During periods of intense volcanic activity, lava can flow out of hundreds of craters that are located on the flanks of the volcano, these craters are collected in more than 260 eruptive systems. (More info)

About 25 km far from Catania (20 min. by car)

Important center of culture and economic development of Eastern Sicily.

Catania is one of the few cities in Italy to offer such diverse landscapes concentrated in a single site. It is located on the east coast of the island, at the slopes of the volcano Etna (the highest in Europe) and halfway between the cities of Messina and Syracuse. Its territory also includes a large portion of the plain of Catania and all the Calatino. The plain of Catania ('a Chiana) is one of the largest cultivated areas of Sicily and its area closest to the sea is the oasis of the Simeto, regional reserve of about 2,000 acres established in 1984, Oasis of Simeto takes Simeto name from the river, the most important of the island, which flows south of the city. The south area  of the Castello Ursino, a time above the sea, is the product of the enormous lava flow of 1669 that, surrounding it, went a few miles out to sea. The south coast of the harbor was deeply modified creating the actual beaches (the Plaia) which is, however, sandy. (More info)

About 15 km far from Acitrezza, Acicastello e from Alcantara  gorges (20 min. by car)

The view of Aci Trezza is dominated by rocks of the Cyclops: Eight picturesque basaltic rocks which, according to legend, were thrown by Polyphemus to Ulysses during his escape. Not far from the coast (about 400 m away), there is the Lachea island, identified with the Homeric Island of Goats and currently houses the headquarters of biology studies station, at the University of Catania. It was the country in which Giovanni Verga set his famous novel The Malavoglias (1881).

Acicastello falls within the territory of Aci, those centers which have a history that has united them for several centuries and the same lineage in the myth of Acis and Galatea. The myth linked to the sites is found in Homer's Odyssey. Ulysses (Nobody) and his men landed on the coast, but they met Polyphemus, who catched them in his cave. Taken prisoner, the Cyclops is bloodshed of some sailors, but the wily Odysseus manages to get Polyphemus drunk and blind him of his single eye in the middle of his forehead. The raging Cyclops tries to take them back, but Ulysses and the surviving sailors take to sea with ships, though in vain, Polyphemus tries to hit them by throwing huge rocks, or the Faraglioni that stand in front of the coast of Acitrezza.

The Alcantara Gorges are located in the Alcantara valley in Sicily. They are high up to 25 meters and 2 meters wide, 4-5 meters in the narrowest and widest points; the natural canyon, in contrast to what is commonly believed, was not excavated in the course of thousands of years by water. (More info)

About 30 km far from Catania-Fontanarossa airport (35 min. by car), about 3 km from Fondachello beach and Riposto touristic harbor

Fontanarossa Airport is the main airport of Sicily and Southern Italy and one of the largest among the Italians. The airport includes a bank, restaurant services, a post office, a ticket for the buses, a Flights information office (who can be contacted at +39 095 340505) and a Tourist Information Office.

The Riposto touristic Harbor is equipped within the modern facilities, 6 miles from the Taormina sea and on the slopes of  Volcano Etna, available all year round. It is spread by over 150 M.L. shore and over 570 M.L. floating docks, allowing the mooring of various categories of boats from 8 to 40 meters. A structure that ensures the highest level of benefits and services, able to accommodate flawlessly lovers of sailing and the sea.

Fondachello: the beach of pebbles and dark stones is the main wealth of Fondachello and in the summer helps the small town to become a big resort with numerous beaches, with high share of visitors, mostly local tourists. (More info)

About 30 km far from Castiglione di Sicilia (30 min. by car)

Charming medieval town located 600 m above sea level between Etna and the Alcantara river, subject to various constraints of landscape, historical and architectural protection. The history of Castiglione is inherent in its name, Castel Leone, an ancient fortress that dominated the Alcantara valley, the remains of which can still be visited.
It was inhabited by the Greeks as early as 403 BC, who understood even then the focal point in which it was located, and built a fortified fortress on the lookout to control the only access route to the interior of Sicily.
Over the centuries followed the Romans, who built bridges, Arabs revolutionized the irrigation systems and even came to breed crocodiles in the river Alcantara, Normans and the Swabians, under whom Castiglione became a royal city, and Ruggero di Lauria, the last feudal lord.
The village is situated at 621 mt. above sea level, visually monitors a wide area and overlooking the river Alcantara with much of the valley. To date, includes seven fractions: Rovitello, Solicchiata, Passopisciaro, Verzella, Gravà, Mitogio and Castrorao. (More info)

About 40 km far from Etnaland (40 min. by car)

One of the largest water parks in Europe.

Etnaland (born in the land of the now closed Parco Zoo di Sicilia), is a theme park that is located in the resort town of Belpasso in Valcorrente, about 12 km from Catania. Today Etnaland is one of the largest amusement theme parks in Southern Italy and attracts many visitors. The park is structured on a number of attractions that allow visitors to spend an entire day of fun in outdoor recreation. It is open to the public only during the summer months. Inside there are several dining places that allow you to stop for a snack or a full meal between an attraction to another. This water park is surrounded by greenery and has a high number of slides and water attractions: the classic Waterslide, the Slow River, the Kamikaze, the Stukas steep (almost a 'free fall' of 18 meters), routes on rafts and many other attractions to suit all ages. (Visit official website)

Giarre

The city of Giarre is populated by about 30,000 inhabitants and has an old town full of shops.

The center of Giarre is made by Callipoli and Archimedes streets, today Italy course. The two streets are filled with many palaces built by the rich bourgeoisie of the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, largely coming from Acireale. In the main square (Piazza Duomo) there is the Mother Church, the beautiful neoclassical building dedicated to S.Isidoro Agricola. It was begun in 1794 and on its top there are two towers with a square base with four clocks. The territory of Giarre is a natural and landscape heritage of great value. From the main square you can see, in all its grandeur, the volcano. In the countryside, rows of trees, terraces built from generation to generation, vineyards and orchards that seem to shape the slopes of Mount Etna, the spectacle offered by the variety of colors of the many wild plants, the rural housing. A set of settlement systems (towns, villages, farmhouses) whose value is given by the spontaneous harmony that the set contains. (More info).