Luxury Cefalu Holidays

Cefalù is known for its beautiful sunsets, mountainous backdrop, unpretentious charm, sandy beaches, picturesque historic centre, headland, and fine culture in the shape of a handsome Norman cathedral. Add delightfully traditional Sicilian food and sunshine and you've one of Sicily's most attractive seaside towns. There are some very elegant buildings and reminders of it's Byzantine, Arab and Spanish heritage.

The honey-hued stone buildings, squares, streets and churches of this medieval town are so picture perfect that it's no wonder director Giuseppe Tornatore chose to set parts of his much-loved film Cinema Paradiso here. The town is perfectly suited to slow, pedestrianised exploration. The little port is lined with fishing boats and populated with fishermen who can be observed maintaining their boats, mending their nets and discussing the day's catch.

Around Cefalù, places of interest include the Sanctuary of Gibilmanna, a hillside pilgrimage destination, the ruins of Greek Himera and the Monti Madonie mountains, where good hiking is to be found in spring and autumn. Palermo is an hour away by train, and the volcanic Aeolian Islands can be reached by hydrofoil in the summer. A trip by bus or car to picturesque Castelbuono, in the hills, makes another pleasant excursion.