Filming locations in Taormina

If you watched the second season of The White Lotus and pined for that cliff-top Sicilian glamour, Taormina is the real thing, and remarkably, much of it is bookable. The resort at the heart of the season is the San Domenico Palace, a former convent turned five-star hotel whose terraces, pool and sea views are exactly where you watched the guests unravel. Non-guests can often reserve a drink or lunch on the terrace, which is worth a call ahead.

The town gave the show more than its hotel. The Teatro Antico, the ancient Greco-Roman theatre with Mount Etna smoking through its ruined back wall, anchors the establishing shots that announce the season, and it is a gentle if uphill walk up through town. Down at the shore, the tiny Isola Bella reserve and the pebble beach below the cliffs turn up in the season's boat and shoreline scenes.

Everything sits within an easy compass on foot. The San Domenico Palace is steps from Corso Umberto, the pedestrian spine the whole town strolls each evening, and the theatre is barely five minutes from its top end. For the beach and the islet, ride the funivia cable car down from town, then walk the short causeway across to Isola Bella at low tide, bringing water shoes for the pebbles.

Visit the theatre early or near closing for the softest light and the clearest view of Etna, and grab a granita and brioche on the way up for the local breakfast ritual. The funivia runs every fifteen minutes and saves the steep climb back. Late spring and early autumn give you the Mediterranean warmth without the deepest summer crush, and the public Villa Comunale gardens hand you similar sea views for free.