Alla Scoperta della Costa Tirrenica: Palermo – Taormina – Maratea – Rome
Palermo → Taormina → Maratea → Rome
The Alla Scoperta della Costa Tirrenica — Discovering the Tyrrhenian Coast — is a three-day, two-night journey aboard La Dolce Vita Orient Express that traces one of Italy's most dramatic coastal arcs: from the sun-drenched Sicilian capital of Palermo, east to the clifftop jewel of Taormina, then north across the Strait of Messina to the ethereally beautiful Basilicata town of Maratea, before concluding in Rome. This is not simply a train journey; it is a moving theatre of landscapes, history, and flavour.
What sets this routing apart is its extraordinary variety within a compact timeframe. Guests experience the Arab-Norman grandeur of Palermo, the Greco-Roman drama of Taormina with its ancient theatre suspended above the sea and Mount Etna, the intimate spiritual beauty of Maratea with its 44 churches and towering Christ the Redeemer statue, and finally the eternal energy of Rome — all from the superbly appointed carriages of La Dolce Vita Orient Express. The train's crossing of the Strait of Messina by ferry — the entire convoy split and loaded onto the vessel — is itself one of the most singular experiences in luxury travel.
Throughout the journey, three-Michelin-starred Chef Heinz Beck presides over the culinary programme, celebrating the flavours of each region in an unbroken sequence of regional Italian dishes paired with fine wines. Steward service, live musical entertainment in the Bar Car, and all-inclusive dining and beverages ensure that every hour aboard is as pleasurable as the destinations beyond the window.
- ✦Train-ferry crossing of the Strait of Messina — a once-in-a-lifetime rail experience
- ✦Ancient Greek Theatre of Taormina with its panorama of Mount Etna and the Ionian Sea
- ✦Three-Michelin-starred Chef Heinz Beck's regional Italian cuisine throughout
- ✦Christ the Redeemer statue atop Maratea's Monte San Biagio overlooking the Tyrrhenian coast
- ✦Arab-Norman Palermo — the Palatine Chapel's Byzantine gold mosaics and the Ballarò market
- ✦Optional Mount Etna Jeep excursion with volcanologist guide and winery dinner
- ✦Coastal cooking class at Santavenere Hotel in secluded Maratea
Day-by-Day Itinerary
Day 1 — Palermo to Taormina
Your journey begins at Palermo Centrale station, where a private transfer from your hotel or the airport delivers you to La Dolce Vita Orient Express. The train departs at approximately 11:30 AM, and guests are invited to settle into their cabins — warmly furnished in natural wood, soft carpets, and warm Italian design — before the Restaurant Car opens for a midday feast. Lunch is crafted by Chef Heinz Beck, drawing on the extraordinary larder of western Sicily: local fish, heirloom vegetables, and the island's celebrated capers, almonds, and citrus.
As the afternoon unfolds, the train follows Sicily's northeastern coast, with Mount Etna's volcanic silhouette commanding the horizon. The train arrives at Taormina-Giardini station in the afternoon, and guests have the opportunity to take curated optional excursions into one of Sicily's most celebrated towns — including a guided ascent of the ancient Greek Theatre, a village tour of hilltop Castelmola with a cannoli-making masterclass, or a Jeep excursion onto the slopes of Etna itself with a volcanologist guide and a dinner at a Sicilian winery. Guests returning to the train for the evening are welcomed with a refined dinner service accompanied by live music in the Bar Car, as the train departs eastward toward Messina.
Day 2 — The Strait of Messina & Maratea
Morning aboard La Dolce Vita Orient Express brings a traditional Italian breakfast of freshly baked pastries, Sicilian pastries, and aromatic coffee, served either in your cabin or in the Restaurant Car. Then comes the journey's most theatrical interlude: the train arrives at Messina, where its carriages are carefully uncoupled and loaded in sections onto a dedicated train ferry to cross the Strait of Messina — the three-kilometre channel separating Sicily from the Italian mainland. The ferry crossing itself takes around 15 minutes, though the full process of splitting, loading, crossing, and reassembling the train takes approximately 45 minutes. Guests may step out on deck to watch the Sicilian and Calabrian coastlines recede and approach, with the Mediterranean glittering on all sides.
Once on the mainland, the train follows the spectacular Tyrrhenian coast northward into the region of Basilicata, arriving at Maratea — one of southern Italy's most secluded and beautiful towns, set on the slopes of Monte San Biagio above a luminous stretch of sea. Optional curated experiences include a visit to the Cristo Redentore — the 21-metre Carrara marble statue of Christ the Redeemer that crowns the summit and overlooks the entire coastline — followed by a tour of the ancient Basilica of San Biagio. Alternatively, guests may join a hands-on cooking class at the celebrated Santavenere Hotel, concluding with a regional dinner of Lucanian specialities. The evening brings another dinner onboard as the train prepares for its final overnight leg toward Rome.
Day 3 — Arrival in Rome
A leisurely breakfast is served as the train makes its way through the pre-dawn Italian countryside, tracing the Tyrrhenian coast and then cutting through Lazio toward the capital. La Dolce Vita Orient Express arrives at Roma Ostiense station at approximately 9:00 AM, bringing the journey to its close in the heart of the Eternal City. Guests disembark refreshed, with two nights of immaculate rest aboard one of the world's most beautifully appointed trains, and memories of Sicily and the Tyrrhenian coast that will endure far longer than the journey itself.
Destinations & Highlights
Palermo — The Arab-Norman Capital of Sicily
Palermo is one of the Mediterranean's most layered and captivating cities, shaped by centuries of Arab, Norman, Byzantine, Spanish, and Baroque influence. The Norman Palace (Palazzo dei Normanni), dating to the 9th century, houses the breathtaking Palatine Chapel (Cappella Palatina) — its walls entirely clad in shimmering 12th-century golden Byzantine mosaics, considered among the finest in existence. The Palermo Cathedral, begun in 1185, blends Arab, Norman, and Gothic architectural styles and shelters the royal tombs of Emperors Frederick II and Roger II; its rooftop terrace offers sweeping views over the city. The baroque Quattro Canti intersection at the heart of the historic centre — known as the Theatre of the Sun — and the ancient, chaotic vitality of the Ballarò market together define the Palermitan character: proud, layered, and unfailingly alive.
Taormina — Sicily's Clifftop Crown
Perched on a rocky spur 200 metres above the Ionian Sea, Taormina has been celebrated as Sicily's most beautiful town since antiquity. Its centrepiece is the Ancient Greek Theatre (Teatro Antico di Taormina), built in the 3rd century BC and later enlarged by the Romans — at over 100 metres in diameter it is the largest ancient theatre in Sicily after Syracuse, and possibly the most dramatically sited theatre on earth: the stage opens directly onto a panorama of the sea and the smoking cone of Mount Etna, a view unchanged since Greek tragedies were first performed here. Below the town, the tiny tidal island of Isola Bella — a nature reserve — sits in a turquoise bay of extraordinary beauty. Taormina's Corso Umberto, lined with aristocratic palazzi, boutiques, and café terraces, is the most elegant passeggiata in Sicily.
Maratea — The Pearl of Basilicata
Maratea is one of southern Italy's best-kept secrets: a coastal enclave in the region of Basilicata — the only part of Italy's deep south to touch the Tyrrhenian Sea — where ancient hilltop villages, azure coves, and an extraordinary concentration of religious heritage converge. The town's 44 churches, chapels, monasteries, and hermitages have earned it the name la Città delle 44 Chiese. Dominating the landscape from the summit of Monte San Biagio is the Cristo Redentore di Maratea — a 21-metre Carrara marble statue created between 1963 and 1965 by sculptor Bruno Innocenti, the fifth-tallest Christ statue in the world. Its open arms, slightly bent backwards in a posture of benediction, seem to embrace the entire Tyrrhenian coastline. Beside it stands the ancient Basilica of San Biagio. The picturesque Porto di Maratea, with its elegant yachts and excellent fish restaurants, completes a portrait of authentic, understated Italian beauty.
Connecting Sicily to the mainland is the Strait of Messina — a channel of only three kilometres separating the island from Calabria, yet one of the most historically and mythologically resonant stretches of water in the Mediterranean. In antiquity it was the home of Scylla and Charybdis; today it is the crossing that makes La Dolce Vita Orient Express's Sicilian journeys uniquely memorable, as the entire train is loaded aboard a ferry for a crossing that feels more like a pause in a dream than a transfer.